Consumer Attitudes & Behavior

New York City -- A report released Thursday by American Express Business Insights said that spending in the fourth quarter was up across the board, but the retail sector spend growth was more subdued despite the holiday shopping season.

From a strictly legal standpoint Walmart may have prevailed this week in a case involving a customer who was murdered in its parking lot after a jury found the company wasn’t liable for inadequate security. Then again, the mere fact that Walmart had to appear in court to defend itself against charges stemming from a murder in its parking lot meant the company was a loser before the trial began simply because of the negative publicity.

New York City -- For the first time in six years, the number of consumers who switched service providers as a result of poor customer service declined in 2010, according to the latest edition of an annual consumer behavior study by Accenture.

Ann Arbor, Mich. -- The American Customer Satisfaction Index's annual E-Commerce Report, produced in partnership with ForeSee Results and released on Tuesday, showed that customer satisfaction with e-commerce websites is down 2.6% to 79.3 on the ACSI's 100-point scale.

The results are the lowest since 2004.

According to the report, falling satisfaction with online retail pulled down aggregate satisfaction with the e-commerce sector overall, which also includes online brokerage and online travel.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The American Customer Satisfaction Index has dropped just 0.1% from the previous quarter to 75.9 on the ACSI's 100-point scale, indicating that customers satisfaction remains strong, the ACSI reported.

Washington, D.C. -- A report released Tuesday by the U.S. Commerce Department said sales at U.S. retailers edged up 0.3% in January, less than the expected 0.5% to 0.6% increase, but still the seventh straight month of gains. A series of snow storms that hit much of the country throughout the month was cited as one of the factors for the weaker showing.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Census Bureau on Tuesday reported that retail sales continue on a positive trend, edging up 0.3% for the month of January.

The increase to $381.6 billion marked the seventh consecutive month of gains for retail sales. Total sales for the month were above the year-ago period by 7.8%.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Walmart has named Cindy Davis EVP of its global consumer insights business unit created two weeks ago as part of a larger corporate restructuring.

Davis, who joined Walmart in 2007 and previously served as EVP membership and marketing for Sam’s Club will continue to report to Sam’s Club president and CEO Brian Cornell, although she will be responsible for understanding broad consumer trends world wide and to create advanced analytical tools to support the business.