Consumer Attitudes & Behavior

Bentonville, Ark. -- Walmart on Thursday said it plans to hire 60,000 temporary workers for the holiday season, an increase of nearly 10% from last year.

The discounter also said that current workers who want more hours during the holidays will receive priority.

New York -- Seasonal hiring in the retail sector is expected to outpace 2013, according to a report by Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

Retailers are projected to hire more than 800,000 seasonal workers for the upcoming holiday season, the highest number since 1999. In 2013, the retail industry hired 786,200 seasonal workers.

Research Triangle Park, N.C. -- Forty-one percent of online retailers plan to offer free shipping and returns as a strategy to increase holiday sales this year, according to a new survey by Channel Advisors, and free shipping also ranked as the most successful service feature for generating a higher level of customer satisfaction. The Multichannel E-Commerce Study also reveals that 86% of surveyed retailers expect to increase their year-over-year online holiday sales in 2014.

Philadelphia -- Nearly one-quarter (24%) of retailers expect a significant increase (5% or more) in year-over-year sales during the 2014 holiday season, while another 70% are predicting sales will be on par with the 2013 season, according to a survey by global management consultancy Hay Group.

By David Ashen, dash design

Lately you can't turn on the television or pick up the newspaper without seeing a story about Millennials, also known as Generation Y. People are endlessly fascinated by their traits, values, work habits and shopping patterns. Why all of this focus on the group of people born between the early 1980's and 2000's?

Louisville, Colo. -- QuikTrip is North America’s favorite convenience store chain, according to a study by Market Force Information, a leader in customer intelligence solutions. More than 5,000 consumers were polled for the study, designed to uncover which convenience stores consumers prefer and why.
 

Washington, D.C. -- Site and market challenges, underwriting challenges, and operational challenges are the key factors that hamper retail development in some lower-income communities, according to a report from the Urban Land Institute.

The report, Retail in Underserved Communities, defines underserved communities as those that fall into one or more of four categories: urban locations lacking businesses, underserviced markets, locations without cultural offerings, and isolated rural or small towns.

New research from an organization called the Luxury Institute found that half the executives in a recent survey are spending at least 30% of their marketing budget on digital methods with an even larger percentage concerned it isn’t enough.