Consumer Attitudes & Behavior

New York City -- Speaking at the Goldman Sachs 18th Annual Global Retailing Conference in New York City, Myron Ullman III, chairman and CEO of J.C. Penney Co., expressed confidence that the chain is well positioned for the holiday selling season. However, he noted that uncertain economic conditions have caused the chain to pull back on its expectations.

Ullman noted that customers are still purchasing promotionally priced items along with full-priced goods.

 

New York — Consumers are spending more, but doing so in fewer transactions, according to American Express Business Insights’ most recent Business Insights Spend Sights report.

The study, which examines spending patterns across several key categories, U.S. cities and demographic groups, finds that while economic uncertainty continues to dampen overall consumer confidence, a new pattern of less frequent but measurable splurging has become evident among a range of customer groups in several categories.

Philadelphia -- According to a survey released Tuesday by global management consultancy Hay Group, 68% of retailers expect holiday sales to increase this year. However, hiring plans remain conservative, with 67% of retailers hiring at the same level as last year and 25% hiring fewer seasonal workers.

New York City -- Fifteen percent of Web searches on Black Friday will be done on mobile devices, according to a study by Google’s AdMob.

Los Angeles -- A report released Tuesday by commercial real estate firm C.B. Richard Ellis said that 59% of U.S. retailers plan to open more stores due to the attractive rental rates available in the current market environment.

Chelmsford, Mass. -- Kronos said Tuesday that its latest Kronos Retail Labor Index, which characterized the current state of the demand and supply sides of the labor market within the U.S. retail sector for the month of August, was unchanged from the month prior. The index, which defines the ratio of hires to applicants within a given month, expressed as a percentage, was unchanged at 3.5% in August 2011, as both hires and applications increased slightly, all on a seasonally adjusted basis.

PURCHASE, N.Y. — The apparel, e-commerce, grocery, and luxury segments all showed continued growth in August, as the hardware, restaurant, and automotive repair sectors returned to positive territory, according to MasterCard Advisors SpendingPulse, a macroeconomic report tracking national retail and services sales.

Armonk, N.Y. -- Apparel sales are expected to post year-over-year gains during the fall shopping season (August, September and October), with especially big increases in children's apparel, according to an analytics-based forecast by IBM.

Sales in children's apparel this fall are expected to total $2.6 billion, an 11.1% increase over the prior-year period. Women's apparel sales are projected to total $9.2 billion, up 3.1% over last year.