Consumer Attitudes & Behavior

San Jose, Calif. -- The full months of November and December 2013 suffered a brick-and-mortar customer traffic decline as compared to the same two months in 2012. According to new analysis from RetailNext, average sales decline remained at low single digits, which was aided by average growth in average transaction value (ATV) and a slightly positive 0.2% point increase in conversion.

There’s been a lot of talk lately about how the retail industry has supposedly settled a federal lawsuit with Visa and MasterCard over credit card swipe fees.

Dallas – A majority of consumers find point-of-sale (POS) prompts, such as discount alerts on their mobile devices an invasion of their privacy. According to a recent website poll from CompuCom, respondents were asked, “Do you find point-of-sale technology prompts, such as a customized alert for discounts upon entering a store”: 63% said it is Big Brother-ish/intrusive while 37% said it is helpful and cool.

The poll collected 307 responses from IT professionals across multiple industries from Nov. 16, 2013 through Dec. 17, 2013.

Atlanta -- Landscaping is the most popular outdoor do-it-yourself (DIY) home improvement New Year’s resolution project. According to a recent online survey of 540 homeowners by the Home Projects Council (HPC), homeowners selected landscaping (15.2%), planting a garden (13.5%) and building a deck (6.3%) as the top three outdoor DIY home improvement New Year’s resolution projects.

Issaquah, Wash. - Costco Wholesale Club’s same-store sales rose 3% in December, beating analysts' estimates of a 1.8% gain. The metric climbed 5% in the U.S. and inched up 1% overseas for the five weeks ended Jan. 5.

Total monthly revenue increased 6% to $11.53 billion.

For the 18-week period, same-store sales were up 3%. In the U.S. the metric rose 4% and 1% internationally.

Pittsburgh – Total net revenue for American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. decreased 2% to $882 million during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013, compared to $904 million for the same quarter a year earlier. Consolidated same-store sales decreased 7%, compared to a 5% increase for the comparable period in 2012.

Just a couple of days after news that Barnes & Noble permanently closed its onetime flagship on Fifth Ave. in New York, the company reported a revenue decrease of 6.6% for the nine-week holiday period ending Dec. 28, 2013 in its retail segment.

The decrease over the prior year in the retail segment, which consists of the Barnes & Noble bookstores and BN.com, was fueled by a 5.5% decline in comparable sales and store closures. Core comparable bookstore sales, which exclude sales of Nook products, decreased 0.2% as compared to the prior year.

Philadelphia -- Net sales for the first quarter of fiscal 2014 at Destination Maternity Corporation decreased 0.3% to $134.8 million from $135.3 million reported for the first quarter of fiscal 2013. Same-store sales slightly increased 0.7%.