Consumer Analytics

Despite an increase in digitally-influenced retail spending, a gap still remains between retailers and digital shoppers.

Digital interactions influence 56 cents of every dollar spent in retail stores, totaling $2.1 trillion by the end of the year – up from 14 cents of every dollar in 2013, according to Deloitte's new study, “The New Digital Divide: The Future of Digital Influence in Retail.”

Mobile retailing’s time has arrived.   Mobile devices are beginning to dominate the commerce landscape, and retailers ready to capitalize on this trend will be successful at driving transactions for the shopping seasons to follow.  

Target shoppers will be doing real cartwheels next time they launch their discount app.

The mass merchandiser quietly launched an experimental customer loyalty program that allows shoppers to rack up points during store visits. Called “redperks” on the company’s Website, the program rewards Target shoppers with 10 points for every dollar spent in stores. Once shoppers hit 5,000 points, they can choose their reward.

Retailers can learn how to develop a strategic process for reducing one of their major facility operating expenses — energy — at Chain Store Age’s upcoming webinar, Understanding and Controlling Energy Costs in Retail.   

The real retailer winners are those that truly “listen” to their customers, and then use learned details to motivate consumers to shop.   By perfecting this practice, Amazon.com has earned the highest amount of mentions and awareness across social networks, and Tiffany & Co. was the most passionately and positively discussed brand.  

When mobile shoppers care enough to send the very best, they trade Hallmark cards in favor of digital gift cards.  

It happens all the time. A customer goes on a shopping spree, gets home and checks email — only to find a valuable promotion for a store she just left. In an era when time-starved customers are more digitally-savvy than ever before, retailers need to step up and manage a brand in total versus managing separate channels if they want to maintain loyalty.   

European consumers seem to be taking the adage, “buyer beware” very literally.

Unsure whether their online purchase will satisfy their needs until it actually arrives, 54% of shoppers reported they think about returning an item before they have even purchased it. And this mindset runs the gamut from decisions about apparel and electrical goods to home decor and furniture, according to “Making Money Out of Returns: The Essential Guide to Managing International Returns,” a report from fulfillment provider B2C Europe.