Consumer Attitudes & Behavior

When it comes to payments, times are changing. Fast. Retailers find themselves in an uncertain world: after a few rough years of data breaches, theft, and fraud, retailers are already feeling pretty beat up. But despite a resulting emphasis on data security and privacy, retailers find they have no room to pause while they secure their enterprises as tightly as they would like. Consumers are moving fast, and retailers must keep up.

San Jose, Calif. – An analysis of June sales by store analytics provider RetailNext served up mixed results.

Although overall sales suffered a year-over-year decline in June 2015, retailers can take solace in the fact the consumers who were shopping spent more money. According to RetailNext’s Retail Performance Pulse report, June experienced a 3.3% year-over-year increase in sales per shopper, one of the strongest performances in any month of 2015 so far.
 

Gap Inc. continues to suffer from a lack of traffic to its stores and Web site, but the sales decline abated somewhat in June.

San Luis Obispo, Calif. – Retailers who want to keep their customers happy and ensure positive word-of-mouth need to follow the “five-day rule” when fulfilling deliveries.

According to a new study of 13,000 consumers from cloud-based distributed order management solution provider Shopatron, 87% of orders delivered by a retailer or brand in five days or less resulted in the customer becoming a “promoter.”

New York – Retailers are continuing to cut ties with real estate developer and Republican presidential primary candidate Donald Trump in the wake of his recent disparaging comments about Mexican immigrants.

Following in the footsteps of Macy’s, off-price retailers T.J. Maxx and Marshalls have said they will no longer sell branded Trump apparel and accessories. And that’s not the end of it.  

Lowe's is doing all the right things when it comes to customer satisfaction, according to J.D. Power's 2015 Appliance Retailer Satisfaction Study.

The study, now in its eighth year, measures customer satisfaction with appliance retailers by examining seven factors (in order of importance): sales staff and service; store facility; price; delivery service; sales and promotions (new to the study); merchandise; and installation service. Satisfaction is measured on a 1,000-point scale.

Westlake Village, Calif. - Lowe's ranks highest in customer satisfaction with appliance retailers.According to the J.D. Power 2015 Appliance Retailer Satisfaction Study, Lowe's achieves high satisfaction across the customer experience.

If you’ve been reading this column over the last four years, let me first say, “thank you!” It’s gratifying to think that my musings about retail and retail real estate have kept your attention and interest. In this, my 100th and final (except for an occasional contribution) Retail Rap, I wanted to tackle the big question: What’s next? Where is the retail industry — particularly brick-and-mortar — headed in the months and years ahead?