Research Topic

San Jose, Calif. -- Sandwich chain Togo's Eateries Inc. announced Monday it is in development on 30 new Togo’s units, as the company executed as many franchise agreements in 2012 in order to add to its West Coast presence.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The retired head of Midwestern supermarket chain Hy-Vee took home the top honor at a recent supermarket industry conference.

The Food Marketing Institute said Monday that it gave its most prestigious honor — the Sidney R. Rabb Award for excellence in serving the consumer, the community and the industry — to retired Hy-Vee chairman and CEO Ric Jurgens at the FMI Midwinter Executive Conference.

New York -- Macy’s January announcement that it would close some stores in 2013 seems to have generated a disproportionate amount of scrutiny. Is it business as usual for the department store retailer, or is the news representative of something more far-reaching?  

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New York -- Brands and retailers have the most followed or “Liked” pages on social media, according to WSL/Strategic Retail. Nearly two-thirds (61%) of users who “Fan” social media pages, are choosing to follow brands and retailers -- beating out celebrities and TV shows which are followed by just over half of users.  

The finding was unveiled as part of the company’s Buzz to Buy 3.0 trend report, its third annual survey measuring how the power of Social Media and online information are impacting buying decisions.

New York -- Consumer confidence fell in January to a one-year low, according to the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index released Friday.

The month’s preliminary index fell to 71.3, the lowest since December 2011, from 72.9 in December. Economists had forecast the index would rise to 75, Bloomberg News reported.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Luxury shoppers are more likely to use mobile channels when shopping but are slightly less satisfied with e-commerce overall, according to the Luxury E-Retail Satisfaction Index released by customer experience analytics firm ForeSee. Luxury brands have an aggregate score of 77 on the study's 100-point scale, falling just short of the average score of the top 100 online retailers overall (78).

New York -- Family Dollar on Friday increased its annual dividend by 24%. The annual payout now totals $1.04 following a decision by the retailer’s board to elevate the quarterly dividend to 26 cents a share from 21 cents a share.

In addition, the board authorized the repurchase of an additional $300 million in stock under an existing program that had only $94 million in authorization remaining.

Ann Arbor, Mich. -- Luxury shoppers are more likely to use mobile channels when shopping but are slightly less satisfied with e-commerce overall, according to the Luxury E-Retail Satisfaction Index released by customer experience analytics firm ForeSee. Luxury brands have an aggregate score of 77 on the study's 100-point scale, falling just short of the average score of the top 100 online retailers overall (78).