Research Topic

Survey: American consumers like giving at the register
Austin, Texas – Americans are known for their generosity, and that stereotype holds true when they go shopping. A new survey of 3,030 U.S. consumers across all ages by social responsibility firm Good Scout, “Change at the Checkout,” shows that 71% of respondents have donated to charity at the register.

Consumers surveyed listed “charity brand recognition” as the number one reason they feel compelled to give to charity at the register. The second leading reason is personal connection to the cause.
Study: Digitally influenced brick-and-mortar sales to reach $2.2 trillion
New York - Digital interactions are expected to influence 64 cents of every dollar spent in retail stores by the end of 2015, or $2.2 trillion. According to Deloitte Digital's latest study, "Navigating the New Digital Divide,” this figure has grown considerably from 14 cents of each dollar spent in brick-and-mortar stores in 2012, the first year Deloitte Digital conducted the annual study.

Survey: Moms prefer Amazon, Skechers, Samsung

London – Moms with kids younger than 18 are known to be discerning, and only two retailers made the list of top 10 best perceived brands among these special ladies. According to the latest Brand Index from market research firm YouGov, Amazon.com ranked number two with a score of 58.8, Skechers came in at number eight at 48.1, and Samsung nabbed the number 10 spot at 47.7.
NRF: Senate should renew Trade Promotion Authority

Washington, D.C. – The National Retail Federation (NRF) is publicly criticizing the Senate for blocking consideration of the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act, which would renew Trade Promotion Authority. Trade Promotion Authority is legislation from Congress outlining objectives and oversight for trade negotiations between the U.S. and other countries.
Survey: Canadians slowing down on cross-border shopping

Toronto -- Canadians are not flocking over the border as much as last year, according to a recent cross-border shopping survey by marketing research firm GfK. Deterred by higher US exchange rates, Canadians are less willing to make the drive, despite the wider product selections available stateside.
Study: Easter shift hurts April retail sales

San Jose, Calif. – The shift of the Easter shopping season to March 2015 from April 2014 (Easter fell on April 5, 2015, the first day of fiscal April) had a substantial negative impact on year-over-year retail sales results. According to the RetailNext Retail Performance Pulse, sales dropped 12.5% compared to the same month a year earlier, while sales per shopper (SPS) actually increased 2.4%.
Starbucks college plan draws 2,200 employees

Seattle - One month after Starbucks and Arizona State University announced the expansion of a benefit to pay for employees’ college education, more than 1,800 have signed up, with more than 2,200 total. The Starbucks College Achievement Plan offers 100% tuition reimbursement for all four years of college.
Study: Subscription retailers lead in average orders per year

New York – Subscription retailers outpace e-commerce retailers and flash sale businesses by a long shot when it comes to a customer’s average numbers of orders in the span of a year. According to analysis of more than 10 million orders from 2.5 million unique customers by Retention Science, subscription retailers average 7.68 orders per customer in 12 months.

In contrast, e-commerce retailers only average 2.36 orders per customer in 12 months, and flash sale retailers only average 1.41 orders in that time span.
Study: Retailers eye gamification to engage customers

Boston – With engaging the customer and managing the customer experience as top priorities for retailers, Boston Retail Partners’ 2015 CRM/Unified Commerce Survey indicates that 87% of retailers plan to use gamification to engage the customer within five years.
Report: Judge won’t block Target-MasterCard settlement

New York – Despite some reservations, a federal judge is reportedly refusing to block a proposed settlement between Target Corp. and MasterCard related to the retailer’s 2013 data breach. According to Reuters, U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson in St. Paul, Minnesota declined a request from a group of banks and credit unions to rule against the $19 million settlement.
Study: McDonalds lags in Twitter response

New York – McDonald’s responds more slowly to Twitter commentary than other major fast-food hamburger chains, but tweets more often than Wendy’s or Burger King. According to social media analysis conducted by the Wall Street Journal using a tool from Unmetric, Starbucks has 7.7 million Twitter followers, almost triple the 2.8 million Twitter followers held by McDonald’s, the number two fast food chain on Twitter.

Other findings include:
Study: April sales fall despite traffic boost

San Francisco – Retail sales in several top retail verticals fell despite increased shopper traffic in April 2015. According to a report from Wi-Fi location analytics provider Euclid, early Easter did not cause a drop-off in visits to the store, but consumer caution around spending tax refunds prevented a commensurate sales boost.

Euclid estimates sales growth in the following retail verticals of:

• 1.1% decline year-over-year in general merchandise, apparel, furniture and other (GAFO) retail sales.