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As Americans increased their borrowing in March, retailers hope this will result in increased sales. For retail planners of major supply chains, a big question is whether consumers will come back to the stores or get back to buying by going online. Online commerce is far outpacing storefront sales around the world, creating competition for... Read more »

Nordstrom is piloting a new service for customers in several US stores, including at its flagship store in downtown Seattle. The service gives customers the ability to text or call the store ahead of time and a store associate will be waiting on the curb with their products when the customer arrives. Nordstrom has allowed... Read more »

The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index for April came in at 95.2. Expectations were to see an increase to 102.2 over March’s index of 101.3. March was very high, beating the consensus forecast of 96.4. Lynn Franco, Director of Economic Indicators at the Conference Board, said in the release: “This month’s retreat was prompted by a... Read more »

Starting May 1, J.C.Penney Co. Inc. is expanding its in-store partnership with Sephora, introducing Sephora to 25 additional J.C. Penney stores. Since the exclusive partnership began in 2006, more than 500 J.C. Penney stores feature a full-service Sephora offering. In addition to these openings, J.C. Penney will expand its square footage of Sephora inside 6... Read more »

The National Association of Realtors announced its pending home sales index, which measures contract signings for purchases of previously owned homes, increased 1.1% to a level of 108.6 in March, up from 107.4 in February. The Wall Street Journal surveyed economists who predicted the increase. The index rose 11.1% in March from the previous year.... Read more »

Demographic trends firmly favor small luxuries, according to a report from Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Vanity capital is globally at $3.7 trillion, with expectations to grow to $4.5 trillion by 208. Typical products range from cosmetics and smartphones, to fitness wear and health foods. They also include high end products like art, cars and... Read more »

The Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), which measures the performance of the managing sector based on five weights: New Orders (30%), Output (25%), Employment (20%), Supplier Delivery Times (15%) and Stock of Items Purchased (10%), decreased in the US In April. A reading above 50 indicates an expansion of the manufacturing sector, while below 50... Read more »

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Customers increased 0.2 percent in March, reported by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics on April 17. The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.2 percent in March, the same as seen in January and February. Many sub-indexes rose in March, including apparel, household furnishings... Read more »

The US Census Bureau reports monthly on inventory levels for retail, wholesale and manufacturing sectors. This trend will impact retailers themselves, consumer goods manufacturers, suppliers to those manufacturers and transportation carriers. The inventory-to-sales ratio in retail has been declining pretty steadily for the last 20 years, with the exception of 2008 when the recession hit... Read more »