Figures from translation services firm Wolfestone show the Eurozone countries are more resilient than expected after a difficult year, and turmoil in the Middle East appears to have affected the attractiveness of exporting to the region.
As consumer purse strings tighten and the field of rivals from multiple buying channels expands, retailers need to sharpen their competitive game or risk disappearing forever.
As I waited to pay for my groceries the other day, a manager instructed a novice bagger on the art of separating lighter items, like the eggs, from heavier ones, such as a 12-pack of canned dog food. Like to like, the boss said; that way stuff doesn't get crushed on the ride home.
Twenty-seven percent of Americans say they will spend less on gifts this holiday period, but around the same number (32 percent) will direct more of their present-buying dollars to Amazon. In particular, big-spenders will drive an expected holiday boost for the giant online retailer, with 27 percent of people earning over $150,000 a year saying they will spend more on Amazon. The survey was conducted online on December 4th, 2012. Two thousand consumers in the U.S. participated in the survey.
Best Buy recently removed e-mail support from its web site, a move the company said was designed to improve response and to give customers the kind of interactions they seek. The problem with this change is twofold.
The International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, have partnered once again to bring the retail real estate industry The University of Shopping Centers, on the campus of the Wharton School, March 4-6, 2013, in Philadelphia. The program will feature three new learning tracks, including the Executive track, taught by Wharton professors.
Eager holiday shoppers helped drive retail sales upwards in November, helping boost sales in the first half of the holiday season. According to the National Retail Federation, the world's largest retail trade association, November retail sales (excluding automobiles, gas stations and restaurants) increased 0.8 percent seasonally adjusted from October and increased 4.4 percent unadjusted year-over-year. With this news, NRF is still expecting holiday sales to grow 4.1 percent over last holiday season.
If you're looking for more evidence of the bipolar nature of mobile shoppers, look no further. The Harris Poll people have what you need. In what should be called the NIMBY (Not In My Backyard) effect, some 66 percent of Americans polled said they expect mobile payments to eventually replace payment cards and even cash-but not their cards and cash.
Here are five more predictions for 2013 and beyond, from a panel of five well-informed (and well-fed) Silicon Valley business executives. (See my previous post for the first five.) Assembled in Santa Clara, Calif., by the San Francisco Roundtable of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals, these individuals took part in the group's fourth annual effort to answer that age-old question: What does the future hold for supply-chain management?
