Research Topic

Washington, D.C. — Consumers leveled off post-holiday shopping and spending in the beginning of the year due in part to severe winter weather in much of the country. According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), January 2014 retail sales, excluding automobiles, gas stations and restaurants, were flat seasonally adjusted month-to-month, yet increased 3% unadjusted year-over-year.

Chicago — Consumers reportedly are not willing to pay higher fees for Amazon Prime subscription service. According to the Wall Street Journal, a recent survey of 300 current Amazon Prime members from research firm Consumer Intelligence Research Partners indicates fewer than half of members would renew their subscription at a higher cost.

Boston — Businesses are spending more money on and paying more attention to user experience research. According to a new survey of 1,300 marketing, product and user experience professionals from user experience technology provider Usertesting.com, 55% say usability testing budget increased in 2013.

Chicago — L.L. Bean has been ranked number one in online customer experience. The E-tailing Group 2013 Customer Experience Index, based on a mystery shopping study conducted during the fourth quarter of 2013, awarded L.L. Bean a top score of 88.75, followed by HSN at 87.25.

Other retailers scoring higher than 80 included Office Depot, Overstock, Amazon, Wal-Mart, Sears, Abt, Target, and Dick’s Sporting Goods. Average score in 2013 was 71.06, up from 69.3 in 2012. Repeat winners from 2012 included Amazon and Office Depot.

Consumers leveled off post-holiday shopping and spending in the beginning of the year due in part to severe winter weather in much of the country. According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), January 2014 retail sales, excluding automobiles, gas stations and restaurants, were flat seasonally adjusted month-to-month, yet increased 3% unadjusted year-over-year.

Atlanta -- Consumer spending growth declined from December to January, but remained relatively healthy at 2.5%, according to First Data’s January 2014 SpendTrend report. SpendTrend tracks same-store point-of-sale data by credit, signature debit, PIN debit, EBT, closed-loop prepaid cards and checks from nearly four million U.S. merchant locations serviced by First Data. The report cited the severe winter weather that pummeled the Midwest and eastern half of the country as a factor in the decline.

Reston, Va. -- comScore promoted president Serge Matta to the role of CEO as the digital measurement firm swung to a profit in the fourth quarter.

Matta fills the position occupied by Dr. Magid Abraham who, along with Gian Fulgoni, co-founded the company. Abraham will relinquish the CEO role and serve as executive chairman of the board of directors, assuming a position currently held by Fulgoni who will become chairman emeritus. All appointments are effective March 1.

ComScore elevated president Serge Matta to the role of CEO as the digital measurement firm reported recorded fourth-quarter and full-year results.

Matta fills the position occupied by Dr. Magid Abraham who along with Gian Fulgoni co-founded the company. Abraham will relinquish the CEO role and serve as executive chairman of the board of directors, assuming a position currently held by Fulgoni who will become chairman emeritus.

With usage of electronic cigarettes on the rise, a new study by e-cig manufacturer Mistic contends the majority of Americans are not opposed to second hand vapor.
 

Chicago -- Retail CFOs are feeling more confident about the state of the consumer, forecast a 5.1% increase in total sales and a 4.8% increase in same-store sales this year, according to a new BDO USA survey. The finding marks a significant increase from the number expressing similar sentiments last year.

In the study,  a majority (63%) of CFOs indicate that they include online sales in their comparable sales projections, suggesting that some of this expected growth and optimism may be linked to the exploding popularity of e-commerce.