Research Topic

NEW YORK — With Toy Fair happening now in New York City, the Toy Industry Association has revealed what it believes are the top toy trends for 2013. 

The year started on a positive note with increases in both number of flyers and pages released to market. More than half of the retailers (56%) maintained previous levels or showed an increase in size of their circulars in January 2013. In addition, the number of inserts per market also showed an increase with almost half (44%) of the advertisers showing a rise in flyer drops for this month. Overall, the number of pages increased slightly (+3.1%), and the number of flyers rose (+8.4%) compared to last year.

CHICAGO and BENTONVILLE, Ark. — In light of Walmart's recent decision to share its point-of-sale (POS) data with select research companies for the first time since 2001, research company SymphonyIRI Group has partnered with 8th & Walton, a Walmart supplier education and Retail Link training business, to offer courses that will educate suppliers on the use of Walmart and multi-outlet POS data. Classes began Jan. 15 and are open to all interested Walmart suppliers with approved access to multi-outlet POS data.

New York -- Michael Kors Holdings Ltd. reported Tuesday that profit for the quarter ended Dec. 29 decreased to $636.8 million, compared with $373.6 million in the year-ago period.

However, the designer and retailer forecasted fiscal 2013 profit at more than double its year-earlier performance.   

Revenue surged 70% in the third quarter, fueled by strength in the accessories category, and the company predicts that fiscal 2013 sales will leap 62%.
 

Atlanta -- A report released Tuesday by First Data Corp. found that dollar volume growth rebounded in January, improving to 6.2% versus 4% in December despite the payroll tax increase.

The First Data SpendTrend report, which tracks same-store consumer spending by credit, signature debit, PIN debit, EBT, closed-loop prepaid cards and checks at U.S. merchant locations, found that improved retail spending was a large contributor to the January growth.   

Chicago -- A new Symphony Consulting survey found that the new 2% increase in payroll tax is causing a major shopping behavioral change among lower-income families.

A division of SymphonyIRI Group, Symphony Consulting revealed Monday that dollar stores may be the biggest winners in the battle for the lower-income spenders’ purchasing power.

Ann Arbor, Mich. -- Amazon has extended its domination of e-retail into the mobile platform, according to the ForeSee Mobile Satisfaction Index: Holiday Retail Edition, released on Tuesday by ForeSee.

In a survey of more than 6,200 consumers collected during the peak holiday shopping season between Thanksgiving and Christmas, Amazon scored highest among 25 of the top mobile commerce companies.

New York -- In a survey released Tuesday, Amazon.com topped America’s list of companies with great reputations, joined by Apple and Google in the top five.

The 2013 Harris Poll Reputation Quotient, which polls the general public about the reputations of the 60 most visible U.S. companies, put Amazon in the top spot for the first time, although it consistently has earned high rankings. Amazon edged out Apple, which ranked first last year and second in 2013.

Walt Disney Co., Google, and Johnson & Johnson completed the top five.

OTTAWA, Ontario — PlaSmart Inc., the Ottawa-based global toy distributor, announced that its brainteaser game PerplexusTM Epic was named the 2013 Game of the Year last night by the Toy Industry Association.

The Toy of The Year (TOTY) award is the latest accolade earned by PerplexusTM Epic, which also received the PTPA (Parent Tested Parent Approved) Media Seal of Approval, among others.

Total U.S. Shopper Traffic in Retail Stores and Malls for January 2013

Retailers pushed to extend the high level of holiday shopping and foot traffic by promoting post-holiday specials and markdowns on seasonal merchandise in January. However, as expected, shopper traffic continued to drop off significantly after the end of the holiday season.