News

Deloitte: Back-to-school shopping trends include early start, shift to mass merchants
Retailers who wait until late summer this year to launch back-to-school deals are only hurting themselves, because early shoppers will spend more than late starters. That's according to Deloitte's "2017 Back-to-School Survey," which also detected a big shift in where back-to-school will be shopping this year. One thing that hasn't changed: In-store still prevails.
Study: More shoppers to participate in ‘voice commerce’
As the adoption of voice-controlled devices rises, so will the number of voice-enabled purchases. This was according to “Walker Sands 2017 Future of Retail Study.” The report, which was conducted in late March, surveyed 1,622 consumers across the United States. Nearly one in five consumers (19%) have made a voice purchase through an Amazon Echo or other voice-controlled device in the past year. Another 33% plan to do so in the next year.

Aldi veteran joins executive team of Kroger's value format

The Kroger Co. has named a veteran of discount grocer Aldi to Kroger's own low-cost division. Kroger on Wednesday appointed Liz Ferneding as president of Ruler, effective July 31. She succeeds Paul Bowen, who retired in May.
Amazon scores important win in huge foreign market

Amazon has won the right to sell groceries in India. The online giant currently sells groceries in India through a local partner. But it recently secured government approval to stock and sell its own food items, reported the Nikkei Asian Review.
Vineyard Vines uses social media data to drive sales

The brand best known for its smiling pink whale logo is improving pricing, design and buying decisions by using an innovative data source. By partnering with First Insight, Vineyard Vines will leverage the company’s online social engagement tools to gather real-time product pricing and sentiment data from its customers. This information will then be analyzed by First Insight’s predictive models.
Prime Day knocks it out of the park — and not just with record sales

Amazon’s third annual Prime Day was its biggest shopping event yet — and the biggest day in its history for signing up new Prime members.
Study: Shoppers feel good about Whole Foods' acquisition

Consumers are feeling so positive about Amazon’s purchase of Whole Foods Market that more plan to shop there in the future. This was according to the “Amazon Shopper Sentiment Report” from ChargeItSpot. The study collected responses from over 900 shoppers at malls across the country, using its integrated survey capability, QuickPoll.
Customers most satisfied with these appliance retailers

Best Buy ranks highest in customer satisfaction in the $24 billion-plus appliance market. That's according to the J.D. Power 2017 Appliance Retailer Satisfaction Study. With a score of 857, Best Buy came out on top, ahead of Lowe's (840), The Home Depot (839), Hhgregg (831) and Sears (828). Overall satisfaction with appliance retailers in 2017 is 838 points, up from 821 in 2016.
America's favorite home improvement retailer is...

A smaller-format, neighborhood-oriented retailer beat out big-box competitors to rank as the nation's favorite home improvement retailer in a just-released study. Ace Hardware, known for its neighborly service and an intense focus on the customer experience, earned the top spot, with a composite loyalty score of 63%, in a study by Market Force Information.
Report: Back-to-school shopping grows less predictable

Even back-to-school shopping is not what it once was. U.S. students may still go back to school around the same general time each year, but the timing of BTS shopping has changed in recent years, becoming less consistent and less predictable. That's according to the Back-to-School report from The NPD Group, which finds that BTS shopping is starting earlier and lasting longer.