Data & Analytics

Amazon is about to put down some new roots in New York City — and is hunting for new employees to support the operation.  

To work in retail is to accept the inevitability of déjà vu. But what returns is often never quite the same, as can be seen in the current struggle by many shopping malls to generate enough traffic to remain viable. Let me take you back to the days of my initiation to retail in New Orleans (site of next week’s National Retail Tenants Association conference), when malls began rising in former fields and woodlands and store owners in all regions struggled to manage the change.  

An uptick in consumer spending could drive sales as high as $1.05 trillion this holiday season.   Retail holiday sales should rise a healthy 4% to 4.5% over last year's shopping season — a factor that could drive sales between $1.04 trillion and $1.05 trillion between November 2017 and January 2018, according to the annual retail holiday sales forecast from the firm’s retail and distribution practices. (Holiday sales are seasonally adjusted, and exclude motor vehicles and gasoline.)  

A combination of restructuring costs, Hurricane Harvey and a new accounting standard took its toll of Bed Bath & Beyond’s second quarter results.   For the quarter ended Aug. 26, the home goods retailer reported net sales of about $2.9 billion, a decrease of about 1.7% from the same time last year. Comparable sales also decreased by approximately 2.6%, surpassing analysts’ expectations of a 0.7% decrease.  

Walmart is bucking the holiday hiring trend again this year.    Unlike other competitors that are hiring thousands of temporary workers to service shoppers during the holiday season, the discount giant plans to offer extra hours to its current associates. These shifts will staff traditional roles like cashier and stocker, and newly created technology-empowered positions, such as personal shoppers and Pickup associates, according to Walmart.  

Amazon is giving Hilton Honors members a new way to redeem their points.    The global hospitality company is joining Amazon’s Shop With Points program, a move that will enable Hilton Honors members to redeem their loyalty points for purchases on Amazon. Hilton is the first hotel brand to join Amazon’s program.   

Looking toward the future, Toys ‘R’ Us’ CEO has established a recovery plan.   In a meeting at Toys “R” Us’ pop-up store in Times Square, chief executive David Brandon outlined the company’s turnaround plan, internally called “Project Sunrise.” From a high-level, it includes integrating its online and in-store shopping experiences, adding faster shipping and better technology and customer service, according to Reuters.  

While today's decision does not necessarily mean it is game over for Toys "R" Us, it brings to a close a turbulent chapter in the iconic company's history.   A combination of high debt and severe structural changes in the industry created a toxic mix against which Toys "R" Us had little choice but to restructure and try to put itself on a firmer footing.  

School may be back in session, but the back-to-school (BTS) shopping frenzy continues.    And as parents continue to purchase merchandise from newly distributed classroom supply lists, 42% of BTS shoppers expect to spend more this school year compared to 2016, according to new research and insights from Acosta, a sales and marketing agency in the consumer packaged goods (CPG) and retail merchandising industry.