Research Topic

Ann Arbor, Mich. -- Amazon continues to set the bar higher, achieving the highest rating on the annual Top 100 E-Retail Satisfaction Index by customer experience analytics firm ForeSee. Amazon outdid its 2011 score, climbing three points to 89, and four points higher than the second highest scoring websites, Apple.com (85) and QVC.com (85). (Scores of 80 or higher on ForeSee's 100-point scale are considered superior customer satisfaction performances.)

That’s not a bad headline leading into RECon 2012 next week in Las Vegas. Not that I can take credit for the verbiage; “Regional malls alive and kicking” is a report issued Tuesday by SNL Real Estate, Charlottesville, Va.

New York -- Shoppers in the United States earning at least $150,000 annually rank Nordstrom highest among luxury retailers, according to a survey by the Luxury Institute.

According to the 2012 Luxury Consumer Experience Index, which ranks retailers based on customers' evaluations of a brand's store personnel, shopping environment and degree of satisfaction with the total experience, Nordstrom earns the top overall score of 8.41 out of 10.

Bergdorf Goodman ranked second (8.37), and Barneys New York third (8.23).

Cary, N.C. -- C-store operator The Pantry said Tuesday that it lost $9.7 million in the second quarter, compared with a loss of $300,000 in the same period last year. Results were hurt by rising gas prices.

Same-store merchandise sales rose 4.8%
 

Oak Brook, Ill. -- McDonald’s Corp. said Tuesday that same-store sales on the global front rose 3.3% in April, led by European results (up 3.5%) but followed closely by the United States. (up 3.3%).

Japan dragged down Asia results (up 1.1%).
 

Naperville, Ill. -- OfficeMax Inc. reported Tuesday that net income for the quarter ended March 31 slid to $4.9 million, compared with $11.4 million in the year-ago period. Results were hampered by charges related to U.S. store closures.

Total sales edged up 0.5% to $1.9 billion. In the retail segment, sales dipped 2.7% to $912.3 million; same-stores sales fell 2.1%.

Total U.S. shopper traffic in retail stores and malls for April 2012

Warm weather and shifting holidays in March caused retail foot traffic to dip in April. Retail foot traffic in April was 7.6% lower from March, and 2.7% lower on a year-over-year basis.  The slow April is the first in the past 3 months to experience a decline in year-over-year and month-over-month retail foot traffic.

New York -- The mild winter weather across much of the country helped to offset the negative impact that rising gas prices traditionally have on convenience store visits, according to The NPD Group. NPD’s Convenience Store Monitor reports that in the first calendar quarter of 2012 compared with same quarter a year ago, c-store traffic increased by five percentage points from a year ago quarter and by six percentage points at major oil chain c-stores.

By Robin Lewis, [email protected] and Michael Dart, [email protected]

SUNBURY, Pa. — Weis Markets experienced a jump in its net income and operating income during the first quarter ended March 31, the retailer said.