Research Topic

Miami -- While out-of-stock items and inventory performance remain top-of-mind, retailers' concerns about understanding customer preferences — along with their own ability to respond to those preferences with new ideas about pricing and promotions — have become top business challenges, according to a survey of 96 retailers published Wednesday by Retail Systems Research.

Issaquah, Wash. -- Costco Wholesale Corp. reported Wednesday that net income for the quarter ended Sept. 2 jumped 27% to $609 million, from $478 million in the year-ago period. The warehouse club operator credited strong sales and higher member fees for the improved profit performance.

Sales climbed 14% to $31.52 billion, and same-store sales rose 5%. Membership fee revenue rose 18% to $694 million. The company said it plans to open up to 14 new warehouses before the end of calendar year 2012.

New York -- The Conference Board Employment Trends Index decreased again in September, following a downward revision in August. The index now stands at 107.86, down from the revised figure of 108.23 in August. The September figure is 5.4% higher than a year ago.

I’m sure I wasn’t the only person in the industry to raise an eyebrow when the S&P Retail Index notched an all-time high last month. Closing at $669.26 on September 14th to reach that milestone, the index has continued to creep up even further the last couple of weeks. A closer look at the stock market performance of the retail sector shows that both REITs and many individual retailers are continuing a strong positive trend—which makes sense, of course, because REITs will perform better in a strong retail environment when retailers are doing well.

Atlanta -- The SpendTrend analysis for September, released Tuesday by First Data Corp., found that card spending in September was down from the month prior.

The report, which tracks same-store consumer spending by credit, signature debit, PIN debit, EBT, closed-loop prepaid cards and checks at U.S. merchant locations, showed that overall dollar volume growth was 5.8%, down from August’s 7.2% growth.

New York -- More than half (53%) of middle market executives believe that their companies are on solid ground, according to a survey by CIT Group Inc., a leading provider of financing to small businesses and middle market companies. (In order to be eligible to participate in the survey, respondents had to be in a leadership role at firms with revenues between $25 million and $1 billion, the majority of whose employees were based in the United States.)

New York -- Some businesses are coming up short with their restroom facilities, according to a survey by Bradley Corp., a manufacturer of commercial plumbing fixtures. Fifty-one percent of survey respondents reported having had a particularly unpleasant experience in a public restroom due to the condition of the facilities.  

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Dollar General is the overall basket price leader, delivering a substantial savings to value shoppers, according to Kantar Retail's second annual opening price point survey. Walgreens, for the second year, had the most expensive total basket, driven by sharply higher edible and nonedible grocery baskets.