Research Topic

Austin, Texas – Thirty-five percent of consumers would stop shopping at a store where their data was hacked. According to a recent survey of almost 2,000 consumers by software consulting firm Software Advice, another 22% would be much less willing to shop there.

San Jose, Calif. - For the month of June, soccer-related searches across the U.S. sites of eight international sporting goods and apparel retailers increased by 280%, compared to May. According to analysis from SLI Systems, there were more than 2.2 million U.S. soccer-related product searches from these eight e-commerce sites alone, with a corresponding boost in online shopping behavior during June for products including soccer cleats, balls, shin guards, gloves and other equipment.

Westlake Village, Calif. -- Hhgregg ranks highest in appliance retailer customer satisfaction, followed by Lowe’s, according to the J.D. Power 2014 Appliance Retailer Satisfaction Study. The survey found that a knowledgeable sales staff providing a prompt, courteous and engaging customer service experience helps drive satisfaction with home appliance retailer.

San Francisco - Shopper traffic declined 9% in June, compared to the same month the previous year, as vacations, holidays, and record-breaking World Cup viewership cannibalized time spent on shopping-related activities. According to data from in-store analytics provider Euclid, despite the reduced traffic, high levels of consumer confidence boosted shoppers’ spending habits with .2% growth year-over-year in general merchandise, apparel, furniture and other (GAFO) retail sales

New York - Imports to the U.S. were steady in May 2014 from the previous month, though there was a measurable year-over-year increase. Data from supply chain research firm Panjiva shows that May 2014 showed levels of imports 4% above imports in May 2013.

Though sales were up 3% and income increased 1% for WD-40 Company in the third quarter, shares for the lubricants and cleaner supplier were down more than 6% Thursday morning after management narrowed the full-year guidance.

Net sales for the quarter came in at $95.7 million, up from $93.1 million in the same quarter last year. This was largely carried by sales of multi-purpose maintenance products; sales of homecare and cleaning products decreased 1%.

Retail sales generally improved in June, helped by good weather and big discounts as retailers look to clear inventory for the back-to-school season.
 
Costco Wholesale Corp. reported a 6% increase in June same-store sales, helped by higher fuel prices. Its results topped Wall Street estimates.

Excluding the impact of foreign exchange rates and gasoline prices, Costco’s same-store sales increased 6% for the five-week period ended July 6. The metric rose 5% in the United States and 7% overseas.  

Lumber Liquidators doesn’t report its second-quarter results until July 31. But reduced customer traffic along with weak macroeconomic trends related to residential remodeling and a drop in home sales have prompted the company to revisit its outlook for the quarter and full year.

The company’s net sales for the quarter increased 2.3% to $263.1 million, from $257.1 million in the prior-year quarter. At comparable stores, however, net sales decreased 7.1% for the quarter, in comparison to an increase of 14.9% for the second quarter of the prior year.  

New York -- Ron Johnson, who has been keeping a low profile since he was ousted from J.C. Penney in April 2013, made a rare guest appearance at Stanford University. Johnson, a graduate of Stanford and a member of its board, was a guest speaker at the university's View From the Top series in May, where he discussed with Stanford Graduate School of Business students Penny, Apple and Target and the lessons learned over his career in retail.

Chicago – Understanding shopping and buying behavior is the most common challenge facing retailers. According to a survey of nearly 200 retailers, executives, financial analysts, industry analysts and university academics at the recent ShopperTrak users group conference, 44% of attendees reported that understanding consumer behavior in-store is currently their biggest challenge.