Research Topic

San Luis Obispo, Calif. – Retailers who want to keep their customers happy and ensure positive word-of-mouth need to follow the “five-day rule” when fulfilling deliveries.

According to a new study of 13,000 consumers from cloud-based distributed order management solution provider Shopatron, 87% of orders delivered by a retailer or brand in five days or less resulted in the customer becoming a “promoter.”

New York – Retailers are continuing to cut ties with real estate developer and Republican presidential primary candidate Donald Trump in the wake of his recent disparaging comments about Mexican immigrants.

Following in the footsteps of Macy’s, off-price retailers T.J. Maxx and Marshalls have said they will no longer sell branded Trump apparel and accessories. And that’s not the end of it.  

Nashville, Tenn. -- IHL Group has added a noted retail technology analyst with nearly 30 years of experience to its ranks.

Jeff Roster is joining IHL in the new position of VP of retail strategy. He will oversee IHL's retailer engagement, vendor briefings and strategic IT services practice.

Lowe's is doing all the right things when it comes to customer satisfaction, according to J.D. Power's 2015 Appliance Retailer Satisfaction Study.

The study, now in its eighth year, measures customer satisfaction with appliance retailers by examining seven factors (in order of importance): sales staff and service; store facility; price; delivery service; sales and promotions (new to the study); merchandise; and installation service. Satisfaction is measured on a 1,000-point scale.

Framingham, Mass. – There are a lot of things parents look for when doing back-to-school shopping, but as Randy Newman once sang, it’s money that matters.

A new online survey of parents of children ages 8-18, commissioned by Staples and conducted by Harris Poll, finds that price is the top consideration for 86% of these parents when buying school supplies.   

Highlights of Staples 2015’ Back-to-School Parents Survey include:

If you’ve been reading this column over the last four years, let me first say, “thank you!” It’s gratifying to think that my musings about retail and retail real estate have kept your attention and interest. In this, my 100th and final (except for an occasional contribution) Retail Rap, I wanted to tackle the big question: What’s next? Where is the retail industry — particularly brick-and-mortar — headed in the months and years ahead?

San Diego – Contrary to popular wisdom that women desire a highly interactive shopping experience while men just want to be left alone, the two genders may actually have some similar retail preferences.

According to Interactions Marketing’s latest Retail Perceptions report, “Does Gender Influence Shopping Behavior?” men and women’s shopping behaviors have many similarities.

Los Angeles – It may be hard to believe, but many members of the ballyhooed millennial generation (defined by the U.S. Census as born between 1982 and 2000) are now moms. To reach millennial moms, new data released by beacon proximity platform inMarket suggests retailers should use beacon and proximity-based engagement platforms.

Los Angeles - Although summer vacations have just begun for many schoolchildren, parents already have back-to-school shopping on their minds.

According to the new Consumer Pulse survey of parents with kids in grades K-12 and college from Rubicon Project, 56% of respondents said they plan to spend more money per child than they did last year to prepare the students for the upcoming school year.

Although summer vacations have just begun for many schoolchildren, parents already have back-to-school shopping on their minds.