Consumer Attitudes & Behavior

Tide laundry detergent is so popular with shoppers that it is regularly featured on the cover of Target’s weekly circular as a means to generate customer traffic, but it appears the detergent brand’s popularity is causing it to generate the wrong kind of traffic. A story by the Associated Press points out this week that Tide has become a frequent target of shoplifters at retailers nationwide and the new currency of an underground economy.

Chain Store Age editor-in-chief Marianne Wilson and I go to great lengths to report new store openings on Chainstoreage.com. We pore through convoluted retail financial statements – sometimes twice daily – to uncover news that a chain has its sights set on even a little net new store growth for the year ahead.

I reported earlier today that Urban Outfitters, despite a challenging fourth quarter that saw profits cut nearly in half from the year before, was planning as many as 60 new stores in fiscal 2013.

WASHINGTON — February retail sales rose 8.6% over last year, marking 20 consecutive months of sustained growth, The National Retail Federation reported Tuesday.

The seasonally adjusted increase -- stronger than expected -- was 0.5%, which excludes automobiles, gas stations and restaurants.

New York City -- A report released Wednesday by Capital Business Credit said that importers who sell to America's major retailers are preparing for a significant uptick in consumer spending this spring and summer.

The number of eco-labels in the marketplace continues to grow. According to Ecolabelindex (http://www.ecolabelindex.com/, Oct 27), 426 labels circulate in 246 countries and 25 industries. Most commentators are quick to point out the negative consequences: consumer confusion, disinterest and mistrust. However, there is a growing wave of large companies that pursue product certification to appeal to and meet compliance demands from their B2B customers, including retailers.

Washington, D.C. -- A report released Tuesday by the Commerce Department said that retail sales in the United States rose 1.1% in February, the most in five months.

The advance matched Bloomberg estimates and followed on the heels of a 0.6% increase in January that was larger than anticipated.

New York City -- The Conference Board reported Monday that its Employment Trends Index increased 1.38% in February to 107.46, from the revised figure of 105.99 in January.

The February figure is also up 6.1% from the same month a year ago.

Boston -- New research released by Brodeur Partners uncovered that Baby Boomers and Generation Y’ers think differently about the shopping experience.

According to The Brodeur Partners’ Retail Relevance Study, Boomers see the ideal shopping experience as getting a good deal on a decent product. For Gen Y, it’s more about a stimulating, sensual, “sharable” experience.