Consumer Attitudes & Behavior

Atlanta – Severe weather had a negative impact on financial performance at Aaron’s Inc. during the first quarter of fiscal 2014. Compared to the same period a year earlier, Aaron’s net earnings declined 25% to $38.3 million from $51 million.

Revenues dropped 1% to $585.4 million compared to $593.0 million for the first quarter in 2013. Same-store sales shrank 2.1%.

Washington, D.C. – U.S. consumers spent more than $21 billion on video game content, hardware and accessories in 2013. According to a new report from the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), the trade association representing the U.S. video game industry, called “2014 Essential Facts about the Computer and Video Game Industry,” 181.3 million Americans play video games.

Other findings from the report include:

• 51% of U.S. households own a game console, and those that do own an average of two;

Westlake Village, Calif. -- Paint retailers with well-trained staffers will drive a more positive purchase experience, this according to the J.D. Power 2014 Paint Satisfaction Study.

New York - The eight-day run up to Easter 2014 fell shy of the previous year’s comparable period by 9.3% in traffic and 8.9% in sales. According to data from retail analytics provider RetailNext, there was a 1.2- percentage-point improvement in conversion, which helped generate a sales decline that was less than the traffic decline.

Waban, Mass. - The percentage of large organizations that have reached the two highest levels of customer experience maturity has grown from 6% in 2013 to 10% this year. During the same period, the percentage of companies in the lowest level of maturity has dropped from 40% to 31%, according to a new report from Temkin Group, “The State of Customer Experience Management 2014.”

Other findings include:

Innovation can take many forms and in the case of Reynolds Bakeware that form is a new oval pan designed specifically for baking fish.

Not that fish couldn’t be baked in one of the brand’s various other square or rectangular shaped disposable pans, but the new oval model is purpose built for fish and part of the new Bakeware line introduced last year.

Procter & Gamble’s third-quarter results met expectations, and the company says that it remains on track to deliver top- and bottom-line growth objectives for the fiscal year.

Net sales for the quarter remained flat at $20.6 billion, including a negative three-percentage point impact from foreign exchange. P&G delivered organic sales growth of 3% for the quarter.

The ANNpower Vital Voices Initiative is a partnership between Ann Inc., parent company of Ann Taylor and Loft, and Vital Voices Global Partnership to empower young women from across the U.S. with the leadership skills they need to affect global progress, invest in their communities and begin their journeys as the next generation of leaders.  

Atlanta - InReality, a customer experience strategy and design firm, is offering a retail customer experience measurement tool called Reality Gap Analysis. Reality Gap Analysis delivers a quantifiable assessment of the gaps between a brand's self-perception and a customer's reality.

Around the globe, sellers from country A who promote their products as “Made in country A” are quick to point out that country A products are known for their quality, even by buyers from country C.