Consumer Attitudes & Behavior

Washington, D.C. – U.S. household purchases rose 0.5% in November 2013. According to new figures from the U.S. Department of Commerce, this followed a 0.4% increase in October that was larger than previously reported and is the largest increase since July 2013.

Charleston, S.C. -- Only two-thirds of Americans are all or almost finished with their holiday shopping as of Dec. 23. Of the 24 retailers surveyed by America’s Research Group and Inmar, only three retained 70% or more of their customer base, with Wal-Mart topping the list at 88.1%, followed closely by Dollar Tree at 80.4%, and Target at 72.1%.

New York – Factors including the permanency of the 2013 payroll tax increase, uneven job creation and uncertainty caused by the autumn partial government shutdown are expected to continue constraining consumer spending in 2014. According to a new economic insight report from Sterne Agee, lower gas prices, a lingering wealth effect from home price appreciation and record highs in equities helped boost holiday spending, but will not be enough to counteract a trend toward weak consumption that has been in place since the beginning of this year.

Los Angeles – Costco and Nordstrom were the number one and two ranked retailers in terms of their return policies, according to a new report from personal finance site GoBankingrates.com. Costco received kudos for having no time limit and full cash or check refunds, while Nordstrom got credit for having no formal return policy or time limit.

Only two-thirds of Americans are all or almost finished with their holiday shopping as of Dec. 23. Of the 24 retailers surveyed by America’s Research Group and Inmar, only three retained 70% or more of their customer base, with Walmart topping the list at 88.1%, followed closely by Dollar Tree at 80.4%, and Target at 72.1%.

Scaumburg, Ill. - Overall in-store satisfaction has grown 23% in the last six years. Meanwhile, the annual Motorola Solutions Holiday Shopping study shows that satisfaction with the checkout process and the availability of store associates has increased 32% and 23% respectively since 2008.

Yonkers, N.Y. – Unsurprisingly, crowds and long lines are the single biggest consumer dread for the holiday season. According to a new Consumer Reports poll, 61% of consumers dread crowds and long lines, followed by bad traffic (54%).

Boston – Massachusetts retail price scanners reportedly operate at a 99.8% accuracy rate. According to the Associated Press, the Massachusetts Division of Standards checked scanners at 98 different stores of 50 retailers across a wide range of verticals and discovered five overcharges out of about 2,800 individual price scans.

Los Angeles – Beauty, cosmetics and fragrance stores should experience 2.7% growth in sales to $13.1 billion during 2013. Industry revenue is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 0.8% from 2008 to 2013, according to business intelligence firm IbisWorld.