Procrastinating is out this year when it comes to holiday shopping, with 62 percent of consumers surveyed planning to finish their gift buying on or before Dec. 16, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers.
Shoppers in the United States plan on spending an average of $646 on gifts this holiday season, representing an 11-percent increase over the $582 they planned to spend, on average, in 2012, according to Accenture's annual holiday shopping survey. The forecast uptick is more optimistic than other holiday surveys released to date.
The impact of Wal-Mart's commitment to sustainability "will be global and make a difference with products sold around the globe," says company president and CEO Mike Duke.
Walmart created its global e-commerce group two years ago, and the company's online revenues now total $9bn. But the retailer clearly sees room for growth.
You can learn a lot by monitoring consumer conversations in social media. It can predict political elections, the Oscars and even the next reality show winner. If you are a CPG marketer, social media can also be a real-time predictor of your new product's success.