News Briefs

Consumer sentiment in early December rose for the fifth consecutive month.

That’s according to the University of Michigan’s gauge of consumer sentiment, which increased to 74.0 in a preliminary December reading, up from 71.8 in the prior month. It is the highest reading in seven months. 

The index representing how consumers feel about the current state of the economy (“current economic conditions”) rose to 77.7 in the December reading, up from 63.9 in November, fueled by a surge in buying conditions for durables. 

“Rather than a sign of strength, this rise in durables was primarily due to a perception that purchasing durables now would enable buyers to avoid future price increases,” cautioned Joanne Hsu, director of surveys of consumers at the University of Michigan.

Looking further out, however, the index for consumer expectations fell to 71.6 from 76.9. And overall, year-ahead inflation expectations rose from 2.6% last month to 2.9% in December. It is the highest reading in six months (but within the 2.3-3.0% range seen in the two years pre-pandemic). 

Hsu noted that ehe expectations index continued the post-election re-calibration that began last month, climbing for Republicans and declining for Democrats in December. Independents were, as usual, in the middle between the two major parties, with readings close to the national average.

The public has spoken.

For the second year in a row, JCPenney was awarded the number one spot in USA Today’s 10Best Readers’ Choice Award for Best Department Store. The Plano, Texas-based chain has more than 600 stores across the U.S. and Puerto Rico.

“This award reaffirms our confidence in our reinvestment progress – everything we have worked toward is coming together and we’re proud consumers are taking notice,” said JCPenney CEO Marc Rosen.

The USA Today 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards highlight the best of the best in various travel and lifestyle categories, including destinations, food and drink, and attraction, as chosen by the public. A panel of experts selects nominees in each award category, with the final set of nominees selected via editorial review by USA Today 10Best editors. 

Once the nominees in the award category are announced, the public is invited to vote for their favorites over a period of four weeks.

Here is the complete list of USA Today’s 10Best Readers’ Choice Award for Best Department Store.

1. JCPenney
2. Belk
3. Macy’s
4. Kohl’s
5. Von Maur
6. Burlington
7. Nordstrom
8. Target
9. Boscov’s
10. Walmart

J.Crew Group is adding a veteran marketer to its C-suite.

The apparel and accessories retailer said that Julia Collier has been named chief marketing officer for the J.Crew brand, effective Jan. 6, 2025. Collier will lead J.Crew's marketing team, overseeing brand marketing and brand creative. She will report directly to Libby Wadle, J.Crew Group's CEO.

Collier has nearly 20 years of fashion, brand and marketing agency industry experience. Most recently, she was senior VP of marketing at Skims, the shapewear and underwear brand co-founded by Kim Kardashian. While at Skims, which she joined prior to the brand’s launch in 2019, she built and scaled a 40-person marketing team. She also spearheaded high-profile brand partnerships with the NBA, WNBA and Team USA as well as collaborations with luxury brands like Fendi, Swarovski, and, most recently, Dolce & Gabbana.

Prior to Skims Collier served as senior director of brand marketing and creative at luxury women's apparel brand A.L.C, where she led all strategic and creative initiatives related to branding, marketing and communications. Previously, she served as director of creative production at Wednesday Agency for four years.

"In Julia, we have found a distinguished marketing leader who brings an ideal combination of brand building expertise, fashion industry knowledge, and passion for culturally-relevant marketing strategies that will drive even greater engagement,” said Wadle. “Her versatile background, proven leadership capabilities, and forward-thinking approach will be a valuable addition to our team as we continue to build on our momentum."

As of November 2024, J. Crew Group operates 112 J.Crew stores, 154 Madewell stores, and over 300 J.Crew Factory stores nationwide.

Brides-to-be can now have their wedding dresses delivered along with a food order.

David’s Bridal, Inc. has announced a new partnership with DoorDash to offer on-demand delivery, giving brides, bridesmaids and special occasion shoppers access to the retailer’s assortment of dresses, shoes and accessories delivered in under an hour. The partnership will allow for delivery from the 180 David’s Bridal locations in the United States.

"Whether you prefer the convenience of doorstep delivery to help save time during the planning process, need a perfect dress for a last-minute holiday party invite, a save-the-day solution to a suddenly stained bridesmaid dress on the big day, or a fabulous pair of ‘party-all-night' shoes, David's takes the stress away so you can focus on celebrating and feeling beautiful and confident for any special occasion,” said Kelly Cook, president of brand, technology and finance for David's Bridal.

David Bridal’s new on-demand partnership makes the company the first retailer in the wedding and special occasion category to join forces with DoorDash.

"We're excited to welcome David's Bridal to DoorDash as our first wedding and special occasion retailer," said Fuad Hannon, VP of new verticals at DoorDash. "Consumers can save time in their busy schedules and enjoy the convenience of on-demand delivery of shoes, accessories, dresses, and more. With David's Bridal on the Marketplace, consumers can rest easy knowing that they can get everything they need on DoorDash for important milestones and every occasion in between."

[READ MORE: David’s Bridal enters resale partnership]

David’s Bridal operates more than 190 stores located across the United States in Canada, and franchise locations in Mexico.

Online deliveries came faster for consumers in November compared to one year ago.

That’s according to a new analysis from supply chain platform Project44, which found that the average delivery time for November 2024 was 3.7 days, which was a 27% improvement compared to November of 2023. Overall, delivery times are expected to be lower for peak season 2024 compared to previous years.

On-time performance decreased 1% between October and November, but remained on par with the peak season last year. November on-time performance was 84%, which means peak season 2024 is off to the strongest start since the COVID-19 pandemic.

[READ MORE: Salesforce: Cyber Week digital sales reach $76 billion in U.S.]

Project44 says that over time, delivery times have decreased as online shopping grows and customer expectations rise, as Amazon’s standardization of two-day shipping reshaped the market. The report noted that shippers, including retailers, continue to diversify their networks, increasing the number of carriers used by 5% between October and November.

The most common last-mile complaints by consumers have remained consistent, with delays and “delivered but missing” packages tied as the top issues in 2024 at 28%, followed by complaints about the carrier (17%), and damaged items (14%). However, complaints about delays have dropped 8% since 2022 and are 1% lower than in 2023.

The construction industry had 249,000 job openings on the last day of October, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS).

JOLTS defines a job opening as any unfilled position for which an employer is actively recruiting. Industry job openings decreased by 9,000 for the month and are down by 164,000 from the same time last year.

“Construction industry job openings fell again in October and are down nearly 40% over the past year,” said ABC chief economist Anirban Basu. “While JOLTS data can be volatile from month to month, especially at the industry level, the decline in unfilled construction positions is undeniable over the past few quarters. “

On average, only 3.4% of industrywide positions were open over the past six months, the lowest rate since 2020, added Basu. Industry hiring fell to the lowest level since 2020 in October, while contractors laid off fewer workers than in any month on record.

“There’s reason to suspect that election uncertainty, combined with the expectation that borrowing costs will decline over the next several quarters, delayed staffing decisions over the past few months,” said Basu. “With industrywide employment growth industrywide outpacing the broader economy over the past few quarters and contractors on net expecting to increase their staffing levels over next six months, according to ABC’s Construction Confidence Index, it appears that construction job openings will rise through the early months of 2025.”

Associated Builders and Contractors is a national construction industry trade association established in 1950 that represents more than 23,000 members.