Americans’ Newfound Thrift May Put Economic Recovery at Risk

 Research, Trends, Forecasts  Comments Off
Aug 042010
 

According to a government report released on Tuesday, the after-tax savings rate for American consumers in June was 6.4% — well above the one-to-two percent rate that had been the norm for many years before the recession.  The savings rate reached a peak of 8.2% in May of last year, so the rate of consumer deleveraging has moderated.  Still, many economists are concerned that this deleveraging, along with high unemployment and still-high debt levels, continues to discourage consumer spending.   The New York Times Aug. 4, 2010

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High- and Low-End Fashion Cunsumers Eschew Flashy Logos

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Jul 282010
 

According to a study in The Journal of Consumer Research, low- and high-end fashion products tend to have less conspicuous brand markers than midprice goods.  “Rather than rely on obvious logos, expensive products use more discreet markers, such as distinctive design or detailing.”  The New York Times  Jul. 26, 2010

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QVC UK Study Says Women Reach their Beauty Peak at Age 31

 Research, Trends, Forecasts  Comments Off
Jul 192010
 

A survey of 2,000 men and women commissioned by QVC UK in conjunction with its Beauty Month, found that the peak of perfection for women comes at age 31.  “The three ingredients respondents linked most to attractiveness and beauty were confidence -70%, good looks – 67% and being stylish 47%.  soFeminine (UK) Jul. 19, 2010

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Recession Takes Big Toll on More Americans’ Credit Scores

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Jul 152010
 

The latest reason for the stalling recovery — American consumers are tapped out in terms of credit.  More of them than ever are poor credit risks, based on their FICO scores.  Some 25.5 percent of American cosumers — nearly 43.4 million people — now have a credit score of 599 or below, marking them as poor risks for lenders.  Their is some good news on the plus side, however, as many people have wored to pay down debts during the recession.  The number of consumers who have a top score of 800 or above has increased in recent years.  Associated Press Jul. 12, 2010

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U.S. Retail Sales Drop 0.5% in June

 Geography, Research, Trends, Forecasts, USA  Comments Off
Jul 142010
 

The drop — attributable in large part to slumping automobile sales — was greater than the 0.2% expected by economists and again raises concerns about how much of a slowdown the economy will have to endure in the second half of the year.  U.S. retail sales dropped 1.1% in May.  The New York Times Jul. 14, 2010

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Liberty Media CEO Says “Consumer-Facing” Businesses Can Expect “Long, Hard Slog”

 Research, Trends, Forecasts, Trade Shows & Exhibitions  Comments Off
Jul 102010
 

Worry not, Greg Maffei, who has held the top spot at Liberty Media since March 2006, prefaced the remark by saying, “It’s not to say that the world is going to fall apart…”  I for one feel a lot better already.  Maffei made his remarks at the annual Allen & Co. Media summit in Sun Valley, Idaho, where a mood of concern about the economy reportedly prevailed.  Associated Press Jul. 9, 2010

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Department Stores Post Strongest June Sales Since 2003

 Bricks-and-Mortar, Distribution Channel, Research, Trends, Forecasts  Comments Off
Jul 092010
 

Same store sales at department stores posted a gain of 5.8 percent in June over the prior-year period, beating analyst estimates of 5.1 percent, according to Thomson Reuters.  Total retail sales in June were up 3.1 percent compared with June 2009, slightly lower than estimates compiled by Thomson Reuters.  One analyst described the total retail number as “lackluster at best,” and the report suggests that consumers at both the high and low ends of the retail spectrum were still skittish about spending.  Sales at discount stores were either up only slightly or flat, while sales at luxury stores declined 3.9 percent in June compared with last year.

“The government also indicated that many consumers were holding back. Outstanding consumer credit in May declined for the fourth consecutive month, falling by $9.1 billion, or 4.5 percent, the Federal Reserve said on Thursday. That was much sharper than the $2.3 billion decrease economists surveyed by Bloomberg News had expected.”  The New York Times Jun. 9, 2010

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Private Sector Job Growth Underwhelms in June

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Jul 022010
 

Private job growth has risen every month this year, but that growth slowed to a trickle in May, as the economy created just 33,000 jobs, according to revised figures released by the Department of Labor today.  In June, the U.S. economy added just 83,000 private-sector jobs, another low number that could add to growing sense among economists that the economic recovery is stalling.  “By way of comparison, the economy has lost 7.4 million jobs since the recession began in December 2007.”  The New York Times Jul. 2, 2010

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Consumer Confidence Plummets in June

 Geography, Research, Trends, Forecasts, UK/Europe, USA  Comments Off
Jun 302010
 

The NYC-based Conference Board research group reported that its U.S. Consumer Confidence Index dropped to 52.9 in June from 62.7 in May, reversing three months of gains.  It was the lowest level since March, when the index stood at 52.3.  Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board Consumer Research Center, explained the drop in this statement.  “Increasing uncertainty and apprehension about the future state of the economy and labor market, no doubt a result of the recent slowdown in job growth, are the primary reasons for the sharp reversal in confidence.”  Bloomberg Businessweek reports that people are feeling even worse in Great Britain, where consumer confidence has reached a six-month low.  CNNMoney.com Conference Board Press Release Jun. 29, 2010

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Survey Says M-Commerce Sales Small But a Big Deal to Retailers

 Distribution Channel, Mobile telephone, Research, Trends, Forecasts  Comments Off
Jun 292010
 

Retailers with a mobile presence generate only 2.8% of their overall online, web-store traffic from their mobile phone browsers and only 2% of their online sales via the mobile devices, themselves.  Given these small numbers, perhaps it’s no surprise that of the 84 retailers asked, almost two-thirds of them said that they either had no mobile strategy or were in the early stages of coming up with one.  Still, they’re excited about the future potential.

These findings come from an annual state of online retailing study commissioned by the National Retail Federation’s digital arm Shop.org and conducted by Forrester Research, which surveyed a total of more than 100 retailers this spring.  Before pooh-poohing the distribution channel, it bears recalling that online sales, themselves, took a good decade or so to catch on.  One new retail wrinkle that may be more hype than anything else: social-media marketing.  “Only 7% of retailers cited a social networking presence as one of their top three most effective tools for gaining customers last year, compared with 90% of them citing marketing through search engines such as Google.com.”  The Wall Street Journal Jun. 29, 2010

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