Consumer Analytics

MCKINNEY, Texas — Blockbuster is taking advantage of recent pricing changes at Netflix to lure customers over to its Total Access service. 

The company is offering Netflix customers who switch to one of Blockbuster's two most popular Total Access plans a 30-day free trial. After the free trial, customers will continue to receive Total Access for a new everyday price of only $9.99 per month for "1 Disc" at a time or $14.99 per month for "2 Discs" at a time, the company reported.

Major retailers collectively dialed back the number of ads inserts and the number of pages in June when compared to the prior year, according to Market Track. The company each month provides RetailingToday.com with an exclusive look at the promotional activity among 16 of the nation’s leading retailers and the interesting statistic that stands out it June is a huge increase in the number of ad pages that hit the market. Click here for a review of promotional activity.

Retail site selection is not just a matter of available real estate. It’s an analytical challenge that requires sophisticated statistical modeling and a thorough understanding of the market potential of a location. Devon Wolfe, managing director of Americas Strategy & Analytics, Troy, N.Y.- based Pitney Bowes Business Insight, discusses the Top 10 most common mistakes that seem to repeatedly plague businesses and hinder their success:

1. Assuming you can build a model for all situations

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Fred's on Thursday reported sales of $179 million for the five weeks ended July 2, representing a relatively flat 0.1% increase, compared with the year-ago period.

Comparable-store sales for the month dropped 0.7%, compared with an increase of 1.7% in the same period last year.

Stronger-than-expected sales from a number of retailers in June is adding credence to a recent forecast that this year’s back-to-dchool season could be the strongest in the past five years, which is good news for Walmart as it looks for a strong ending to its second quarter.

Shoppers continue to face a lot of economic headwinds this back-to-school season, but one forecaster has seasonal sales growing by 6.2% to $467 billion, the most since 2006.

New York City -- With same-store sales increases of 6.7% and 7.5% respectively, Macy’s and Kohl’s outperformed rival J.C. Penney in June, as J.C. Penney came up short of Wall Street estimates with a slight 2% gain.

Macy’s saw total sales rise 7.5% in June to $2.4 billion.

“Sales growth in June exceeded our expectations,” said Terry J. Lundgren, chairman, president and CEO. “Once again, the growth came from across the company -- Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s stores and online sites.”

New York City -- Most retailers surprised Wall Street with better-than-expected monthly sales results in June, as bargains led shoppers to spend more. June is the second most important month on a retailers' sales calendar behind December. It is June that stores typically clear out summer merchandise to make room for fall goods.

By now, any digital marketing executive realizes that with more than 700 million users worldwide, Facebook’s “population” would make it the third largest nation in the world, and a platform that is too big to ignore. And just like any other country, there are some fundamental elements required to feed and foster the populace (aka – your customers, potential customers and fans). 

NEW YORK — Rising gas prices has consumers cutting down on grocery shopping and many turning to the discount stores over traditional food retailers, according to the latest research from TNS.

The higher cost of gas is good news for discount stores, as 32% of those surveyed are choosing to shop there over traditional retail outlets. However, when they shop, they are buying less.

DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens’ stock was trading up 30 cents to $43.03 on the New York Stock Exchange mid-morning on Wednesday thanks to favorable same-store sales growth of 4.8% for the month of June versus an analyst consensus estimate of 2.8%.