Research Topic

Walmart’s integrity suffered a blow this week in a Bloomberg piece with the inflammatory headline, “How Walmart made its crumbling China business look so good for so long.”

University of Arkansas alumni Ann and Gene Bordelon have contributed $100,000 to establish the Faculty Innovation Endowed Fund for the benefit of the Sam M. Walton College of Business.

LAKELAND, Fla.- For the fifth consecutive year, Publix Pharmacy is the highest-ranking pharmacy in overall satisfaction in the supermarket segment according to J.D. Power & Associate Satisfaction Survey, a customer satisfaction benchmark study that provides pharmacy-specific performance comparisons among brick and mortar pharmacies.  

By Shannon Warner, Cognizant Technology Solutions   Talk about a gap: 62% of shoppers say loyalty program membership is beneficial, but only 26% consider retailers’ programs worth joining.   

Arlington, Va. - Gift cards will surpass $124 billion in sales in 2014, up 5% from 2013. According to from advisory firm CEB TowerGroup, the gift card market should undergo an annual growth rate of 5-6% through 2017, but double-digit growth rates experienced in recent years have peaked and subsided.

Arlington, Va. - Gift cards will surpass $124 billion in sales in 2014, up 5% from 2013. According to from advisory firm CEB TowerGroup, the gift card market should undergo an annual growth rate of 5-6% through 2017, but double-digit growth rates experienced in recent years have peaked and subsided.  

Petaluma, Calif. – During the second week of the holiday shopping season (Dec. 1-7), smartphone and tablet shoppers were especially generous spenders. According to data compiled by e-commerce software provider MarketLive, year-over-year online revenue generated by consumers using smartphones grew 107%, or slightly more than double.  

New York - The cost of healthcare, the ability to maintain margins
 and the ability to continue to grow revenue are the top business challenges in the retail sector. That’s according to GE Capital’s new national survey of c-suite executives at middle-market companies (ranging from $10 million - <$1 billion in sales).  

Gap Inc., is the only retailer to appear on a flawed list called The Civic50 that presumes to recognize the nation’s most community-minded companies.

Now in its third year, the lack of retail representation on The Civic50 is highly curious considering retailers enjoy a high level of visibility within the communities where they operate and are typically quite generous in supporting local charities and national causes. The consumer packaged goods was also under-represented on The Civic50 although companies such as ConAgra, General Mills and Hershey were included.

NEW YORK - Overall U.S. retail sales (excluding auto) are expected to grow 3%-4% in 2015 although a variety of challenges will continue to constrain the performance of several retailers and retail segments, according to a new Fitch Ratings report.   A gradual increase in the U.S. employment rate and real wages along with near-term benefits from lower gas prices will support retail sales growth.