Consumer Attitudes & Behavior

New York -- Simple demographic targeting does not weight advertising exposures toward households that have greater purchasing value, according to a study by Catalina Marketing released Monday. The study shows that, for a cross-section of major consumer brands, an average of just 15% of television ad exposures reach the households that account for 80% of sales. Meanwhile, brand advertisers deliver 64% of exposures to households that account for just 2% of sales.

NEW YORK — It seems that traditional grocery stores and established food brands may lose their position in the market due to a confluence of changing demographics, economic factors and customer preferences, according to new research from global investment bank Jefferies and global business advisory firm AlixPartners.

New York -- Consumer confidence unexpectedly declined in July to the lowest level this year as Americans over concerns about the economy, Bloomberg reported.

The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan index of consumer sentiment dropped to 72 this month from June’s 73.2 reading. The metric was projected to rise to 73.5, according to a economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.
 

London -- Hong Kong is the world’s most expensive retail destination, with retail rents at $3,864 per square foot, according to the quarterly rankings of global retail rents from global property advisor CBRE Group. CBRE cited the city’s significant inbound tourist traffic and continued increases in domestic wealth as fueling demand from international fashion and luxury retailers.
 

That’s not exactly the question a couple college professors ask in a new booked called, “The Physics of Business,” but it might as well have been. The authors suggest the forces of scale and efficiency are trumping innovation at U.S. companies of which Walmart is the largest.

No Wonder Walmart’s U.S. sales are on the upswing. Kantar’s Marx media solutions group this week in its mid-year report noted free standing insert pages for Walmart increased nearly 82% to 2.5 billion pages during the first half of the year.

If Hong Kong is part of your global expansion initiatives, be prepared to pay the freight.

The most recent retail rent report from CBRE Group labeled Hong Kong as the world’s most expensive retail destination, bettering New York City (No. 2) and Sydney, Australia (No. 3).

Chicago -- Year-over-year national retail sales and foot-traffic are expected to increase for this August’s back-to-school season, according to ShopperTrak, with the overall sales number coming in 4% higher than last year.

"This increase will follow year-over-year U.S. retail sales growth in 28 of the last 29 months,” said Bill Martin, ShopperTrak founder. “August will present retailers with a tremendous opportunity to take all steps possible to maximize their shopper opportunity and increase conversion rates."