Consumer Attitudes & Behavior

Cincinnati -- Retail loyalty programs have seen some impressive growth since 2011, according to results of the latest Colloquy Loyalty Census. In 2013, department stores achieved 70% growth in loyalty program memberships since the 2011 Colloquy Census, far surpassing the 26.7% rate of growth in loyalty programs across all sectors tabulated in the 2013 census. The number of department store loyalty memberships is 193.9 million.

New York -- Sixty-percent of retailers have energy management systems within their site portfolios, but only 46% have a formal energy management strategy in place.
 
Those are among the findings of a survey conducted by Ecova, a total energy and sustainability management company. In other survey findings, 44% of the respondents said they currently benchmark their portfolio or sites, and 21% have applied for the Energy Star label for their portfolio.

Walnut Creek, Calif. – A new study from RSR Research concludes that retailers offering multiple selling channels connect more with consumers and are more profitable than retailers operating a single channel. Virtually every cross-channel selling tactic is being employed by retailers more this year than in 2012, with particularly strong growth in mobile.

Overall economic growth in Europe is slower than in the U.S., but the opposite is true when it comes to e-commerce sales, according to figures published by Internet Retailer.
 
U.S. e-commerce sales grew 15.9% to $225.54 billion in 2012 from $194.61 billion the prior year, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce while the Centre for Retail Research in the U.K. said European e-commerce sales increased 16.6% to $302.2 billion from 260.4 billion.

Washington, D.C. -- A report released Thursday by the Commerce Dept. said that retail sales in the U.S. gained 0.6% in May, more than forecast and likely boosted by increased hiring during the month.

The increase was the largest in three months and followed a 0.1% advance in April. Bloomberg economists called for a 0.4% increase. The figures used to calculate economic growth, which exclude categories such as automobiles, climbed 0.3%.

Washington, D.C. -- The National Retail Federation reported Thursday that retail sales in May increased 0.6% seasonally adjusted from April and rose 4.8% unadjusted year-over-year.

The results, which excluded automobiles, gas stations and restaurants, were boosted by improved consumer confidence and spending.

MATTHEWS, N.C. — With Father’s Day just around the corner, Family Dollar is touting its small-store format, accessible staff and assorted product offerings to draw shoppers into its stores.

The value retailer is offering greeting cards, apparel and grills, while reminding shoppers that stores carry not only grills but also charcoal, coolers, hot dogs, hamburgers and even condiments.

San Francisco -- A new U.S. study conducted online by Harris Interactive and commissioned by Placecast showed that fathers use their mobile phones to save money.

The Wave IV poll in the Alert Shopper series of research revealed that 58% of American dads with smartphones said they had taken action on a promotion or coupon received on their phones, outpacing moms and those without kids.