Consumer Attitudes & Behavior

PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y. —  Still looking for the perfect present for the kids in your life? According to The NPD Group, you can't go wrong with toys. The research firm found that among children ages 0 to 14, "toys" was the response given by 44% of caregivers when asked the question, "What is on your child's wish list for the upcoming holiday season?"

New York City -- Customers returning electronics products will cost U.S. consumer electronics retailers and manufacturers nearly $17 billion this year, an increase of 21% since 2007, according to a new Accenture research report. These costs include receiving, assessing, repairing, reboxing, restocking and reselling returned products.

New York City -- Retail sales rose 0.2% in November, following a 0.6% advance in October that was more than initially reported, according to figures released Tuesday by the Commerce Department in Washington. The November increase was the slightest gain in five months. Economists projected a 0.6% November increase, according to the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey. Purchases excluding automobiles also rose 0.2%.

Los Angeles -- Survey data from PriceGrabber, an Experian company, said that many consumers will continue to hit the stores through the final days leading up to Christmas.

Results from PriceGrabber's fourth winter holiday shopping survey found that 41% of consumers plan to shop between Dec. 21 and Dec. 24 for holiday gifts.

Reston, Va. -- E-commerce spending for November-December holiday season to date totaled $24.6 billion, 15% up over the year-ago period, according to comScore. The most recent week (week ending Dec. 9) reached $5.9 billion in spending, an increase of 15% versus the corresponding week last year, with three days surpassing $1 billion.
 

New York City -- Macy’s said Monday it has brought back its “24-hour” stores for three all-nighters beginning Dec. 21. Starting at 7 a.m., 14 Macy’s stores will stay open for 83 hours straight for non-stop shopping until Christmas Eve on Dec. 24 at 6 p.m.

Another 27 Macy’s stores will stay open until 2 a.m. on those same three nights.

New York City -- Lowe's Home Improvement is facing a backlash in the wake of its decision to stop advertising on a reality show about American Muslims. About 40 local and national Muslim and Arab-American leaders from around the nation are expected to participate Monday evening in a conference call to discuss the decision by the home improvement chain to pull its ads from the cable show "All-American Muslim,” The Detroit News reported.

The Holiday Shopping Season got off to a fast start with sales numbers increasing by 6.6% compared with last year, according to Shopper Trak. Promotional activity started earlier than usual and helped shoppers stay in the know as to where they could find the best deals. Leading up to Black Friday, increases were seen in print for both page counts and circular drops in many instances. In digital there were increases in volume and frequency of online, email and social promotions.