Consumer Analytics

Brick-and-mortar stores are crucial to supporting a retailer's e-commerce growth.  

Costco Wholesale Corp. turned in a strong performance in August, helped by a big increase in online sales.    Net sales rose 10% to $9.8 billion for the month of August, from $8.9 billion during the similar period last year. Total same-store sales rose 7.3%, higher than the 6.1% Wall Street expected. Same-store U.S. sales rose 7.4%, easily topping estimates for a 4.9% to 5.3% increase. Costco's comparable e-commerce sales jumped 26% in August.   

As much as today's shoppers want convenience, they also prioritize saving money and will make time to uncover the best deals online and offline.     Over half (53%) of consumers indicated they invest over two hours a week looking for deals and savings across all sources, according to a survey from Valassis. About 25% of millennials and moms spend over four hours a week in their search for value.  

Consumer confidence increased in August to the second highest level since late 2000.    The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index rose to 122.9 in August, up from 120 in the prior month. Economists had expected the index to rise to 122.5 in August.    The Present Situation Index increased from 145.4 to 151.2. The Expectations Index rose marginally from 103.0 last month to 104.0.  

Best Buy reported better-than-expected profit and sales for its second quarter amid growth for smartphones, connected home and wearable devices. But the retailer added a slight caveat going forward.   Best Buy's same-store sales rose 5.2% in the quarter ended July 29, easily topping analysts’ estimates for a 2.1% gain. But on the chain's quarterly call with analysts, CEO Hubert Joly said that he did not think that the mid-single-digit rise in comparable sales would continue, and that it did not represent a "new normal."

More customers are making pet product purchases at Amazon — a practice that has increased category sales by 40%.   This was according to “U.S. Pet Market Focus: The Amazon Pet Food and Supplies Shopper,” a study from Packaged Facts.   

A wellness retailer is making is easier for its Chinese shoppers to make online purchases.   By partnering with Alipay, GNC Holdings is enabling all registered users of the payment platform in China to purchase vitamins, supplements, minerals, herbs, sports nutrition, diet, and energy products on its e-commerce site. Besides being a leading online payment provider in China, Alipay has 520 million registered users that access the platform to make online and mobile payments.  

Expect an Amazon-dominated holiday retail season among U.S. consumers this year, with the e-commerce giant being the top destination for shoppers.