Research Topic

New York -- Bad feelings about the global economy persist, with more than half of consumers around the world say the world is in an economic recession, according to a new study by Nielsen.

According to the Nielsen Global Survey of Consumer Confidence and Spending Intentions, 71% of North Americans said they were in a recession in the fourth-quarter of 2012, but this represented a drop in 15 percentage points from the fourth quarter 2011, representing the largest drop in negative sentiments about the economy of any area.

PLANO, Texas — Dr Pepper Snapple Group reported $629 million in profits for fiscal year 2012, up from $606 million in 2011, the beverage maker said Thursday.

Profits for the fourth quarter were $170 million, compared with $166 million in fourth quarter 2011, driven by fiscal year 2012 sales of $5.99 billion and fourth-quarter sales of $1.48 billion, compared with $5.9 billion and $1.46 billion in 2011, respectively.

New York -- Analysts had already suggested that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. would report weakened sales in February, as its primary customer base felt the pinch of newly increased payroll taxes. But internal emails leaked to the press confirmed the impending bad news.
 
Bloomberg on Friday quoted an email generated by a Wal-Mart mid-level executive as saying that the retailer had the worst sales start to any month in seven years in February. Wal-Mart blames the slow start to the 2% payroll increase as well as on delayed tax returns.

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. -- Using social media to drive brand awareness and sales has to be a carefully thought out process, a new study by J.D. Power and Associates has found.

Reston, Va. -- Despite the backdrop of continued economic uncertainty, 2012 was a strong year for retail e-commerce, according to comScore’s “2013 U.S. Digital Future in Focus” report. Throughout the year, growth rates versus the prior year remained in the mid-teens to outpace growth at brick-and-mortar retail by a factor of approximately four times.

WASHINGTON -- Retail sales ticked up in January as consumers adjusted their spending in response to the increase in payroll taxes and rise in gasoline and energy prices. According to the National Retail Federation, January retail sales (excluding automobiles, gas stations and restaurants) increased 0.3% seasonally adjusted from December and increased 5.4% unadjusted year-over-year.

Chicago -- National retail sales will increase 3.2% and retail foot traffic will increase 3.5% for the first quarter of 2013 when compared to the same period last year, according to ShopperTrak, a leading counter of retail foot traffic.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — 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 in terms of customer satisfaction, according to a report released Tuesday by ForeSee.