Research Topic

Dallas – Consumers show a clear preference for one particular perk from retailer reward programs, and it isn’t cash back.

According to “The Road to Rewards,” a consumer behavior report from Excentus, more than 54% of U.S. consumers polled in July 2015 belong to loyalty programs that enable them to save on the cost of fuel.

Canton, Mass. — Specialty men’s retailer Destination XL Inc. reported Thursday that it shrank its net loss in the second quarter.

The company also raised its potential store count from 250 to 400. As a result, the retailer expects to open 30 to 40 DXL stores per year through fiscal 2020.

During fiscal 2015, Destination XL plans to open approximately 30 DXL retail and eight DXL outlet stores and close approximately 41 Casual Male XL and three Rochester clothing stores.

Memphis —  Fred’s Inc. remained unprofitable for its fifth consecutive quarter as pharmacy continued to weigh the chain down.

Fred’s reported a bigger-than-expected net loss of $4.9 million in the second quarter, down from $16.4 million for the same period last year. 

Reductions in the percent of revenue represented by cost of goods sold and selling, general and administrative expenses helped shrink net loss.

Net sales grew 10%, from $491.18 million to $546.08 million, while same-store sales grew 0.9%.

Minneapolis - The number of digitally distributed coupons for CPG brands on key websites received nourishment from food shoppers in the first half of 2015.

Overall CPG digital coupon distribution increased by 17%, according to analysis conducted by Kantar Media.

The increase was attributable primarily to food areas. Within food, the dry grocery area, which is historically the largest area in digitally distributed coupons, accounted for much of the growth.

Walmart plans to stop selling certain types of assault and sporting rifles, the company said on Wednesday.

“There wasn’t a whole lot of demand for those products so we replaced them with products we have seen customers coming into purchase it," Walmart spokesman Kory Lundberg told Fortune. 

The move comes as the largest seller of guns and ammunition in the U.S. has been a large part of the national gun debate following recent shootings.

New York -- Technology-related spending by chief marketing officers (CMOs) is on the rise.

According to a study from Foundation Capital, technology spend by CMOs will increase 10 fold in 10 years, growing from $12 billion to $120 billion.
 

New York -- Global mobile commerce is set to explode, according to Coupofy.com, a Seattle-based database of online coupon codes.  
The company predicts global mobile commerce will grow 42% annually between 2013 and 2016, compared to 13% for regular e-commerce. Mobile shoppers will spend an estimated $600 billion in 2018, up from $200 billion in 2014.

See more here.

New York – L.L. Bean continues to win top marks in overall customer service.

According to the latest quarterly Stella Service benchmarks, perennial high finisher L.L. Bean took top customer service honors in second quarter 2015. Following L.L. Bean were Mr. Porter, Shopbop, David Yuman and Net-a-Porter.