Content about Retailing

LOS ANGELES — More than 51% of consumers plan to spend the same amount of money in 2012 as in the previous year, according to a 2012 Shopping Outlook survey conducted by PriceGrabber.

While more than half of the survey respondents said they plan to spend the same amount of money as they did last year, 21% indicated they plan to spend more, and 28% plan to spend less.

In its early days, social media meant "connecting with people." That’s still what it’s mostly about. But obviously, we’ve come a long way from those now prehistoric list-servs where we simply posted messages back-and-forth with people of similar interests and pursuits. It’s still about connecting. But now organizations use it for targeted marketing purposes, where once social media was considered the protected domain of the individual. Consumers seem to accept that it has become just another means by which brands are going to try to earn their loyalty.

WASHINGTON — Retailers are set to build customer engagement by investing in information technology and e-commerce, as well as enhancing customer service initiatives and building on mobile platforms, a new report from the National Retail Federation and KPMG found.

DENVER — Shoppers ages 50 to 54 years lead the charge when it comes to purchasing health and beauty products online (52%), and shoppers ages 45 to 49 years are purchasing more food and beverage products online (29%) than any other age group, according to The Checkout, an ongoing shopper behavior study conducted by The Integer Group and M/A/R/C Research, released Thursday.

PLEASANTON, Calif. — Safeway and Kraft Foods on Thursday announced that their Help Us End Hunger (Every Bag Counts) food drive yielded nearly 362,000 bags of groceries for food banks and other hunger-relief centers throughout the United States.

In addition to helping provide products for the food drive, Kraft Foods donated $420,000 to local food banks in Safeway's U.S. operating divisions.

NEW YORK — ShopperTrak reported Monday that national retail sales, when compared with the same period last year, rose 3.5% during November and December, while foot traffic decreased 3.1%.

DULUTH, Ga. — NCR announced Monday the introduction of a point-of-sale system that will allow independent retailers to manage transactions, track sales and inventory, process credit cards and market to customers on both touchscreen terminals and Apple mobile devices.

The system is a cloud-based platform that NCR said would give independent retailers a multichannel "sell anywhere" capability.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Supermarket operator Spartan Stores and gas station operator Speedway are expanding a fuel-discount program to all of Michigan, the companies said Wednesday.

An average consumer encounters the same or very similar product mix from retailer to retailer. Unintentionally, we have almost trained them not to expect anything special from their shopping experience. The retailer that does offer something beyond the ordinary shopping experience can score big points with shoppers. Do something unexpected to surprise and delight shoppers, and word will spread – probably quickly. So what is it that really makes consumers tick? I think it boils down to five main things.

Convenience

YOCUMTOWN, Pa. — Walmart featured this talking shelf touting the benefits of a quit-smoking program in the first week of 2012 in this new store just outside of York, Pa. The endcap, located in the pharmacy area, was facing the main aisle dividing the grocery sector from the rest of the store. Across the aisle, another shelf-cum-video featured the benefits of Quaker Oats for those resolving to eat better in 2012.

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. — Three-out-of-four surveyed retail associates and managers feel they provide a better in-store customer experience when equipped with the latest mobile technologies, according to Motorola Solutions’ "Annual Holiday Shopping Survey."

Shoppers echoed a similar sentiment, with 67% reporting greater satisfaction with stores where associates utilized the latest technologies to assist in the shopping experience. And 43% of shoppers reported that the mobile point of sale improved their shopping experience.

RESTON, Va. — The holiday season-to-date has garnered $24.6 billion in online sales, a 15% increase above corresponding days last year, ComScore reported.

In addition to the 15% increase in spending recorded for the first 39 days of the holiday season, ComScore also noted that the most recent week (week ended Dec. 9) reached $5.9 billion in spending, an increase of 15% versus the corresponding week last year.