Research Topic

New York -- Hip online eyewear retailer Warby Parker continues its brick-and-mortar expansion. The company has opened its 12th store to date, in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood.  

The 2,200-sq.-ft. store is Warby Parker’s first permanent location in the Midwest. It joins locations in cities across the nation, including such as New York, Miami, Dallas and Los Angeles.

New York -- An early Easter that drew shoppers into stores in March and slowing economic growth helped cut into retailers’ April sales results.

At Costco Wholesale Corp., April same-store sales were flat, slightly below analysts’ estimates, primarily due to the strong U.S. dollar and lower gas prices. Sales at U.S. stores increased 2% for the four weeks ended May 3. Internationally, sales fell 4%.  

Total revenue inched up 2% to $8.75 billion.

San Francisco -- Americans modestly increased their spending in April, with growth across most major purchase categories, according to Visa’s Retail Spending Monitor (RSM), a quarterly report that tracks retail spending patterns based on real-time purchase data.  Retail spending in April was up 4.5% from the prior year, excluding automobile and gasoline purchases.

London -- Retailers worldwide lose a staggering $1.75 trillion annually due to the cost of overstocks, out-of-stocks and needless returns, according to new research from retail analyst firm IHL Group, commissioned by OrderDynamics.

With retailers and CPG companies continuing to struggle with in-store execution issues like on-shelf availability, inventory and promotions, leading supply chain analytics and insights provider Orchestro asked industry thought leaders to weigh in on the three key questions.

Go to the Orchestro article by clicking here.

 

Cincinnati -- Grocery shoppers have a resounding message for grocery retailers who have been enticing them with fuel rewards for over a decade: Fuel rewards alone aren’t winning their loyalty. Grocery discounts are the new value driver.

Sam’s Club is celebrating National Small Business Week in a very big way.

The retailer is launching the Small Business Economic Mobility initiative (SBEM), a five-year investment in small business growth through increased access to capital and borrower education, with grants totaling $13.6 million to eight national nonprofits.

Only 53% of executives believe the EMV chip and pin will protect against a data breach, despite claims that it is more secure, according to a new study.

Shopper sentiment surged in the first quarter of 2015 amid optimism over the labor market, job stability, personal finances and gas prices, according to a new survey.

For the second year in a row, CVS Health is teaming up with the American Lung Association to help beat lung cancer with a national in-store fundraising campaign to support Lung Force — an initiative that encourages people to stand together against lung cancer, the No.