Research Topic

Reston, Va. -- Survey results released Monday by comScore revealed that the most recent work-week saw four individual days eclipse $1 billion in spending, led by Green Monday with $1.275 billion.

comScore, which has monitored holiday season retail e-commerce spending for the first 44 days of the November–December 2012 holiday season, reported that to date $33.8 billion has been spent online, marking a 13% increase versus the corresponding days last year.

Chicago -- E-commerce and digital marketing company Acquity Group announced Monday social media findings that revealed the vast majority of retailers don’t respond to customer tweets.
 
The 2012 Brand eCommerce Audit evaluated Interbrand's 2012 Best Retail Brands on customer engagement across major digital channels, including big browser, social and mobile.
 

Executives at Coach, Sherwin-Williams, Ross and TJX Companies were among the top wealth creators identified by Chief Executive magazine’s 5th annual Wealth Creation Index.

Lew Frankfort, CEO at Coach topped the list with Sherwin-Williams CEO Christopher Connor and AutoZone CEO William Rhodes, ranked 14th and 16th, respectively. Other top wealth creators included 27th ranked Ross Stores CEO Michael Balmuth and TJX CEO Carol Meyerowitz. Bed Bath & Beyond CEO Steven Temares was ranked 59th and Amazon.com CEO Jess Bezos was 75th.

Toronto -- As consumers continue to seek more convenient methods of shopping, through mobile and online, the potential for further sales erosion continues to threaten retailers, according to a new study by branding and design firm Shikatani Lacroix.

The report, “RE:STORE – Redefining Retail,” finds that 59% of U.S. shoppers “showroom” – or browse for products in store but then buy them online.

Philadelphia -- Eighty-one percent of online shoppers say they are not likely to make additional purchases from websites that charge shipping on returns and 69% feeling that returning items purchased online is a complicated process, according to a survey by ShopRunner that was conducted online by Harris Interactive.

New York -- Best Buy Co. on Friday said it agreed to extend the deadline to Feb. 28 for founder Richard Schulze to make a bid for the company.

The company said it is in the best interest of shareholders to let Schulze and his partners include results from the holiday season in their due diligence review.

Former Best Buy chairman Richard Schulze is reportedly close to reaching an agreement to buy the company he founded, according to a Minneapolis Star Tribune report citing a source close to the situation.

New York -- After nearly a year of steady gains, the Deloitte Consumer Spending Index (Index) fell in November due to a slowdown in the rise of new home prices and an accelerating decline in real wages. The Index tracks consumer cash flow as an indicator of future consumer spending.
 

Chicago -- Shoppers continued their holiday quest during the week ending Dec. 8, according to ShopperTrak. Consumer activity drove a 7.8% increase in foot traffic and 6.5% increase in sales from the previous week.  

Consumers, however, were not as active as they were at this time last year, and retail foot traffic decreased 0.7% and sales decreased 1.5% when compared to the same period in 2011.
    

Washington, D.C. -- A report released Thursday by the Commerce Department said that U.S. retail sales rose 0.3% in November from October, reflecting a bounce back after the effects of superstorm Sandy. Excluding fuel, retail sales increased a solid 0.8%. The median forecast of 81 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a 0.5% rise.

The 0.3% rise offsets a 0.3% dip in October from September.