Research Topic

Boston – When it comes to managing records and information, retailers are surprisingly lax compared to members of many other industries.

According to a new study from enterprise information management provider Iron Mountain, just one in three retail businesses have a records and information manager.

New York -- A mannequin storm has been playing out on Facebook.

British fast-fashion giant Topshop said it will make a change in mannequins a customer complained on her Facebook page about the chain's "ridiculously tiny" mannequin.

In the post, which went viral, the customer appealed to the merchant to take responsibility "for the impression you have on women and young girls."

A recent study shatters several myths about the consumers who will spend nearly $290 billion in consumer-packaged goods by 2020: millennials.

Austin, Texas -- Whole Foods Market on Wednesday posted disappointing third quarter earnings and revenue, but it also gave out some more details about its new, value-driven store concept.

The company revealed that it will debut the format, 365 by Whole Foods Market, in the second half of next year, with the first store opening in the Silver Lake section of Los Angles. It plans to open up to five 365 stores (all in the second half of next year), with the expectation of doubling the number of openings in 2017. Stores will average about 30,000 sq. ft.

Pleasanton, Calif. - Shoppers are using a larger variety of payment options with digital and mobile payments serving as supplements to the traditional cash and card-based payments tools. According to a new study of 1,000 consumers released by Blackhawk Network, while 93% of consumers still use cash; 68% use debit cards; 62% use PayPal and 14% have made mobile payments on smartphones or tablets.

New York - With plenty of last year's supplies stowed in the closet and the option to restock at-will, back-to-school shoppers may be in no hurry to fill their shopping baskets by August.   

According to Deloitte's annual back-to-school and back-to-college surveys, 38% of surveyed parents shopping for children in grades K-12 said the back-to-school shopping season is less important to their families because they replenish school supplies throughout the year and feel less need to stock up.

New York -- A survey released Monday is in line with other reports that consumers do not plan to spend more this year on back-to-school supplies than they did last year. The survey also lists the 10 most popular retail brands for back-to-school purchases.

Target ranks as the most popular retail brand for back-to-school purchases, just ahead of Walmart, in the 21st annual Back-to-School survey by Brand Keys, the New York-based brand loyalty and emotional engagement research consultancy. Macy’s, CVS and Best Buy round out the top five.

Atlanta -- A sizeable number of businesses won’t meet the EMV transition deadline, according to a survey by Randstad Technologies.