Consumer Analytics

By Jill Puler, [email protected]

For retailers, brands and marketers, the millennials have created quite the conundrum. This segment makes up a large part of the consuming world — around 95 million consumers in the U.S. alone. And with $1.7 billion in spending muscle to flex, their influence is only going to increase as the years roll by. By 2030, they will outnumber the vaunted baby boomers by more than 20 million.

NEW YORK — Online retailers are focused on retaining existing shoppers by giving them a better online shopping experience.

As shoppers become increasingly connected, online retailers are developing strategies to increase web conversion and loyalty.

According to the 2013 Shop.org/Forrester Research Inc. State of Retailing Online survey, 51% of retailers surveyed say their top priority for 2013 is site optimization, including checkout optimization, alternative payments, user experience, testing and product detail page enhancements.

ASHLAND CITY, Tenn. — Lowe’s is teaming up with American Water Heaters to offer homeowners the ability to remotely control their water heaters from their smart phones or tablets.

Iris is Lowe's exclusive smart home solution allows homeowners to monitor and control virtually everything in the home, including Energy Smart electric water heaters, which will feature Iris-compatible control modules. Homeowners can use the controls to set water temperatures and select operating modes, including the "Vacation" mode.

New York -- The 2012 holiday shopping season didn’t provide the sales and traffic lift anticipated by retailers, according to Experian FootFall. The company said the season got off to a blazing start as consumers responded to some of the earliest Black Friday sales and promotions, effectively extending the Black Friday shopping experience to a four-day event. Following this annual start to the season that accounted for billions of dollars in retail sales, the 2012 calendar shift began to impact consumer behavior.

Atlanta -- Consumer spending reached a three-year low during the month of December, according to a report released Thursday by First Data Corp.

First Data’s SpendTrend tracks same-store consumer spending by credit, signature debit, PIN debit, EBT, closed-loop prepaid cards and checks at U.S. merchant locations.

Salt Lake City -- Overstock.com said Thursday it is launching the Club O Dining Rewards program in partnership with Rewards Network.

The enhancement to the e-retailer’s current loyalty program allows members to automatically receive reward dollars in their Club O account equal to 5% of their total dining bill when they visit participating Club O Dining Rewards restaurants and pay their bill using any credit or debit card they have registered with their Dining Rewards account.   

Washington, D.C. -- The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index fell to minus 34.4 in the seven days ended Jan. 6 from minus 31.8 the prior period, the biggest one-week drop since August. Jobless claims increased by 4,000 to 371,000 in the week ended Jan. 5, according to Labor Department figures.

Boston -- The number one reason people choose to shop either in-person or online is convenience and not price, according to the results of a new survey released by Continuum, a global design and innovation consultancy. Continuum's 2012 Service Design Report looked at data from more than 1,000 consumers across the country and uncovered the top reasons they choose whether to shop in-stores or online.

The top reasons respondents say they shop in stores are:
• For convenience (40%);
• They don't trust the quality online (22%);