Consumer Attitudes & Behavior

Twenty-nine new products were recognized as “Product of the Year,” at a gala event in New York recently, but earning that distinction comes at a hefty price and leveraging it as part of a marketing effort costs even more.

For the fourth consecutive year, a department store has nabbed the top spot in a survey of the nation’s favorite fashion retailers.

Nordstrom took the top spot in the study, by Market Force Information.  Interestingly, severak discount retailers moved up the list this year, with Marshalls landing in the No. 2 spot. H&M and Ross Dress for Less tied for third, Kohl’s was fourth and Macy’s was fifth.  

Consumers know about Apple Pay, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they are conducting mobile payments with it.

According to a December 2015 survey of 1,300 U.S. household financial decision-makers, including 580 iPhone 6 users, conducted by First Annapolis Consulting Inc. awareness of Apple Pay is quite high. Among all survey respondents, 73% have heard of Apple Pay, while awareness jumps up to 84% for the sub-group of iPhone 6 owners.

Surpassing $3 billion in annual sales last year was a big deal for Skechers and now CEO Robert Greenberg is banking on the addition of more than 300 new stores to help the company set another sales record in 2016.

Retail industry sales will grow an estimated 3.1% in 2016, outpacing the 10 year industry average, as economic headwinds diminish, according to a forecast released by the National Retail Federation.

The NRF sales forecast of 3.1% excludes automobiles, gas stations and restaurants and exceeds the 10 year growth rate of 2.7%. Non-store retail sales are forecast to growth between 6% and 9%.

Retail industry sales will grow an estimated 3.1% in 2016, outpacing the 10 year industry average, as economic headwinds diminish, according to a forecast released by the National Retail Federation.

The NRF sales forecast of 3.1% excludes automobiles, gas stations and restaurants and exceeds the 10 year growth rate of 2.7%. Non-store retail sales are forecast to growth between 6% and 9%.

Lane Bryant is launching a new marketing campaign aimed at women who love the skin they're in and are confident with the bodies they have.

Lane Bryant's new This Body campaign serves as a declaration and an invitation to let the world understand how this plus size woman feels about her body. The idealized smaller size body type, which is constantly referenced as the norm in the media, is simply not realistic for the vast majority of female consumers, Lane Bryant says.

“Now Trending” is an exclusive online series to chainstoreage.com, featuring trending topics that impact the retail real estate landscape.

When Walmart announced in January that it planned to close 269 stores this year (154 locations in the U.S.), there was a good deal of chatter out there comparing the planned closures to a Macy’s announcement just over a week earlier revealing the upcoming closure of 40 stores and a restructuring plan that would eliminate more than 4,500 jobs.