Research Topic

Boston – Six-in-10 (59%) Millennial women make product recommendations to share highly positive or negative consumer experiences. However, according to a new survey of 1,100 American women without children born between 1979 and 1993 by Mom Central Consulting, 50% say that reading a bad review online about a business wouldn’t stop them from shopping/visiting.

Boulder, Colo. — Kroger is the highest ranked gasoline retailer for customer satisfaction among American consumers. According to a new study of 5,300 consumers from Market Force Information, Costco and Quik Trip tied for second, Sam’s Club ranked third, and Murphy USA, which operates standalone stations and on-site stations at Walmart Supercenters, was fourth.

Waban, Mass. - After a drop in daily Facebook usage on computers in 2013, U.S. consumers increased their daily use of Facebook, from 42.5% of the population in 2013 to 46.5% in 2014, according to new research by the Temkin Group. The "Social Media Benchmark Study, 2014" examines 10,000 U.S. consumers' use of several different social media sites, on computers and mobile devices, and compares the results to previous studies from 2012 and 2013.

North Plainfield, N.J. — Levin Management has released its annual June survey of store mangers within its 95-property, 13 million-sq.-ft. shopping center portfolio.

Toronto – New research from loyalty currency management provider Points shows that offering points and miles for everyday purchases is the most effective means of driving consumer loyalty. Points surveyed more than 1,500 loyalty program members from across North America and found that 83% earn points and miles on everyday purchases.

The bad weather that hurt Bed Bath & Beyond during the fourth quarter may have abated, but the company’s sales still grew at a slower than expected pace during the first quarter and caused profits to come in toward the low end of expectations.

Rebates for lighting upgrades are alive and well, with rebate organizations having updated their rebate and incentive programs for 2014. Currently, 71% of the country is covered by an active commercial lighting rebate, according to BriteSwitch, Princeton, New Jersey, which helps large national companies take advantage of rebate and incentive programs that exist across the United States and Canada.

Here is a review of major rebate trends from BriteSwitch: 

San Francisco – Gap Inc. has reportedly experienced a 10% increase in job applications since its February announcement that it would raise its minimum wage for employees to $10 per hour by 2015. According to Bloomberg, the increase has occurred across all Gap brands, including Banana Republic and Athletica, but has been most pronounced at Old Navy, where applications had previously been declining.

Naples, Fla. – One-in-four global consumers has been victimized by card fraud in the past five years. According to a new study conducted by ACI Worldwide and Aite Group, the United Arab Emirates has the highest rate of credit, debit and prepaid card fraud overall at 44%, followed by China at 42% and India and the United States at 41% each.

Other findings include:

• 63% of global consumers (respondents) who have experienced fraud are more likely to use their cards less.

Believe it or not (and I can barely believe it myself), the critical back-to-school period at the end of summer is right around the corner. While back-to-school is always big for retailers, this year’s period could be an especially important one, as 2014 has been underwhelming so far.