Retailer Trends
Higher Costs of Living Spur Private Label Purchases
Private label has been a serious contender for shelf space for several years. But when consumers are bombarded by smaller packages that have higher prices...
Sears' Rewards Program is New Focus for Building Sales
In the past few years, Sears has been criticized for not doing enough to maintain its brick-and-mortar appearance. It looks like that's about to change. According to plans released at the Sears Holdings' annual meeting, there will be new emphasis placed on creating a more user-friendly in-the-store experience.
Target's PFresh Success
Target is receiving kudos for its ability to successfully merge high-quality private label brands, competitive pricing, boutique and designer at-the-right-price offerings with — groceries. While many big-box retailers are stocking groceries in an effort to increase traffic, the PFresh Target format — which will be implemented in 1,100 stores by December 2012 — is receiving particular praise.
Wal-Mart Focuses Its Global Efforts on Existing Markets
While the majority of Wal-Mart's profits and sales come from the U.S., global economies harbor the most potential for growth. Which countries is Wal-Mart focusing on? According to Walmart International Chief Executive Officer Doug McMillon, Wal-Mart's global focus is on "improving returns with our existing business."
Are Multi-Channel Customers More Profitable?
Walgreens says they are. According to Ron Kelly, Walgreens' VP of Customer and Pharmacy Service, E-commerce, consumers who visit their site, use mobile technologies and shop in their stores are three times more profitable than a consumer who only uses one channel.
Wal-Mart's Plan to Lower Grocery Prices by $1 Billion
Wal-Mart is now the nation's largest retailer of groceries in sales dollars. And they're taking that title seriously — and hoping to use it to encourage hungry shoppers to visit their stores.
Strong February Sales Helped in Part by Mild Weather
Mother Nature's mild winter seems to have spurred consumer spending across a variety of American retailers. Target, Macy's and Gap all reported higher than expected February sales figures. Reporting retailers noted a 6.7% increase over spending at this time last year — the biggest gain since June 2011.
Can You Provide Better Insights to Floor Planners?
In a recent white paper by Ralph Williams of JDA Software, he outlines the need for floor planners to shift from purely tactical methods to integrating strategic methods (and using POS data) in order to improve floor planning.
Will Walmart’s 4Q Sales Meet Industry Expectations?
After six quarters of declines in the number of visits to Walmart stores, industry insiders think Walmart’s 4Q stats may put an end to that trend. Why the decline?
In a Transparent World, Is Low Pricing Enough?
Yes, a shopper's ability to pull up price comparisons from virtually anywhere have led to retailer price wars. But that level has also created other challenges for retailers — there's only so low (in price) you can go.
