Consumer Attitudes & Behavior

New York -- Michael Kors Holdings Ltd’s first-quarter net income surged 50% amid strong sales overseas. The luxury retailer earned a better-than-expected $187.7 million for the three months ended June 28, up from $125 million from a year ago.

Net sales jumped 44% to $887 million. Total revenue — which includes licensing revenue — climbed 43% to $919.2 million. Global same-store sales for the quarter rose 24.2%.

In a move to streamline and simplify Procter & Gamble’s business and brand portfolio, the company will trim its brand portfolio to focus on 70 to 80 of its largest and best-performing brands, A. G. Lafley, president and CEO, told analysts on Friday during its fourth quarter conference call.

In the next 12 to 24 months, P&G will “harvest, partner, discontinue or divest” 90 to 100 brands, whose sales have been declining 3% per year over the past three years. Profits have been declining 16%.

Grand Rapids, Mich. - Meijer is running an omnichannel back-to-school promotion offering Back-to-School Bucks, which are available through print and the Meijer digital coupon program, mPerks. Furthermore, customers can customize their own sale and save more than $35 on general merchandise and health and beauty care products the weekend of Aug. 15-16.

Washington, D.C. - Almost three-quarters of Americans worry about the quantity of personal information available online and more than half feel they cannot trust social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to keep their contact information, buying habits and political beliefs confidential. According to a new poll conducted by Rad Campaign, Lincoln Park Strategies, and Craigconnects, online security concerns rise as Americans get older.

Cambridge, Mass. – Target is the grocery brand with the highest positive consumer sentiment rating. In a survey of the grocery habits of 763 consumers exclusively released to Chain Store Age, analytics technology provider Luminoso Technology found that 60% of consumers had positive sentiment about Target as a grocery retailer.

New York -- Parents and their children in grades K-12 will spend a combined $543 on back-to-school items, and double that, at $1,223, on college spending. According to new survey data from Deloitte, parents alone expect to spend 13% less than in 2013.

Santa Cruz, Calif. - Sixty-six percent of retailers attending the recent Big Data & Analytics for Retail Summit believe the number one way to ensure a successful holiday season is to understand customer behavior to drive sales and build loyalty. Moreover, data from business analytics provider Looker shows that four-in-10 retailers feel they are still ineffective when it comes to using data to improve business performance.

Just how often does Amazon change prices throughout the day? And when do other leading retailers adjust their prices? Price intelligence and optimization leader 360pi is out with a new report that answers those questions and sheds lights on some surprising pricing tactics at top retailers.

The report, titled “When Should You Change Your Prices,” explores the phenomenon of pricing dynamism at leading retailers and assesses its effectiveness. What 360pi discovered is that the level of price dynamism can vary dramatically across retailers.

New York - A majority of parents plan to spend more on their children's back-to-school shopping this year, driven by rising costs or necessity rather than greater spending power. According the Accenture Back-to-School Shopping Survey, which polled 500 U.S. parents of children entering kindergarten through college, nearly all (89%) plan to do most of their back-to-school shopping in a physical store, though many will still use online to browse and search, or "webrooming."

New York - Households with school-aged children (pre-school through 12th grade) plan to spend more this year on back-to-school necessities with a predicted increase of 9 % for an average spend of $655, according to the 15th annual survey conducted by Brand Keys.

Average anticipated spending in all major back-to-school categories reflect higher levels from 2013:

Clothing: $348 (+16%)
Shoes (athletic & dress) $127 (+15%)
Supplies $ 89 (+13%)
Computers/Electronics/
Tablets/Smartphones: $213 (+12%)