Research Topic

San Jose, Calif. – Black Friday (Nov. 28) is expected to be the busiest shopping day of 2014. According to data from in-store analytics provider RetailNext, it will be followed in order by four days in December: Dec. 20, 21, 13 and 19.
For the broader holiday period spanning November and December 2014, RetailNext predicts store traffic will be down 4% from the 2013 holiday period, while sales will be flat to 1% lower, conversions will be up 0.5% and average transaction value will rise 3.5%.

Hollywood, Calif. - Online and offline consumer conversations and recommendations account for 13% of consumer sales, on average, which represents $6 trillion in annual consumer spending. In higher price-point categories, word of mouth's impact is almost 20% of sales, according to a new study from the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA).

RESTON, Va. — Total online retail spending for the November–December period will reach $61.0 billion, a 16% gain versus year ago, according to comScore’s 2014 holiday forecast.  Spending using desktop computers for that period is expected to reach $53.2 billion, up 14%  year-over-year, which is 4 percentage points higher than last season’s 10-percent growth rate.

Mobile commerce is predicted to account for $7.9 billion of retail spending, representing 13% of total digital commerce and growing at an annual rate of 25% vs. last season.

Increased use of tablets and smartphone this holiday season will help online sales grow 16% to a record $61 billion, but desktop computers still dominate, according to the online measurement firm comScore.

The company said online sales during the November and December timeframe would be primarily driven by desktop computers, but noted that mobile devices are growing at a faster rate. Spending using desktop computers is projected to grow 14% to $53.2 billion while mobile commerce is projected to grow 25% to $7.9 billion and account for 13% of total e-commerce sales.

New York, N.Y. - Perceptions about private label are overwhelmingly favorable. Almost three-quarters of global respondents (71%) say store-brand quality has improved over time, according to a new study by Nielsen.
Price is a primary driver of purchase intent among 70% of global respondents, but quality is important, too. Two-thirds (67%) believe private labels offer extremely good value for money.

New York, N.Y. - Just more than half of all Americans (51%) plan to purchase toys as gifts in the upcoming holiday season, nearly consistent with the prior year's intent (50%). Not surprisingly, according to a new Harris Poll of 2,205 U.S, adults, parents of a child under the age of 18 are twice as likely to purchase toys as those without children younger than the age of 18 (82% compared 41%, respectively).   

New York -- The Deloitte Consumer Spending Index marginally dipped in October after two months of consecutive increases. The Index tracks consumer cash flow as an indicator of future consumer spending.    The Index, which comprises four components--tax burden, initial unemployment claims, real wages and real home prices--decreased to 4.1 in October from 4.4 the prior month.      Highlights of the Index include:   

Indianapolis -- Nearly four-fifths of holiday shoppers (79%) begin their holiday shopping prior to Thanksgiving weekend. According to new data from Simon, Millennials are significantly more likely than all other generations to plan to shop on Black Friday (67%) and Christmas Eve (20%) this holiday season.   Other notable findings include: