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Research Topic

  • Survey ranks the 10 most ‘relevant’ retailers

    Boston -- Amazon.com is America's most relevant retailer, followed by Target, according to Brodeur Partners’ Retail Relevance Top 10 ranking. The study asked shoppers to look at 21 of the nation's top retailers and select the "most" and "least" personally relevant retailer in four specific areas: practicality, values, sensory appeal and social appeal.

  • Survey says – stores clean, service and perishables could be better

    Consumer Reports readers who shop at Target gave the company middle-of-the-road marks on service and its perishable offerings, but the company scored better on pricing and received the highest marks possible on cleanliness.

  • Deloitte survey finds consumers more optimistic; looking to shop more at discount stores

    New York -- More than half of consumers (67%) said they plan to spend the same or more at retailers than they did last year, a nine percentage point increase from last year, according to the 2012 Spring Consumer Pulse Survey by Deloitte. Consumers also feel slightly better about the economy this year than last; 57% of survey respondents said the economy has been recently recovering, compared with 52% last year.

  • Competition from Amazon grows

    Amazon wasn’t always a threat to Walmart, but as the only retailer grows and offers more of the same products as traditional mass retailers, it has become hard to ignore. This article from Businessweek examines how Amazon has influenced Walmart’s approach to online.

     

     

     

  • Convenience store sales totaled $682 billion in 2011

    New York -- In-store convenience store sales grew 2.4%, reaching a record $195.0 billion in 2011, according to data released Wednesday by NACS (National Association of Convenience Stores). Combined with $486.9 billion in gasoline sales, total convenience store sales in 2011 were $681.9 billion.

    More than 80% of in-store sales are from five categories: cigarettes (38.1% of in-store sales); foodservice (16.9%); packaged beverages (14.3%); beer (7.3%); other tobacco products (4.0%).

  • Study: Social media may ease negative word-of-mouth impact

    Ann Arbor, Mich. -- A study released Tuesday by customer feedback management firm CFI Group found that social media may be blunting the impact of negative word-of-mouth.

    According to the findings of its annual Call Center Satisfaction Index, CFI Group said that social media commentary after a call center experience can have a counter-intuitive impact.

  • Conn's swings to profit in Q4, on track to open 5-7 stores this year

    Beaumont, Texas -- Conn’s Inc. reported Tuesday that it earned $7.7 million in the quarter ended Jan. 31, compared with a loss of $3.6 million in the year-ago period.

    Revenue increased 3.7% to $226.7 million, beating Wall Street’s expected $221.4 million. Same-store sales surged 12.1%.
       
    The company said it is on track with its store opening plans, which calls for five to seven stores in new markets this year.

  • J.C. Penney Transformation: Two Months In

    J.C. Penney is in the very beginning of its transformation. But the first component of the strategy — a new pricing model that jettisoned hundreds of promotions in favor a three-tier model — in already in place. And not surprisingly, experts are weighing in.

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