Research Topic

Washington, D.C. -- A new survey released Tuesday by the National Retail Federation found that nearly all retailers rely on background checks to keep their customers, and themselves, safe.

The survey, completed by retail executives from 96 of the nation’s leading department stores, mass merchants, discounters, drug stores, grocery stores and restaurants, examined retailers’ use of background screenings during the application and employment process.

Deerfield, Ill. -- Walgreen Co. said Wednesday that its sales increased 5.4% in September, to $5.95 billion from $5.65 billion in the year-ago period.

Pharmacy revenue rose 4.6%, while front end sales were up 5.1%.

Same-store sales rose 3.1%. Wall Street analysts were expecting growth of 4.6%.
 

PORT WASHINGTON — The NPD Group has some good news for retailers worried about weak video game sales this holiday season. According to a survey of spending habits in the second quarter of 2011, in addition to the $1.44 billion spent in the U.S. by consumers on new physical video and PC game software in the second quarter of 2011, the total consumer spend on content via other monetization methods, including used games, game rentals, subscriptions, digital full-game downloads, social network games, downloadable content, and mobile games, is estimated at $1.74 billion.

Raleigh, N.C. -- Economic weakness and low consumer confidence, combined with vendor capacity/reliability, are the top threats to business success this peak season, according to a recent Peak Season Trends and Strategies Survey Report by Tompkins Supply Chain Consortium.

Duluth, Ga. -- A majority of U.S. consumers believe that self-service technologies such as self-checkout and kiosks improve the store experience, with almost half of younger shoppers preferring to use self-checkout in stores, according to a new survey by The NPD Group for NCR Corp.

NEW YORK — Global information services company Nielsen announced the passing of one of its former executives.

Arthur C. "Art" Nielsen, Jr., 92, helped Nielsen create such innovations as consumer and performance surveys, market share, department and food index and television ratings, during his tenure as chairman and president. Nielsen's father, Arthur C. Nielsen, founded the company in 1923. Nielsen, Jr., joined the company in 1945 and retired in 1983, according to the New York Times.

The pricing gap between Target and Walmart narrowed last month to a scant 1.7% as Walmart took prices up slightly during August while Target did the opposite, according to a monthly survey by the retail research team at Credit Suisse.

Boston -- Survey results released Tuesday by Shop.org showed that almost half of all retailers plan to offer eGifting this holiday season and 44% are looking at location-based deals as a key element of their mobile marketing strategies. 

The survey, sponsored by CashStar and conducted in September at the annual Shop.org Retail Summit in Boston, found a growing concern among retailers about the lack of personalization of gift cards.