Consumer Attitudes & Behavior

Schaumburg, Ill. -- Higher consumer confidence levels, increased impulse buying and consumer intent to spend more could all lead to an upside surprise in 2012 holiday spending, according to Nielsen analyses.

Although almost six out of every 10 consumers (59%) reported plans to spend the same as last year, there is a 10-point drop (from 37% in 2011 to 27% in 2012) in the number of people expecting to spend less. Eight percent of respondents reported plans to spend more this holiday season, up from 5% in 2011 and 2010.

Port Washington, N.Y. -- The majority of consumers intend to spend the same (67%) this holiday season than last year, and 10% plan to spend more while fewer that say they plan to spend less, according to the NPD Group’s 11th Annual Holiday Survey.

Organized labor was crowing this week about a protest, or was it a strike, involving 88 Walmart employees at 28 stores in 12 states who didn’t show up for work on Tuesday.

PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y. — It seems that consumers' holiday spending intentions are more positive than last year, according to NPD's 11th annual holiday retail study.

Miami -- While out-of-stock items and inventory performance remain top-of-mind, retailers' concerns about understanding customer preferences — along with their own ability to respond to those preferences with new ideas about pricing and promotions — have become top business challenges, according to a survey of 96 retailers published Wednesday by Retail Systems Research.

I’m sure I wasn’t the only person in the industry to raise an eyebrow when the S&P Retail Index notched an all-time high last month. Closing at $669.26 on September 14th to reach that milestone, the index has continued to creep up even further the last couple of weeks. A closer look at the stock market performance of the retail sector shows that both REITs and many individual retailers are continuing a strong positive trend—which makes sense, of course, because REITs will perform better in a strong retail environment when retailers are doing well.

Atlanta -- The SpendTrend analysis for September, released Tuesday by First Data Corp., found that card spending in September was down from the month prior.

The report, which tracks same-store consumer spending by credit, signature debit, PIN debit, EBT, closed-loop prepaid cards and checks at U.S. merchant locations, showed that overall dollar volume growth was 5.8%, down from August’s 7.2% growth.

New York -- The Conference Board Employment Trends Index decreased again in September, following a downward revision in August. The index now stands at 107.86, down from the revised figure of 108.23 in August. The September figure is 5.4% higher than a year ago.