Research Topic

New York -- Ralph Lauren Corp. reported Wednesday that profit for the quarter ended June 29 dipped 6% to $181 million, compared with $193 million in the year-ago period.

Sales edge up 4% in the period, to $1.61 billion, but missed Wall Street’s estimated $1.65 billion in revenue. Same-store sales slipped 1%.

The fashion retailer has issued a cautious sales outlook, projecting a low-single-digit increase in current quarter revenue from last year’s $1.86 billion.

Los Angeles – Total spending on at-home entertainment in the U.S. declined 1.4% in the second quarter of this year compared to the same time period last year, according to research by Digital Entertainment Group. Consumers spent $3.94 billion on at-home entertainment in second quarter 2013, compared to $4 billion in second quarter 2012.

Waban, Mass. – Amazon.com was the top-ranked company across 19 industries in the 2013 Web Experience Ratings from Temkin Group. Amazon.com had a score of 77%, almost 21 percentage points higher than the retail industry average.

Other retailers in the top 10 included eBay, tied for fifth place at 70%, and QVC, tied for eighth place at 69%. Taco Bell and Kmart earned ratings that were at least 15 points below the retail industry average. Old Navy was the only retailer to have a double-digit score increase from last year.

Franklin, Tenn. – More than $11.6 billion of retail IT spending, or 35% of the total, will come from budgets other than that of the CIO. Of that total “black ops” IT spend, $6.6 billion will come from the activities of the CMO and their purchases of hardware, software, SaaS, and services outside of the CIO budget.

CHANTILLY, Va. — Small businesses are increasingly embracing mobile and social platform to improve their operational efficiency and promotion, according to the latest findings from local media consulting company BIA/Kelsey’s “Local Commerce Monitor” tracking survey.

Portsmouth, R.I. -- Readers now prefer e-books to printed paperbacks and use social media to help make purchase decisions, and Amazon.com is the overwhelming first choice for book purchases. Results of a survey of almost 3,000 readers conducted by novelist Marie Force show that 77% of respondents read e-books and 52% read paperbacks, although multiple answers to this questions were allowed meaning some readers may use both formats.

Washington, D.C. -- The National Retail Federation said the retail industry added 37,000 jobs in the month of July, with increases in general merchandise, food and beverage and building and garden supply stores.

Toronto, Ontario – More than four-in-10 (44%) Canadian back-to-school shoppers want more online options. A new survey from Staples Canada, the Staples Back-to-School Annual Study, also indicates that 70% of Canadian back-to-school shoppers consider a back-to-school budget important.

The survey also uncovered a number of regional differences in back-to-school preferences, such as:

New York -- Households with school-age children (pre-kindergarten through 12th grade) plan a big cut-back in back-to-school spending. Results of the 2013 Brand Keys Back to School Report Card show that there will be a year-over-year decrease of 10% in back-to-school spending, or an average spend this year of just more than $600 per household.

However, not every retailer will experience a decline in back-to-school profits. This year, the eight retailers showing the greatest increase in consumer intent-to-shop were:

1. Amazon