Consumer Analytics

LOS ANGELES — Specialty sporting goods retailer Sport Chalet is touting its services and assorted selection of brands to runners. 

The retailer is reminding runners that it offers “extensive online show advice” to accurately fit athletes with the correct running shoe, not to mention a selection of brands which include Adidas, Asics, Brooks, New Balance, Nike, Reebok and Saucony. The retailer also offers custom in-store gait assessments.

WASHINGTON — Retailers had sales gains in many back-to-school categories like clothing and sporting goods but experienced surprising declines in home-based categories, including building materials and furniture stores, according to the National Retail Federation. 

The world’s largest retail trade association found that July retail sales — excluding automobiles, gas stations and restaurants — increased 0.3% seasonally, adjusted from June and increased 5% unadjusted year-over-year.

MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis. — Kohl’s Department Stores has donated $2 million throughout a three-year period to the Milwaukee Art Museum to continue the Kohl’s Art Generation program, a youth art education initiative.

Grand Rapids, Mich. -- Meijer is expanding its mPerks digital coupon program to include pharmacy purchases, allowing customers to earn $10 off their total shopping purchase, 5% off total grocery and health-and-beauty purchases or 50 cents off per gallon of Meijer gas for every five eligible prescriptions filled. Customers can also hang onto their rewards and keep filling prescriptions to earn double rewards, saving as much as $1 per gallon on gas or $20 off their next shopping visit.

The retail world is seeing significant shifts in consumer expectations and behaviors. Today’s online shoppers have higher expectations than ever before.

Reston, Va. -- Desktop-based e-commerce sales totaled $49.8 billion in the U.S. during the second quarter of this year. According to a new report from comScore, this represents an almost 16% increase from about $43.1 billion in the second quarter of the previous year.

This also marks the 15th consecutive quarter of positive year-over-year growth and 11th consecutive quarter of double-digit growth. Mobile commerce spending rose by $4.7 billion, or 24%, during the quarter. Other highlights of comScore’s data include:

San Bruno, Calif. -- YouTube is reportedly challenging the Vine video app from Twitter and Instagram video app from Facebook with its own new video app called MixBit. As reported by the New York Times, MixBit allows users to record up to 16 seconds of video (compared to 15 seconds for Instagram and six seconds for Vine) on their smartphones.

Transaction marketing firm Affinity Solutions said it hired Richard Bravman as COO and Gary Starr as CFO to capitalize on new opportunities in the growing world of transaction informed marketing solutions.

Total U.S. Shopper Traffic in Retail Stores and Malls for July 2013

Shopper activity increased last month, as ShopperTrak anticipated. Retail foot traffic increased 5.2% in July compared to June 2013. This is in line with recently reported positive month-over-month retail trends. However, foot traffic for July 2013 dropped compared to the same month in 2012 — with a decrease of 2.3%.

Boston – Retailers trying to successfully attract business from back-to-school shoppers need to understand the different types of customer segments they must target. According to a new report from social media analytics software provider Crimson Hexagon, back-to-school consumers fall into five broad categories based on how they broadcast their goals, choices, experiences, and opinions about back-to-school shopping on social media.

The five types of social back-to-school consumer are: