Data & Analytics

London -- A report issued by C.B. Richard Ellis on Friday said that global shopping center development has reached unprecedented levels of construction and new openings, fueled by growing middle classes and retailer expansion.

According to the most recent research by CBRE, which measured shopping center development activity in 180 of the world’s major cities – including 2011 completions and space currently under construction – 318.6 million sq. ft. is currently under construction and about 84 million sq. ft. opened in 2011.

Unfazed by Walmart’s resurgent customer traffic and same-store sales rebound, the nation’s second largest grocer this week hung its 34 consecutive quarter of identical-store sales growth on the board.

TORONTO — A study of big-box retail consumers, released Thursday, found that only two in five consumers believe that retailers value their input, and just 29% believe it is acted upon.

According to the Consumer Insights Panel survey conducted by customer experience management solution provider Empathica Inc., 85% of the 6,500 consumers surveyed have provided some form of feedback to big-box retailers, yet only 46% believe that brands actually use this feedback to make constructive changes to the customer experience.

Fort Worth, Texas -- Pier 1 Imports reported Thursday that net income for the quarter ended May 26 rose to $17.8 million, from $14.1 million in the year-ago period.

Sales increased 7.9% to $361.1 million from $334.6 million last year, and same-store sales rose 7.2% during the first quarter on top of last year’s 10.2% gain.

Walmart in May continued its heightened level of advertising activity, hitting the market with an increased number of circulars that contained more pages. For a look at how Walmart’s promotional activity stacked up to other leading retailers, click here to see the last monthly data from Market Track.



 

Washington, D.C. -- A report released by the Labor Department on Thursday showed that the cost of living in the U.S. dropped in May by the most in three years.

The consumer-price index declined 0.3%, more than forecast and the biggest drop since December 2008, after no change the prior month.

Economists projected a 0.2% decrease, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey. The core measure, which excludes food and energy costs, increased 0.2% for a third month.

CINCINNATI — Fuel sales at Kroger helped drive the company's total sales up 5.8% to $29.1 billion in the first quarter of fiscal 2012 from $27.5 billion for the same period last year. Total sales, excluding fuel, increased 4.3% over the same period last year.

Identical supermarket sales, without fuel, increased 4.2% in the first quarter over the same period last year, marking the 34 consecutive quarters of positive identical supermarket sales for Kroger.

New York -- Staples and Starbucks Coffee Co. have joined a voluntary national initiative to reduce energy consumption. Under the Better Buildings Challenge, companies commit to reducing the energy use in their facilities by at least 20% by 2020, and to post their annual power consumption and information on their conservation projects on a U.S. Department of Energy website.

Staples, with 43 million sq. ft., joined the Better Buildings Challenge with a commitment to reduce energy intensity by 25% by 2020 and reduce its carbon footprint by 50% by 2025.