Content about Online shopping

WAUKESHA, Wis. — Hamacher Resource Group on Tuesday announced the development of a digital home healthcare product library containing product attributes that easily can be searched and sorted to streamline identification and ordering.

RESTON, Va. — Online retail spending reached $36.3 billion for third quarter 2011, up 13% from last year, according to comScore. This growth rate represented the eighth consecutive quarter of positive year-over-year growth and fourth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth rates.

The top-performing online product categories were: digital content and subscriptions, event tickets, jewelry and watches, consumer electronics (excluding computer peripherals) and computer software. Each category grew at least 15% versus a year ago, comScore reported.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Sears and Kmart have entered the future of staying connected to consumers introducing mobile shopping walls in high-traffic areas.

The shopping walls, which will feature top toys that customers can purchase from their smartphones by scanning the products' QR code, will be available in select malls across the United States, and, for Kmart only, in movie theater lobbies in major markets. Additionally, shoppers can find the Sears and Kmart mobile walls in airports in Chicago, Dallas, Denver and Puerto Rico, and at bus shelters nationwide.

WASHINGTON — It looks like this year's holiday shoppers have a renewed focus on value and will comparison shop by utilizing smartphones, tablets and mobile applications to make purchasing decisions, according to the latest National Retail Federation survey.

RESTON, Va. — Online marketing campaigns contributed to an in-store sales lift of 21%, according to an analysis of multiple consumer packaged goods online ad campaigns that was released Tuesday by ComScore and DunnhumbyUSA.

According to the report, 5-of-every-6 online campaigns generated a positive sales lift among exposed households. Approximately 70% of campaigns generated a double-digit sales lift, and more than 40% generated lifts of at least 30%.

ARLINGTON, Va. — More than half of retail respondents to a survey conducted by the Retail Industry Leaders Association recently reported an increase in the frequency with which organized rings committed shoplifting, and 41% saw an increase in shoplifting by individuals acting alone. As many as 64% of respondents reported an increase in theft of pharmaceutical products, according to the 2011 Crime Trends and Leading Practices Survey released Thursday by RILA.

NEW YORK — A recent consumer survey debunked the two long-assumed scenarios surrounding the moment a shopper actually makes a shopping decision — before they've entered the store as part of a planned purchase or at the shelf on an impulse.

For years, the retailing industry has debated between those who argue a shopper’s mind is mostly made up before they even enter the store and those who assert the real decision what to buy comes down to a final few seconds at the shelf. In fact it is neither, according to a recent survey of U.S. consumers.

PARSIPPANY, N.J.  — Sales of cosmetics and toiletries through alternate channels have soared, growing by nearly $1 billion since 2005, according to consulting and research firm Kline & Co., and more double-digit growth is expected as consumers increasingly opt for the convenience of at-home shopping to meet their beauty needs.
 

CHICAGO — In the wake of several surveys projecting how shoppers will spend this holiday season, the latest study from ShopperTrak expects national retail sales to increase 3% during November and December, while foot traffic will drop 2.2%.

ShopperTrak said its 3% holiday sales increase prediction follows 19 consecutive months of year-over-year U.S. retail sales growth, adding that the expected increase is moderate when compared with the 2010 holiday season's 4.1% sales increase over 2009.

Consumers still have a sweet tooth despite a sour economy. U.S. confectionery sales at food, drug and mass stores continue to grow at a pace of 4.2%, outpacing overall store sales, according to data from the National Confectioners Association.


Chocolate is the key growth driver, with sales up nearly 8% in the drug channel, according to SymphonyIRI Group data for the 52-week period ended July 11. Sweet and savory combinations are one of the segment’s top trends, according to NCA.

NEW YORK — A recent consumer survey released by AlixPartners found that a little more than half of all consumers (51%) identify a traditional grocery retailer as their point of destination when making a grocery trip. Such mass merchants as Walmart are capturing 30% of those trips, and the continued emphasis on fresh in the drug channel has drawn 5% of those trips into the mainstream pharmacy.

Dollar stores, another channel that has in the past few years made a significant push into food items, also draws 5% of all grocery trips.

WASHINGTON — A survey released Thursday by the National Retail Federation found that nearly one-third of tablet owners will use the device to purchase back-to-school items.

According to NRF’s 2011 Back-to-School and College surveys conducted by BIGresearch, consumers with smartphones and tablets will use their devices to research products, redeem coupons, look up store information and even make purchases.