Content about Retailing

CHICAGO — Men are an ideal target for online beauty and beauty retailers may want to consider expanding more marketing efforts to further leverage this growing opportunity, according to recent research from Mintel.

The ease and convenience features of online shopping appeal to some 60% of men ages 18 of 34 years who buy beauty products and agree that buying online is more convenient than shopping in store. This compares with 52% of women of the same age and 41% of their older male counterparts (ages 55 years and older), according to Mintel.

NEW YORK — Consumers continued to shop online in ever-increasing numbers this holiday season, according to Chase Holiday Pulse, an aggregator of payment processing data from 50 of Chase Paymentech's largest U.S. e-commerce merchants. Pulse results showed YTD year-over-year sales growth of 15.2%.

For the overall holiday season, Oct. 29 through Dec. 25, the Pulse analysis also revealed transaction growth was up 24.3% YoY, while the average ticket price number continued to decline by 7.3% YoY.

CHICAGO — Revamping the center store could present an opportunity worth more than $440 billion for supermarkets, according to a new study by SymphonyIRI.

DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens will keep stores open on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to allow last-minute Christmas shopping, the retail pharmacy chain said Wednesday.

This includes 1,600 24-hour locations that will be open around the clock, while most Walgreens stores will stay open until midnight through Dec. 23, and nearly all stores will be open during regular hours on Christmas Eve, including pharmacies, which will be open from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. On Christmas, non-24-hour stores will be open from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m., and pharmacies will be open at 24-hour stores.

CHICAGO — Holiday shoppers continued their quest for the perfect gifts during the week ended Dec. 8, according to ShopperTrak. Consumer activity drove a 7.8% increase in foot traffic and 6.5% increase in sales from the previous week.

Analysis by Shopper Sense founder Lily Lev-Glick, a 20-year shopping behavior analyst and researcher, has revealed holiday shoppers fall into one of three distinct categories: Scrooges, Ho Ho Happy Go Lucky and On a Merry Mission.

 MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Fred's on Thurday reported a total sales decline of 1% to $150.4 million for the four weeks ended Nov. 24. Comparable store sales for the month declined 3.6% versus an increase of 1.5% in the same period last year.

ARLINGTON, Va. — More than half of U.S. adults plan to buy holiday gifts during Thanksgiving weekend, according to a new survey from the Consumer Electronics Association.

The survey found that 60% will buy gifts during Black Friday weekend, with the average adult planning to spend $218 between Thursday and Monday, compared with $159 last year. At the same time, the "fiscal cliff" may affect their holiday spending. Overall, consumers plan to spend $842 on gifts this year.

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — As the holiday shopping season officially kicks off, CVS/pharmacy has announced that it is offering shoppers deals on gifts both online and in-store on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Plus, additional savings and rewards are available for ExtraCare members.

When planning commission officials in Northwest Arkansas gave Walmart the go ahead for a 40,000-sq.-ft. store in Bentonville, Ark., back in 1998, it was the retail industry’s biggest story that year.


ATLANTA — A majority of retailers say delivering a consistent customer experience is their top priority this holiday season, according to a new survey.

Supply chain and retail technology provider RedPrairie released results of its "Holiday Hiring Snapshot" survey of 250 big-box, specialty, grocery, convenience store and food service retailers based in the United States, finding that nearly 60% cited the importance of consistency, with 29% saying they would hire more seasonal workers this year than last year.

Products often fail before they ever find their way to market. Because our firm reviews more than 2,500 new health, beauty and wellness products, and sees approximately 13,000 packaging changes and line extensions annually, I’ve seen this firsthand.