Research Topic

New York -- Verve Mobile, a provider of in-store mobile advertising technology, and RetailNext, an in-store analytics solutions vendor, are launching a partnership to bring the combined power of location-based advertising and in-store analytics to brick-and-mortar retail customers. Now with the combined capabilities of Verve and RetailNext, retailers using the technologies can leverage a full range of tools that enhance their ability to see how location-targeted mobile advertising is correlated to driving foot traffic and sales.

Marshalls wanted to see how confident women are and asked 1,000 women if they have ever held themselves back due to a lack of confidence.

The retailer found that three out of four women (75%) have said no to an activity or opportunity due to lack of confidence. Marshalls enlisted the help of celebrity stylist Elizabeth Stewart and body language expert Dr. Lillian Glass to provide confidence boosting tips to help women say yes more often “in fashion and in life.”

New York -- The month of March saw a steep rise in smartphone-generated traffic, orders, and revenue by consumers to retailer smartphone-optimized websites over the year-ago period, according to mobile commerce platform Branding Brand. In March 2014, smartphones generated 29.4% of total online visits, up 42.7% from March 2013 (62.9% iOS, 36.4% Android). The market share of non-mobile (desktop) visits decreased 21.1% from March 2013 to March 2014.

Washington, D.C. -- Retail employment increased 18,200 in March and 229,000 year-over-year, according to the National Retail Federation. The increase is consistent with recent positive economic indicator reports and bodes well for income and consumer confidence as the industry enters into the busy spring selling season.

Bentonville, Ark. -- One-in-three microbusiness owners (31%) depend more on a second job for their personal income than they do on their business, yet 69% say owning their business is the ideal job. In collaboration with Gallup, Sam’s Club has unveiled a new quarterly tracking poll focused on America’s smallest businesses, or microbusinesses, with five or fewer workers.

New York -- Consumers worldwide are increasingly using multi-platform devices, especially mobile, to enhance their in-store shopping experience, according to a study by global digital and technology agency DigitasLBi.

In the study, "Connected Commerce: A Snapshot of the Modern Shopper,” 71% of Americans say that using a mobile phone while shopping inside a store could affect their buying decisions.

Deerfield, Ill. - Walgreens had March 2014 sales of $6.43 billion, an increase of 4.5% from $6.16 billion for the same month in fiscal 2013.

Same-store sales increased by 3.5% in March. Calendar day shifts positively impacted total same-store sales by 0.6%.

Camp Hill, Pa. -- For the four weeks ended March 29, 2014, same-store sales at Rite Aid increased 0.7% from the prior-year period. March front-end same-store sales decreased 5%, with 4.1% of the decrease attributable to a shift in the timing of Easter, which falls on April 20 in 2014 compared to March 31 in the prior year.

Total drugstore sales for the four-week period increased 0.4% to $1.95 billion, compared to $1.94 billion for the same period last year.

Jeffersonville, Ind. - The key to repeat customers is personalized communication from brands after purchases. According to a new survey of 1,000 U.S. consumers from multichannel customer engagement solutions provider Accent Marketing Services LLC, 86% of consumers say it’s important to have a positive experience after making a purchase.

Key findings in the report also include:

• Nearly half of consumers interact with brands after a purchase.

Sam’s Club and the Gallup organization have launched a new quarterly tracking poll that focuses on the smallest of small business.

The poll is designed to look at what Sam’s is calling “microbusiness,” companies with five or fewer employees, that represent a core customer of Sam’s Club and are estimated to total 25 million.