Consumer Attitudes & Behavior

MINNEAPOLIS — July same-store sales at Target increase 4.1% on top of a prior year gain of 2%, with increase transaction size the primary driver of an increase toward the upward end of the company’s guidance.

July same-store sales at Fred’s declined 0.5% and that’s not a particularly good sign for Walmart, as the company prepares to release its quarterly results on Aug. 16. Fred’s appeals to lower income shoppers at its 672 stores in the Southeastern U.S. where the company has considerable overlap with Walmart.

Purchase, N.Y. -- Apparel continued to show gains in July, while housing-related sectors such as electronics, appliances, and furniture remained sluggish, according to MasterCard Advisors SpendingPulse, a macroeconomic report tracking national retail and services sales. (The data estimates total U.S. retail sales across all payment forms including cash and check.)

In other findings, auto parts and service posted its first decline after five months of growth.

Westlake Village, Calif. -- Lowe's ranked highest in customer satisfaction among appliance retailers for a second consecutive year, achieving a score of 807 on a 1,000-point scale, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2011 Appliance Retailer Satisfaction Study. The study measures satisfaction based on performance in six areas: sales staff and service; store facility; merchandise (i.e., variety of brands/models offered and availability of merchandise and product information); price; delivery service; and installation service.

Washington, D.C. -- A Tuesday report from the Commerce Department showed that consumer spending dropped 0.2% in June, to $21.9 billion.

Personal income was virtually flat for the month, increasing 0.1% to $18.7 billion, which was in line with estimates.

San Francisco -- Survey results released by online customer experience management software provider Tealeaf and mobile feedback solution-provider OpinionLab found that the majority of e-business and customer experience professionals feel that the mobile experience is as important as that of a fixed website.

NEW YORK — Discount stores will continue to dominate as the destination for the majority of consumers’ back-to-school dollars this year, with office supply stores also remaining strong, according to a survey by Accenture on parents’ back-to-school shopping plans. The majority of parents (59%) will spend between $100 and $500 on back-to-school shopping this year, with 21% of consumers saying they plan to spend more than $500 this year. That’s down from 28% in 2010, indicating a decline in spending on the big ticket items for school.

New York City -- Discount stores will continue to dominate as the destination for the majority of consumers’ back-to-school dollars this year, with office supply stores also remaining strong, according to a survey by Accenture on parents’ back-to-school shopping plans. The majority of parents (59%) will spend between $100 and $500 on back-to-school shopping this year, with 21% of consumers saying they plan to spend more than $500 this year. That’s down from 28% in 2010, indicating a decline in spending on the big ticket items for school.

Shopper marketing conversations these days may be dominated by digital strategies, but the time worn free-standing insert continues to dominate as the distribution vehicle of choice when it comes to coupons.

FSI’s accounted for 89.6% of the 167 billion coupons distributed during the first half of the year, versus 87.3% for the same period the prior year, while digital coupons accounted for less than 1% of total volume, according to the U.S. mid-year 2011 Consumer Packaged Goods Coupon Facts Report released by NCH Marketing Services Inc., a Valassis company.

WASHINGTON — The National Retail Federation announced that it is urging Congress to reach an agreement and raise the debt ceiling in order to avoid default.

NRF president and CEO Matthew Shay issued the following statement: