Content about Online shopping

AUSTIN, Texas — A survey released by coupon site RetailMeNot found that coupon use for back-to-school shopping surged this year, particularly for retailers selling books, school supplies and apparel.

According to RetailMeNot, which measured coupon usage during the July 1 to Aug. 20 selling period, as compared with the prior three months, the average daily coupon clicks increased more than 130% for book retailers, more than 40% for merchants selling back-to-school supplies and more than 30% for stores selling apparel and shoes.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT — As of Sept. 1, some 1.2 million Pennsylvanians will be able to go to bed at night secure in the knowledge that their jobs won't be drowned out by some online juggernaut. And by the middle of September, 3.1 million Californians will be able to breathe that same sigh of relief. That's how many retail employees there are across those two states.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT — Do you doubt the importance of having a multichannel strategy to reach shoppers? If so, consider the fact that — for as little 2.5% off — nearly half of your customers will walk out of the store to make their purchase online. How about a 5% discount? Well, that number jumps to 60% of shoppers who will leave.

This year’s Olympics coverage on NBC stood in stark contrast to the television network's failed attempt to offer expanded audience choice through their pay-per-view “Triplecast” in 1992. Remember that 20 years ago, NBC aired the Olympics through three pay-per-view channels? Their total number of subscribers, either for a one-day pass or any of the “gold,” “silver” or “bronze” packages probably couldn’t equal even the smallest service area for a major cable company.

CHICAGO — Consumers shop as many as seven retail channels in pursuit of the best value, SymphonyIRI Group reported Wednesday.

LOS ANGELES — Nearly half of consumers polled in the latest PriceGrabber survey said that retailers are serving up better back-to-school promotions this year, compared with 2011.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT — Nothing beats the experience of shopping in a store: touching and feeling the merchandise, enjoying the ambiance of the store with the Muzak playing in the background, engaging with the retailer's wonderful customer service representatives and then pulling up that product on Amazon.com and clicking "check out." Coupling online retailing with ease of access through smartphones and tablets and a lot of points of differentiation that retailers had used to distinguish their brands — namely, convenience amd price — go straight ou

NEW YORK — Days of cutting back-to-school spending are over, as nearly 9-in-10 consumers plan to spend the same or more, according to Deloitte's annual back-to-school survey.

In 2006, Time magazine added a twist to its annual “Person of the Year” cover story, replacing the usual picture of some prominent individual with a picture of a glossy computer screen to show that social networking had made “you” the person of the year. Now, the idea that it’s all about “you” has percolated into retail. 


PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y. — Once again, consumers are putting off back-to-school shopping until the last minute, but retailers can take solace in the fact that they intend to spend more this year, NPD reported.

According to NPD's survey, 31% of respondents said they plan to spend more this year, compared with 22% who made that claim in 2011. The number of consumers who plan to spend less went from 38% in 2011 to 24% this year, while those who plan to spend the same rose from 40% to 46%.

WASHINGTON — A survey released by the National Retail Federation and conducted by BIGInsight found that the average parent will spend $688.62 on back-to-school items this year, compared with $603.63 last year. Total spending is expected to reach $30.3 billion.

NRF cited an increased number of children entering elementary and middle school this fall, as well as necessary back-to-school replenishments after last year’s cutbacks, for the predicted improvements.

NEW YORK — It seems that traditional grocery stores and established food brands may lose their position in the market due to a confluence of changing demographics, economic factors and customer preferences, according to new research from global investment bank Jefferies and global business advisory firm AlixPartners.