April Marks 22 Straight Months of Retail Growth
Overall retail sales for April came in 4.5% higher than last year, marking 22 months of consecutive retail growth, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. Clothing and accessories posted a 1.7% gain year-over-year, while sporting goods (which are important to some of our outdoor retailers) saw a 1.9% increase. The same figures seasonally adjusted month-over-month [...]
Study: High-end Shoppers Frequent Low-end Stores
High-end shoppers frequent lower-end retail stores equally as much as their “natural” habitat, according to a recent study conducted by MasterCard. In fact, high-end shoppers appear to be spending more at lower-end stores much of the time. The results of the “cross shopping” poll of 100,000 anonymous cardholders came as a bit of a shock, [...]
March Retail Sales Provide Unexpected Bump
Retail sales grew 0.8% in March, beating analysts’ expectations and suggesting stronger growth in the first quarter. Previously, analysts were expecting growth of just 0.3%, coming after stronger-than-expected sales in February. Experts pointed to warmer weather and growing consumer confidence as reasons behind the increase. The February jump also led analysts to increase their GDP [...]
Study: One-Quarter of Online Retailers Drop the Ball On Facebook
Your store has a Facebook page–congratulations! But are you actually responding to customers’ questions and comments? A new survey reveals that a quarter of online retailers fail to respond to comments customers leave on their Facebook page. Furthermore, in the study conducted by StellaService, five big retailers, including J. Crew and RadioShack, failed to respond [...]
H&M To Open Higher-Priced Chain In 2013
Fast-fashion chain H&M Hennes & Mauritz announced that it is opening a number of newly branded, higher priced stores called “& Other Stories.” The first store will open in Europe in 2013, targeting young customers. Few other details have been given other than the fact that the new chain will be a “luxury version” of [...]
NRF: Easter Retail Sales To Grow By 11%
A recent report conducted by the National Retail Federation (NRF) calls for retail sales during the Easter holiday to grow by 11% over last year. The typical American is expected to spend an average of $145.28, up from $131.04 last year, to total around $16.8 billion dollars over the 2012 holiday. According to NRF CEO [...]
February Retail Sales Show Highest Gain in Five Months
Retail sales grew by 1.1% in February, posting their highest gain in five months, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. Gains came from across the board, far outpacing January’s 0.6% growth. February’s results caused some economists to raise their first-quarter GDP growth predictions to 2%, indicating that the U.S. economy is on better footing. Growth [...]
Gilt Group Teams With Klout to Give Influencers Huge Discounts
So, how influential are you? This is what flash sales site Gilt Group is asking customers under a deal with social media influence site Klout. Gilt is offering customers with high Klout scores discounts of up to 100% on apparel and home décor for one week. This unprecedented promotion is part of a greater effort [...]
Fast-Fashion Retailer Topshop/Topman To Open In Las Vegas
Topshop and Topman, the U.K.-based brands owned by Sir Phillip Greene, are making a move to the American West. The first Topshop and Topman store will open in Las Vegas next month, followed by a more substantial store in Los Angeles’s The Grove shopping center – a 25,000-square-foot location slated to open in February of [...]
High-End Retailers Gained Margin In The Fourth Quarter
Some major retailers reported stronger-than-expected fourth quarter sales, and higher gross margins, after shifting their focus toward wealthier customers. Saks Fifth Avenue’s margin rose from 40.1% to a 40.8% in the fourth quarter, while Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s reported an average 9% increase in prices. The link between margin performances and retailers’ move toward higher price [...]
Online Sales Of Specialty Apparel Growing Rapidly
Online sales of specialty apparel is growing at a rate of about 2% a year and could make up 20% of the market very soon, according to Michael McNamara, vice president of MasterCard Advisors SpendingPulse. E-commerce sales of specialty apparel already reached 18.1% last year, nearly doubling from 2007. McNamara predicts that online sales could [...]
Unemployment Falls In Sign The Economy Is Shifting
If you have been eyeing the U.S. economy with skepticism, the latest jobs report from the Labor Department should come as a welcome surprise. Some 243,000 new jobs were added in January, causing the unemployment level to fall to its lowest point since early 2009, coming in at 8.3%. The promising outlook indicates a restored [...]
J. C. Penney Plans Major Store Overhaul, New Image
New J. C. Penney chief executive Ron Johnson announced this week that he has major changes in store for the seasoned retailer. Johnson, who came to the company three months ago, after overseeing Apple’s retail strategy, is putting an end to J. C. Penney’s nearly continuous promotions to focus on a new pricing strategy. This [...]
MrketNY Menswear Show Offers Free Mobile App
Attending a big trade show can be overwhelming, but the organizers of the MRketNY menswear tradeshow have found a solution—a new mobile app that lists exhibitors and offers maps to help you get around. The MrketNY show started yesterday and runs through tomorrow at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City, featuring men’s accessories, [...]
Fashion Week Organizers Adjust Fall Dates for NY, London & Milan
After much debate over how to organize the fall 2012 fashion calendar, new dates have been set for both the New York and London fashion weeks. New York Fashion Week will now take place Sept. 6 – 13th, followed by London Sept. 14 – 18th. As a result, Milan will take place Sept. 19th – [...]
U.S. Unemployment Rate Drops to 8.5 Percent
The U.S. unemployment rate dropped to its lowest level in three years on Friday, and now stands at 8.5%. Nonfarm payroll employment added 200,000 jobs in December, bringing the country’s total job creation for 2011 to 2 million. While the U.S. job market is steadily improving, unemployment in the eurozone remains high, at 10.3%. External [...]
Holiday Sales Come In Above Average
Holiday shoppers got off to a slow start, but they ended the season with some momentum, thanks to retailers’ quickfire promotions. Big-box stores such as Bloomingdale’s and J. Crew offered as much as 75% percent off on post-Christmas goods, in an effort to end the season on a high note, even though it limited the [...]
Early Holiday Markdowns Could Mean Soft Sales in January
After a strong early start fueled by markdowns, holiday sales have slowed and retailers are continuing to discount in order to drive business. “Everyone is on sale,” says Blacks Retail Founder and Senior Consultant Steve Pruitt.”The problem is what are the retailers going to do after Christmas?” Since merchants started marking down earlier this year, [...]
Survey: Tablet Users Like To “Indulge” In Online Shopping
With mobile apps that look for deals, coupons, and other online promotional tools at shoppers’ disposal, it may be easy for retailers to think of technology as something that aids consumers more than them. However, the growing popularity of tablets, such as the Apple iPad, might provide a welcome surprise. A recent survey by Zmags [...]
Daily Deal Sites To Do Well This Holiday Season
In another sign that consumers will be looking for deals this holiday season, daily deal aggregator Yipit predicts that shoppers will spend between $80 million $100 million on daily deal sites between Thanksgiving and Christmas. If they’re right, that would be a $15 million $20 million increase over last year. Fortunately, these deal sites rarely [...]
Black Friday Weekend Sales Beat Records
Black Friday weekend set record sales this year, providing a pleasant surprise to retailers given the current economic climate. Sales were up 16.4% to $52 billion, beating last year’s sales by nearly $5 billion, accorded to the National Retail Federation (NRF). And even though Cyber Monday has not yet been tabulated, online shoppers provided some [...]
Retailers See Backlash as Black Friday Bleeds into Thanksgiving
For the last several years, it seems that holiday sales have been creeping up, and even running into back-to-school promotions. And this year, retailers such as Toys “R” Us, Wal-Mart, and Best Buy, have even announced that they will be open Thanksgiving evening for early Black Friday sales. This has left consumers saying that enough [...]
October Retail Sales Slide After Two Months Of Gains
October retail sales came in lower than expected following two months of strong gains, according to a recent survey by by Thomson Reuters. Retailers posted an average increase of 3.4% in October, lower than the 4.5% gain analysts’ predicted. The October figures, coupled with the government’s recently lowered G.D.P. predictions, are leading some analysts to [...]
Online Holiday Sales Expected To Surge
Online retail sales are expected to grow significantly this holiday season, according to the latest survey by Shop.org. Some 68% online retailers said they expected their holiday sales to be up 15% over last year, thanks to consumers’ growing desire to shop online and look for deals 24 hours a day rather than go to [...]
