Research Topic

Since their meteoric rise last year, 3D printers have captured the imaginations of consumers and businesses alike. 3D printers work like inkjet printers on steroids — rather than depositing a single layer of ink, 3D printers spin out successive layers until a final product is created based on a computer-aided design (“CAD”) blueprint.

Consumer interest in wearables is booming for reasons that retailers should find encouraging.

New research from Mintel reveals that the U.S. wearable technology market is experiencing unprecedented growth, with estimated sales increasing 186% from 2014-2015, reaching $7 billion in 2015.

And despite just one in 10 consumers owning a fitness tracker (12%) or smartwatch (7%), 16% of consumers said they planned to purchase a fitness tracker or smartwatch in the final three months of 2015.

Some major retailers sharply reduced their use of printed free standing inserts (FSIs) last year but the total dollar value of FSIs still grew to a record $515 billion.

The value of free standing insert (FSI) coupons increased 3.7% in 2015 to $515 billion, according to Kantar Media. However, the number of FSI pages distributed fell 8.1% as marketers cut back on pages that didn’t include a coupon. The number of coupons circulated increased nominally versus the prior year, and combined with higher face value led to growth in dollars circulated.

Consumer interest in wearables is booming for reasons that retailers should find encouraging.
 
New research from Mintel reveals that the U.S. wearable technology market is experiencing unprecedented growth, with estimated sales increasing 186% from 2014-2015, reaching $7 billion in 2015.
 
And despite just one in 10 consumers owning a fitness tracker (12%) or smartwatch (7%), 16% of consumers said they planned to purchase a fitness tracker or smartwatch in the final three months of 2015.
 

E-commerce retailers might think new customers acquired during the holiday season are a gift, but they many not keep on giving.

It may seem an unlikely location, but the future of retail may soon be invented in abandoned gift shop on the ground floor of a parking garage at the University of Arkansas thank

Consumers are increasing their use of apps for a specific purpose that should make retailers happy.

According to a new survey of U.S. adults conducted by KRC Research for Verizon, 56% of consumers made a product purchase with a smartphone app in 2015. This figure includes 23% of smartphone owners who purchased a product with an app for the first time.

By age group, 70% of millennials age 18-34 made a product purchase using an app in 2015, an 85% increase from 2014. This led 66% of Gen Xers and 39% of Baby Boomers who did so.