Consumer Attitudes & Behavior

Dallas – The e-commerce model is still actively evolving in response to changes in the consumer marketplace and technology. David Llamas, former CIO of British department store Harrod’s and an independent executive advisor, described how e-commerce has changed and is still changing during a session at the SAP Retail Forum on Oct. 8.

“In 2007, new e-commerce models like private sales, deals, and mobile commerce emerged,” said Llamas. “They have five times faster growth than traditional e-commerce models.”

Durham, N.C. -- Marketers are constantly combating shopping cart abandonment, and with good reason: Abandonment rates range from 70%-80%. The good news is that much can be done to reduce abandonment, recapture sales from abandoned shopping carts, and provide a better shopping experience for consumers, according to a new report by Bronto Software and Magento

I don’t want to be a Grinch, but things aren’t looking too promising for retailers who were hoping to end the year on a holiday high note. But, before I get into more predictions on retail sales this holiday season, it might be a good idea to talk a little bit about why I’m feeling so lukewarm about the prospects for a 2013 end-of-year bonanza.

The National Retail Federation has retained New York-based digital agency Rain to create digital shorts that launched last week on NRF’s industry campaign site, “This is Retail.”

Interview Day — a series of short, humorous videos — targets recent grads and young adults who are worn out competing for jobs in a challenging economy.

New York -- Shoppers in the United States intend to spend an average of $646 on gifts this holiday season, representing an 11% increase over the $582 they planned to spend, on average, in 2012, according to Accenture’s annual holiday shopping survey. The forecast uptick is more optimistic than other holiday surveys released to date.

Shoppers in the United States plan on spending an average of $646 on gifts this holiday season, representing an 11% increase over the $582 they planned to spend, on average, in 2012, according to Accenture’s annual holiday shopping survey. The forecast uptick is more optimistic than other holiday surveys released to date.

Chicago -- Dollar stores are not just for lower- and middle-income shoppers. In fact, half (50%) of respondents from the highest-income households ($150k+) say that they are shopping at dollar stores the same amount this year compared to last year, with 10%  say they are doing so more than last year, according to new research from Mintel. Only 32% of respondents from the highest-income households claim not to shop at dollar stores.

Boston – Women are more likely to have shopped online in the past year than men (57% compared to 52%), but men are more likely to have made a purchase via smartphone (22% compared to 18%) or tablet (20% compared to 17%), according to a new study from SeeWhy Conversion Academy.  

The report, “The Roles of Gender, Geography and Age in Mobile Commerce,” reveals that among 18-to-24-year-olds, women are actually more likely than men to shop via smartphone (21.6% compared to 21.3%) and tablet (20% compared to 14%).