Research Topic

December 2013 is projected to be the fifth coldest in more than 22 years and the coldest in three years for the U.S. as a whole. Temperatures will be much colder for the eastern half of the U.S. with below-normal cold expected in the Great Lakes, Ohio Valley and Northeast. The start of the month is expected to be cold and stormy while the week after Christmas looks milder and drier in the East. A stormy pattern during the first three weeks of the month promises to also be snowy with above average snowfall across the Great Lakes, Mid-Atlantic, South Central states and the Northwest.

New York -- Holiday sales growth is looking up for the nation’s retailers, with much of the lift coming from pent-up demand, according to Moody’s Investors Service. The company’s holiday forecast is the 4.5% to 5.5% range, which is higher than the National Retail Federation’s forecast of 3.9% and the International Council of Shopping Centers’ forecast of 2.0%.

Washington, D.C. -- More consumers plan to spend more than last year, and fewer consumers less than last year, according to the 14th annual holiday spending survey conducted by the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) and the Credit Union National Association (CUNA).  

Kirkland, Wash. -- Consumers actually favor ease-of-use more than the latest device specifications, with many intimidated by jargon and technical data, when choosing a new smartphone.

A new survey from WDS, a Xerox company, also shows that a physical retail store remains the most popular destination for purchasing a new smartphone. Sixty-seven percent of consumers treat it as their primary destination while only 19% of buyers older 60 would buy their device online.

Other notable findings include: 

Irving, Texas -- Zale Corp. narrowed its first-quarter loss slightly and reported its 12th consecutive quarterly sales increase.

Zale reported a net loss of $27. 3 million in the quarter ended Oct. 31, compared to $28.3 million, a year ago. The prior year included a gain of $1.9 million from a settlement.

First-quarter sales increased 1.4% to $363 million, in line with expectations.

Same-store sales rose 4.4%. Zales Jewelers and Zales Outlet stores posted a same-store sales increase of 7.5%.

New York -- Fitch Ratings expects total U.S. retail sales growth in the 4% range in 2014, a modest increase over expected 2013 figures that reflects slight improvement in both the employment rate and real wages.

Fitch expects 2013 holiday sales to grow in the 3%-4% range, in line with The National Retail Federation forecasts that November and December sales will increase 3.9% year over year to $602 billion.

Fortified by growing e-commerce sales and time spent across digital channels, the U.S. retail industry will grow its digital ad spending more rapidly this year than in 2012, according to new figures from eMarketer.

By the end of this year, eMarketer predicts, U.S. retailers will have increased digital ad budgets by 15.7% to $9.50 billion, following growth of 14.5% last year.

San Francisco – U.S. retailers are showing cautious optimism for the upcoming holiday shopping season. According to a survey of 77 U.S, retailers in July 2013 with annual revenue of less than $20 million to $5 billion by e-commerce technology provider Baynote, 38% of respondents project an 11 to 20% year-over-year increase in online sales, with 22% predicting an increase of 21% or more.