Holiday sales growth topped forecast
US retail sales at stores and online surged to $886.7 billion in November and December, a 14.1% jump from the same period in 2020, according to a report from NRF, which had forecast growth of as much as 11.5% for holiday retail sales. “Despite supply chain problems, rising inflation,...
Q4 retail sales closed strong despite December decline
US retail sales fell 1.9% in December from the previous month, according to the Commerce Department, reflecting a combination of inflation and supply chain glitches that spurred consumers to do more of their holiday shopping earlier than usual. Total sales for the last three months of 2021 were up...
How big is the problem of organized retail theft?
Organized retail crime is a serious problem for US retailers who lose about 0.07% of total sales to ORC, according to NRF data, but some other industry estimates appear to have overestimated the damage. Read more …
November Retail Sales Put Holiday Season on Track to Set New Records
Retail sales continued to grow in November, putting the 2021 holiday season on the home stretch for record spending despite inflation, supply chain disruptions and COVID-19. Grocery and beverage store sales were up 1.3% month over month seasonally adjusted and up 8.8% unadjusted year over year. Read more …
Organized retail crime remains a growing threat
Organized retail crime now costs retailers an average of $700,000 per $1 billion in sales and three-fourths of retailers saw an increase in ORC in 2020, according to NRF’s 2020 Organized Retail Crime Survey. More than two-thirds of retailers said the pandemic increased the overall risk for their organization...
Consumer spending was up 14.5% year over year for the first nine months of the year
Consumer spending was up 14.5% year over year for the first nine months of the year — and has returned to pre-pandemic levels for many retail categories. Read more …
Consumer spending up 14.5% year over year
Consumer spending was up 14.5% year over year for the first nine months of the year, and has returned to pre-pandemic levels for many retail categories. Read more …
Supply chain disruptions hit Main Street
As concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic ease, small businesses are seeing customers return to their stores, eager to shop. But the pandemic has placed significant strains on global supply chains, making it more difficult for retailers to source products in an efficient, timely and affordable manner. While there is...
Online Grocery Sales Grew in August
Online grocery sales grew to $8.6 billion in August in the U.S., a 4.7 percent increase versus a year ago, according to the Brick Meets Click/Mercatus Grocery Shopping Survey. Ship-to-home sales dropped nearly 22 percent from last year to $2 billion and the combined delivery/pickup segment grew 16 percent...
Grocery parking lots become prime real estate
The rise in grocery pickup has revealed the lucrative value of parking lots for grocers during the pandemic as a reported 75% of shoppers used curbside pickup in the past six months, according to Digital Commerce 360. “Parking areas became a vital part of business as many customers ordered...