Consumer Attitudes & Behavior

San Francisco -- Shoppers will continue to be cautious in their spending in 2014, and they expect to make more money, save more money and afford the things they need. According to a forecast from digital coupon and discount site AnyCodes.com, this is because of a combination of three factors: consumer confidence in the future is climbing, they are focused on investing in themselves and paying off debt, and they are much confident about their job prospects.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- The U.S. convenience store count increased to 151,282 stores as of December 31, 2013, a 1.4% increase (2,062 stores) from the year prior, according to the 2014 NACS/Nielsen Convenience Industry Store Count. Convenience stores account for 34.3% of all retail outlets in the United States, according to Nielsen, which is significantly higher than the U.S. total of other retail channels including drug stores (41,378 stores), supermarket/supercenter (37,459 stores) and dollar stores (24,853 stores).

Claudine McKenzie has been working in the retail industry with Walmart for more than 17 years. Her career path has given her the opportunity to grow from a part-time sales clerk to a store manager all while obtaining her bachelor’s degree and working on a master’s degree.

In this latest installment of “This Is Retail,” an initiative of the National Retail Federation designed to showcase the industry’s diverse career opportunities, McKenzie shares her story.

Madison, Wis. – Target Corp.’s data security breach has already cost all credit unions between $25 million to $30 million. Those numbers are expected to rise in coming weeks as more of the cooperative financial institutions report their costs and as fraud losses are incurred down the road, according to preliminary results of a survey of credit unions by the Credit Union National Association (CUNA).

Chicago -- Twenty-four percent of full-time retail employees plan to change jobs in 2014, three points above the average for all workers (21%) and up from 20% in 2013. According to a new survey from Harris Interactive, CareerBuilder and WorkInRetail.com, 51% of retail workers are satisfied with their jobs, down from 60% in 2013.

By Netta Kelvis, head of marketing, Custora

[Editor’s Note: Custora has released its Holiday 2013 E-Commerce Recap, which is based on the company’s real-time dashboard aggregating data from over 100 U.S. retailers. Here's a blog post by Custora’s head on marketing summarizing the recap's highlights.]  

Jelly Belly Candy Company is set to launch a new flavor to its collection: the Draft Beer Jelly Belly jelly bean. Jelly Belly will debut the new flavor at the Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco and ISM in Cologne, Germany.

The beer flavor has been a popular request by consumers for decades, according to the company.

"This took about three years to perfect," Ambrose Lee, research and development manager for Jelly Belly Candy Company, said. "The recipe includes top secret ingredients, but I can tell you it contains no alcohol."

New York -- Why do dark horse companies win -- and how do they win?

That topic is the focus of a new book by sales strategist and Elevation Forum founder Dan Mack: “Dark Horse: How Challenger Companies Rise to Prominence.” 

The best leaders and companies bring more than unique products or services to the market -- they consistently tap into the 10 key growth enablers Mack outlines in his book.