Consumer Attitudes & Behavior

Washington, D.C. -- Retail sales rose 0.5% in April after a 0.9% increase in March, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. It was the tenth straight increase and came as consumers spent more on gasoline, clothing and autos in April.

Much of the gain in April, however, came from a surge in gasoline and food prices. Excluding a 2.7% jump in gasoline sales, the increase was a much smaller 0.2%.

Grocery stores sales jumped 1.5% -- triple the March increase. That partly reflected higher food prices.

Lewisville, Texas -- Fifty percent of retailers and almost as many manufacturers (48%) use rebate programs as part of their customer loyalty and promotions mix, according to report by the Aberdeen Group.

"Our findings revealed a very persuasive business case for rebates," said Chris Cunnane, senior research associate with the Aberdeen Group. "We have a deep expertise in retail and manufacturing research, and this report demonstrates the value of rebate programs for both of these groups."

Purchase, N.Y. -- Excluding auto sales, total retail sales in April 2011 grew by 8.8% year-over-year, stronger than March’s growth rate, and substantially higher than the average 7.1% year-to-year growth rate of the previous quarter, according to MasterCard Advisors’ SpendingPulse, a macroeconomic report tracking national retail and service sales.

New York City -- Rising fuel costs, higher commodity prices and increasing international market demand for food are pushing food inflation higher and higher, according to the Food Marketing Institute’s U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends report released Tuesday.

St. Louis -- Build-A-Bear Workshop lost $2.3 million in the first quarter, compared with a profit of $1.7 million in the prior-year period.

The retailer reported revenue of $96 million for the 13 weeks ended April 2, down 5% from $101.4 million a year earlier. Same-store sales were down 9%.

The company said the quarter’s results were adversely impacted by the shift of the Easter holiday and associated school vacations, which moved into the second quarter this year.

NEW YORK —The unemployment rate in April edged up to 9.0%, compared with 8.8% in March 2011.

Construction employment was about unchanged in April, according to Friday's report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This industry has shown little net movement since early 2010, after having fallen sharply during the prior three years.

Overall, the economy added 244,000 jobs in April, a higher gain than anticipated by analysts.

Target’s Redcard may become an increasingly more important factor in the retailer maintaining low price leadership.

Customer Growth Partners’ price comparison survey for Target and Walmart revealed that on a comparable 55-item basket of items found at Walmart Supercenters and Target P-Fresh stotes or Target Superstores, Walmart had reasserted price leadership over Target by almost 3%--prior to Target’s Redcard 5% discount. For the first three months of the year Target had 0.6% advantage (prior to the Redcard discount) over Walmart. 

BrandZ has released its list of the most valuable retail brands, and Target came in at number 5 out of 20 companies listed. According to the report, Target earned its spot by expanding its food selection and repositioning itself as a low-price leader and thereby countering the perception of it being a trendier, albeit pricier store than its competitors.

Out of the 100 global brands (including both retail and non-retail companies), Target came in at number 65.

Chelmsford, Mass. -- Retail hiring is on the rise, according to the May report of the Kronos Retail Labor Index, a family of metrics and indices that analyze the relationship between the demand and supply sides of the labor market within the U.S. retail sector.

Chicago -- In its most recent consumer sentiment and behavior survey, Technomic, the Chicago-based food industry research firm, found that 84% of consumers believe that grocery prices have risen in the past three months and 62% believe restaurant prices have risen.

Bob Goldin, executive VP of Technomic, believes that the rapid rise in gas prices, now at record highs, has raised consumer sensitivity to price increases in grocery stores and restaurants.