Research Topic

Chicago -- A new Symphony Consulting survey found that the new 2% increase in payroll tax is causing a major shopping behavioral change among lower-income families.

A division of SymphonyIRI Group, Symphony Consulting revealed Monday that dollar stores may be the biggest winners in the battle for the lower-income spenders’ purchasing power.

By Rob Schmults, [email protected]

Total U.S. Shopper Traffic in Retail Stores and Malls for January 2013

Retailers pushed to extend the high level of holiday shopping and foot traffic by promoting post-holiday specials and markdowns on seasonal merchandise in January. However, as expected, shopper traffic continued to drop off significantly after the end of the holiday season. 

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OTTAWA, Ontario — PlaSmart Inc., the Ottawa-based global toy distributor, announced that its brainteaser game PerplexusTM Epic was named the 2013 Game of the Year last night by the Toy Industry Association.

The Toy of The Year (TOTY) award is the latest accolade earned by PerplexusTM Epic, which also received the PTPA (Parent Tested Parent Approved) Media Seal of Approval, among others.

Traffic trends at Walmart and other major retailers declined in December even though e-commerce sales set new records in the fourth quarter and throughout 2012.

Philadelphia -- A post-holiday e-commerce report released Friday by technology company Monetate said that, on Christmas Day 2012, 16% of all e-commerce traffic came from smartphones and 15.6% came from tablets, a marked upswing from a year earlier when just 6.4% came from smartphones and 8% from tablets.

CHICAGO — Most Valentine's Day celebrants plan to shop a week or less before the holiday, and many wait until Feb. 13 or 14 to make their final purchases, according to research by the NPD Group, a leading global information company.