Research Topic

New York -- Putting social media functions entirely within control of marketing and communications is a mistake, according to a new study conducted by Tata Consultancy Services, a leading IT services, consulting and business solutions organization, of over 60. Forty-five percent of respondents in North America said marketing controls social media, but most companies aren’t satisfied with this structure.

Atlanta -- Among the affluent households, the average expenditure for December holiday gifts in 2013 is estimated to be $2,175 down 2.8% from 2012, according to a new survey of the wealthiest 10% of U.S. households by the American Affluence Research Center. However, affluent households spent in 2012 almost 7% more than they had anticipated in the 2012 survey, supporting the premise that people often tend to spend more for gifts than they had planned.
 

Caty, N.C. – Consumers have somewhat contradictory desires for greater data privacy and for businesses to have detailed insight into their personal needs, and also have seen improvement in how businesses use personal data. According to a new study from analytics technology provider SAS, 71% of 1,260 respondents surveyed said that recent news about government access to personal data increased their privacy concerns.

Boston -- For the second year in a row, Dollar General came out on top in Kantar Retail’s opening price point (OPP) survey, narrowly beating out Walmart Supercenter. The OPP survey, now in its third year, determines how select retailers meet the grocery and consumable needs of shoppers looking for the lowest shelf prices to fulfill their basket requirements.

Cleveland - The Sherwin-Williams Company increased net income 12%, to $262.97 million from $234.95 million, during the third quarter of fiscal 2013.

Net sales grew 9.4% to $2.85 billion from $2.6 billion.

A compressed shopping season coupled with the continued growth of e-commerce has UPS forecasting that peak season daily package volumes will grow by 8%.

New York -- The Millennial generation is expected to outspend Baby Boomers by 2017, yet retailers underestimate the size and purchasing power of this consumer, according to a new study by Berglass + Associates and Women’s Wear Daily.

The study, “What Happens When Millennials Get the Wallet,” found that retailers do not fully understand the needs of Millennials and are employing business strategies and tactics that do not apply to this customer.
 

New York – Grocery discounter Aldi has been ranked the world’s “simplest” brand, with simplicity defined as a clarity of purpose that enables employee innovation and customer service. According to the annual 2013 Global Brand Simplicity Index from strategic marketing firm Siegel & Gale, Amazon.com is ranked second, followed by Google, which came out on top this year. The report is based on a study of 10,000 consumers in seven countries,

New York – Although dads are making inroads, moms still dominate purchase decisions in most U.S, households. According to a September 2013 survey by Child's Play Communications, moms remain the major household purchasing decision maker in about 80% of families.

Other notable findings include:

A unique perspective into the holiday season was provided by leading payments processor Vantiv when the company reported strong third quarter results but expressed reservations about the volume of activity during the fourth quarter.

The company said its third quarter revenues increase 14% to $532 million and net income on an adjusted basis increase 17% to $80 million compared to $68.1 million while adjusted earnings per share increased 25% to 40 cents from 32 cents.