Consumer Attitudes & Behavior

Arlington, Va. -- The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) and global sustainability non-profit Forum for the Future have launched a project to empower sustainability initiatives, Retail Horizons. The project is being launched ahead of the RILA 2014 Retail Sustainability Conference held from Sept. 29 to Oct. 2, in Minneapolis. Click here for a two-minute video on the program.  

Skincare brand Olay has selected actress Katie Holmes as its first global brand ambassador. Holmes will represent the Olay global brand campaign “Your Best Beautiful.”

“I’m very excited to be the Olay Global Brand Ambassador,” said Holmes. “Olay is a brand I respect, trust and believe in. I love the products and message to women to never settle and put their best face forward, every day.”

Stamford, Conn. -- Half of Americans (49%) plan to shop online earlier for gifts this holiday season, with the main reason being to ensure they receive their packages on time (63%), according to a survey by Pitney Bowes.

PayItSimple, a new service that lets consumers charge any purchase on their existing credit cards and pay it back in monthly, interest free installments, has launched in the United States.

PayItSimple supports an omnichannel shopping experience and is available for e-commerce, brick-and-mortar, mobile and all other payment platforms.

New York -- Target Canada is aggressively repositioning to drive its price value, according to a basket pricing study by Kantar Retail.

“Target’s price leadership in Canada has clearly shifted,” noted Robin Sherk, director of retail insights, Kantar Retail, and contributor to the study. “We found that the price of Target Canada’s overall basket was 3.9% less expensive than Walmart’s. In our initial study, the retailers’ basket values were effectively even.”

By Gary Lee, InReality

New York -- Nearly three-quarters (74%) of U.S. households plan to spend money on Halloween-related items, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) Halloween Consumer Spending Survey. The total for Halloween-related spending is expected to be approximately $11.3 billion in 2014.

Mahwah, N.J. -- Ascena Retail Group Inc. on Monday reported fourth-quarter net earnings of $15.7 million, compared with $29.8 million in the year-ago period. Its results missed Wall Street expectations.

Revenues for the quarter were $1.18 billion, compared with $1.20 billion in the prior year. The company attributed the decrease challenging tween market conditions at Justice and inventory-related issues at Lane Bryant. Results were partially offset by positive comp growth at Maurices and Catherines and new store growth at Maurices.