Research Topic

Irving, Texas – Net income at Michael’s Stores Inc. soared 36% to $143 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013 from $105 million in the same quarter the previous year. Net sales grew 2% to $1.55 billion from $1.52 billion and same-store sales rose 4.2%.

Michael’s credited a 53rd week in fiscal 2013, as well as increases in average ticket size and transactions, as driving its fourth quarter performance.

San Francisco - Consumers avoid doing business with a breached organization at a high rate. According to a new study conducted by Javelin Strategy & Research and commissioned by data management solution provider, Identity Finder, 33% of customers will shop elsewhere if their retailer of choice is breached.

Waban, Mass. – Grocery chain H.E.B. tied with the banking business of financial services provider USAA for the top spot in consumer forgiveness. Based on a study of 10,000 U.S consumers, the two companies both came in first in the 2014 Temkin Forgiveness Ratings, which rates 268 companies across 19 industries.

Dallas – The global mobile commerce market will grow from $116.1 billion in 2014 to $467.3 billion in 2019. According to a new report from MarketsandMarkets, in terms of geographies, North America and Europe are expected to be the biggest markets in terms of revenue contribution, while Asia-Pacific and Middle East-Africa are expected to experience increased market traction during the forecast period.

The proliferation of gift cards has spawned the creation of unique app that can help retailers unlock the value of unspent gift cards.

Digital interactions influence 36 cents of every dollar spent in the retail store, or approximately $1.1 trillion, according to the latest study from Deloitte Digital. The study also found that by the end of 2014, that number will climb to 50%, or $1.5 trillion of total store sales.

The study, "The New Digital Divide," quantifies the extent to which consumers' use of desktop and laptop computers, tablets and smartphones influences brick-and-mortar store sales.

Atlanta – Severe weather had a negative impact on financial performance at Aaron’s Inc. during the first quarter of fiscal 2014. Compared to the same period a year earlier, Aaron’s net earnings declined 25% to $38.3 million from $51 million.

Revenues dropped 1% to $585.4 million compared to $593.0 million for the first quarter in 2013. Same-store sales shrank 2.1%.

Washington, D.C. – U.S. consumers spent more than $21 billion on video game content, hardware and accessories in 2013. According to a new report from the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), the trade association representing the U.S. video game industry, called “2014 Essential Facts about the Computer and Video Game Industry,” 181.3 million Americans play video games.

Other findings from the report include:

• 51% of U.S. households own a game console, and those that do own an average of two;

Franklin, Tenn. – China was the fastest-growing country in Asia during 2013 in terms of new POS terminal installed. According to a new report from IHL Group, “Asia/Pacific POS Terminal Study,” China had 12% year-over-year growth in year-over-year POS terminal installations.

The Asia/Pacific region as a whole experienced 6.5% POS terminal growth. Other findings include that uncertainty about foreign ownership of retailers slowed POS growth in India to 8% and that Vietnam was the newest hot market for new POS devices.

Westlake Village, Calif. -- Paint retailers with well-trained staffers will drive a more positive purchase experience, this according to the J.D. Power 2014 Paint Satisfaction Study.