Store Systems

U.S. consumers are willing to use mobile devices during the shopping process, but not so much at the end.

According to a new study of 23,000 global consumers (including U.S. shoppers) from PwC, “Total Retail 2016,” only 22% of U.S. consumers make a mobile purchase at least monthly and only 26% say mobile will become a main purchasing tool for them in the future. Deloitte cites the lack of widespread tools to make mobile purchasing easier, such as buy buttons, currently available in the U.S.

A lot of retailers reach the stage of installing traffic counters in their stores, but it’s at this point that problems can start. The traffic data can become unreliable or the store operations team may not know what to do with the data or how to apply it, which leaves retailers looking for the expected insights and additional sales.
The fact is, they’re there — retailers just need to know how to find them.

The Home Depot Inc. specializes in letting customers do it themselves, and is now extending that philosophy across all channels.

“We want to provide interconnected retail, and mobile is one area where we are leaning,” Matt Jones, general manager of mobile for Home Depot, said in an interview with Chain Store Age. “We want to help customers solve their problems in a couple of ways.”

According to Jones, today’s consumers are leveraging mobile devices to aid multiple parts of their shopping experience.

Lowe's rode the same wave of recovery in the housing market as its rival Home Depot in the fourth quarter, topping its own expectations with substantial gains.

Consumers in the U.S. are definitely relying on digital tools to aid their shopping activities.

According to a new study of 2,000 consumers in nine countries including the U.S. from Deloitte, “Navigating the New Digital Divide,” 49% of purchases made in the U.S. are digitally influenced, and 28% are influenced by mobile.

Off-price giant The TJX Companies attracted record numbers of bargain-hungry shoppers during the holiday period as the retailer reported record sales and profit sales for the fourth quarter.

For the period ended Jan. 30, net sales at TJX Cos. increased 8% to $8.96 billion, and same-store sales increased 6%.

Net income rose 2.8% to $666.5 million and diluted earnings per share were 99 cents, a 6% increase over the prior year’s 93 cents. Both income and sales exceeded expectations.

Visa has been busy adding new retailers to its Visa Checkout online payment service, and now is rewarding them with an upgraded offering.

In April 2016, Visa will be releasing a set of new enhancements designed to improve both the consumer interface and ability for retailers to customize and integrate the service. Most features will be automatically available to retailers.

Shirley, N.Y. -- Heidenberg Properties announced that its Southport Shopping Center, located in Shirley, New York, marks its 25th anniversary. The center is 100% leased, anchored by Marshalls, Petland and Kohl's.

The center first opened to the public in 1990 with original anchors Caldor and Waldbaum's. Over the years, the retail mix has evolved and the center has expanded from 207,000 to 299,000 sq. ft. The first major expansion was the addition of a 33,000 square foot Sears Hardware in 1998.