Research Topic

Minneapolis -- Female consumers are looking for value and deeper connections, according to results of the fifth annual “What Women Want” survey. The study, conducted by Ginger Consulting, indicates that women are responsible for or influence $7 trillion of annual purchases in the U.S., including 85% of all consumer and business purchases and 60% of automobile purchases,

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University received a $1 million grant from the Walmart Foundation. IVMF will launch a competitive grant program for veteran vocational education at community and technical colleges in California, New York, Texas and North Carolina. 

New York -- Almost all (97%) social video ad shares of alcohol brands during fourth quarter 2012 and first quarter 2013 were for four brands, Budweiser, Neft Vodka, Carlsberg and Heineken, according to a new report from Unruly Media.

Findings from “Untapped Potential: The State of Sharing in the Alcohol Sector” indicate Budweiser (59%) and Neft (24%) accounted for most of this social sharing activity.

Overall, wine brands have been the slowest to embrace social video ads, accounting for less than 1% of sharing activity.

New York -- A Thursday report by Bloomberg said that U.S. consumer confidence for the week ended May 19 advanced, indicating that Americans’ outlook on the economy is optimistic.

The weekly Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index increased to minus 29.4 from minus 30.2 the prior week. A measure of personal finances was positive for a sixth consecutive week, the longest stretch in more than five years, according to Bloomberg.

Denver -- A study released Thursday by The Integer Group and M/A/R/C Research found that 16% of Hispanic shoppers are using their mobile devices to make purchases, compared to 12% of general market shoppers.

The Checkout ongoing shopper behavior study polls consumers nationally about their shopping attitudes, shopping behaviors and economic outlook.

Chicago -- Leading retailers are much better than other retailers at collecting data, measuring activities, acting on their insights, and measuring again to see the results, according to A.T. Kearney’s 2013 Achieving Excellence in Retail Operations (AERO) Study.

Columbus, Ohio -- L Brands Inc., formerly known as Limited Brands, reported Wednesday that profit for the quarter ended May 4 surged 14% to $142.5 million, from $124.6 million last year. The Victoria’s Secret and Bath and Body Works parent increased its outlook for the year.

Quarterly sales rose 5% to $2.27 billion from $2.15 billion, edging Wall Street’s expected $2.26 billion in revenue. Same-store sales increased 3%.

Chesapeake, Va. – Dollar Tree reported record net sales for first quarter 2013, with consolidated net sales of $1.87 billion, an 8% increase from $1.72 billion during the same quarter of the prior year. Net income totaled $133.5 million, and same store sales grew 2.1%, on top of a 5.6% increase recorded during first quarter 2012. Dollar Tree estimates full fiscal year net sales will range from $7.81 billion to $7.97 billion.

Dollar Tree president and CEO Bob Sasser said he is pleased with the first quarter results.