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Research Topic

  • Consumer confidence takes a hit

    The nation’s retailers can hope back-to-school shoppers haven’t been paying attention to the steady dose of dire economic news facing the nation the past week, but that’s pretty unlikely considering this is the information age.

  • Report reveals increase in online retail sales

    PURCHASE, N.Y. — MasterCard Advisors SpendingPulse revealed that online retail sales rose 14% over the year-ago period, marking the 24th straight month of year-over-year growth, as well as the ninth consecutive month of double-digit growth, with improvement in every subcategory except for electronics.

  • Private brands deliver big savings

    NEW YORK — Consumers heading to the grocery store this summer can garner more than 35% in savings if they buy store brands, according to a pricing study conducted by the Private Label Manufacturers Association.

  • Always darkest before the dawn

    There was a lot of negativity in the air this week regarding Walmart. Jefferies & Co. analyst Dan Binder downgraded the company on Tuesday and proceeded to appear on CNBC where he expressed concerns about company specific issues at Walmart regarding turnaround initiatives not gaining traction in the time frame he had hoped for.

  • Target on track with 2Q comp acceleration

    MINNEAPOLIS — July same-store sales at Target increase 4.1% on top of a prior year gain of 2%, with increase transaction size the primary driver of an increase toward the upward end of the company’s guidance.

  • Top line likely solid at Sam’s Club in 2Q

    Little reason to believe Sam’s Club won’t easily meet or possibly exceed second-quarter same-store guidance that calls for an increase of 3% to 5%, following reports this week from Costco and BJ’s Wholesale club. Sam’s results correlate closely to its warehouse club rivals, and they both reported solid gains even after excluding the distorting effect of higher year-over-year gas prices.

  • Another negative data point courtesy of Fred’s

    July same-store sales at Fred’s declined 0.5% and that’s not a particularly good sign for Walmart, as the company prepares to release its quarterly results on Aug. 16. Fred’s appeals to lower income shoppers at its 672 stores in the Southeastern U.S. where the company has considerable overlap with Walmart.

  • SpendingPulse: Specialty apparel and luxury up in July

    Purchase, N.Y. -- Apparel continued to show gains in July, while housing-related sectors such as electronics, appliances, and furniture remained sluggish, according to MasterCard Advisors SpendingPulse, a macroeconomic report tracking national retail and services sales. (The data estimates total U.S. retail sales across all payment forms including cash and check.)

    In other findings, auto parts and service posted its first decline after five months of growth.

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