Consumer Attitudes & Behavior

Montreal - Adverse weather conditions as well as power outages in some of Dollarama’s core markets throughout the month of December 2013 resulted in a significant reduction in store traffic and the temporary closure of approximately 80 stores, for periods ranging from a few hours to two consecutive days. The majority of the impacted days occurred during the two weekends leading up to Dec. 25.

New York - The volume of emails sent by marketers increased nearly 13% during the 2013 holiday season compared with the 2012 holiday season, which also saw record highs in volume. Data from Experian Marketing Services shows that while email click-through rates and transaction metrics decreased year over year, the increase in email volume led to a 9% rise in the number of total transactions from email marketing campaigns and an 18.4% increase in overall revenue.

Minneapolis – Target Corp. will reportedly testify about its recent massive holiday data breach in a Congressional hearing in early February 2014. According to Reuters, a Congressional commerce, manufacturing and trade subcommittee headed by Rep. Lee Terry (R-Neb.) will investigate large data breaches and their effect on consumers.

DALLAS — Incontinence can hamper the lives of even the most on-the-go, social consumers. Kimberly-Clark's Depend brand has a discreet solution that will help administer a fresh boost of confidence on a daily basis: the brand's new Fit-Flex protection will allow men and women to be as active as they want to be without fear of embarrassment. 

San Francisco -- With an average global click-through rate of 2.33% and an average global conversion rate of 4.07%, retailers achieved a six-to-one return on ad spend (ROAS) for paid search during the 2013 holiday season. According to a new report from digital marketing technology provider Kenshoo, during the 2013 holiday season, mobile devices accounted for one of every three paid search clicks, up nearly 28% year-over-year (YoY).

St. Louis – Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. reported declining year-over-year revenues for the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2013 in a partial preliminary earnings release.

On a preliminary basis, Build-A-Bear reported total fourth quarter revenues of $107 million, down 9% from $118.2 million in the same period a year earlier. Preliminary fiscal year revenues were down slightly to $378 million from $380.2 million.

Campbell Soup Company is marking the 80th birthday of its iconic Campbell’s Condensed Chicken Noodle soup.

Originally launched as Campbell’s Condensed “Noodle with Chicken” soup, it was the first soup of its kind and is still going strong after nearly a century. According to the company, Americans purchased more than 200 million cans of Campbell’s Chicken Noodle soup in 2013.

Washington, D.C. – Despite economic challenges, the restaurant industry should experience its fifth consecutive year of sales growth in 2014. According to the National Restaurant Association (NRA) 2014 Restaurant Industry Forecast, industry sales are projected to exceed $683 billion in 2014, up 3.6% from 2013’s sales volume of $659.3 billion.