Consumer Attitudes & Behavior

Citigroup found that toy prices at both Walmart and Target fell by 4% and that the price gap between the two retailers on toys has narrowed since its first survey.

According to Ciitgroup, retail prices of a basket of “hot” toys for holiday 2011 are now 30 bps cheaper at Walmart than at Target, compared with 50 bps cheaper at Walmart in its previous survey. However, taking into account Target’s 5% rewards discount, the basket of toys became 470 bps more expensive at Walmart, compared with 450 bps more expensive in the previous survey.

Chicago -- The third annual Mobile Audit, released Thursday by e-commerce and digital marketing company Acquity Group, found that mobile adoption is on the rise. In fact, the percentage of retailers with a mobile site reached 37% in 2011, up from 12% in 2010 and only 4% in 2009 – a 210% increase over the past year alone.

NEW YORK — Despite concerns about the economy and rising household expenses, nearly 3-out-of-5 consumers (59%) will put aside economic worries and spend the same or more this holiday season, according to Deloitte’s 26th annual survey of holiday spending intentions and trends. While this is a slight decline from 2010, it represents an eight percentage point increase from 2009.

New York City -- The U.S. retail industry will perform in line with sluggish U.S. GDP growth through 2012 as persistent unemployment, stock market volatility and economic gloom weigh on consumer confidence and spending, according to a new report by Moody's Investors Service.
 

New York City -- Despite  concerns about the economy and rising household expenses, nearly three out of five (59%) of consumers will put aside economic worries and spend the same or more this holiday season, according to Deloitte’s 26th annual survey of holiday spending intentions and trends. While this is a slight decline from 2010, it represents an eight percentage point increase from 2009.

New York City -- Apple brands dominate the youth market, and account for the top rankings in computers, tablets and mobile phones, according to the 2012 Harris Poll Youth EquiTrend study by Harris Interactive. The annual study tracks the brands that Americans aged 13 to 24 prefer. It estimates that

With young Americans expected to spend $211 billion in 2012, knowing which brands they favor will help corporate America prepare for the upcoming holiday season, according to the survey.

WASHINGTON — The Grocery Manufacturers Association has highlighted the U.S. food and beverage industry's accomplishments on Food Day, which celebrates the more than 15 million Americans who work to provide billions of consumers with safe, healthy, convenient and affordable food.

More Americans were online in September, and traffic to such major retail sites as Amazon.com and Walmart.com increased, but Target.com traffic was flat in the first full month following a late August site relaunch, according to the most recent “Top 50 Web Properties” report from online measurement firm comScore.

Los Angeles -- Fifty-two percent of consumers plan to spend $500 or more on gifts this season, according to a new survey by PriceGrabber, a part of Experian. Thirty-six percent said they will spend less than $500, and 12% indicated that they do not have a budget.

Other key findings of the survey, conducted from Sept. 7-15, 2011, include:

Consumers overwhelmingly chose clothing as the most popular holiday gift purchase (chosen by 66%), followed by gift cards (52%), books, CDs, DVDs or videogames (46%) and toys (43%).