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October 30, 2014 Retailers are in for a “humbling holiday” with a 3.4% overall increase in sales and a deceleration in e-commerce growth, according to a new forecast from retail industry consulting and research firm Customer Growth Partners. In the 14th annual holiday forecast, the 3.4% increase in sales is well below projections of others,... Read more »

October 30, 2014 The iconic suburban, single-family American home isn’t going anywhere – and neither are their Baby Boomer owners.  Contrary to common perception, the post World War II generation will not be trading home ownership for renting, suburbs for cities, or yards and gardens for more maintenance-free living.  Rather, most Boomers will age-in-place, while... Read more »

October 29, 2014 The all-important holiday shopping season is upon us.  NRF’s 2014 holiday forecast calls for a retail sales increase of 4.1 percent to a total of $616.9 billion.  “Holiday sales” are defined as those happening from November 1 through December 31. Overall, we expect holiday spending to reflect recent economic momentum.  The economy... Read more »

October 29, 2014 Weaker than expected third quarter sales prompted Kohl’s to lower its profit forecast while noting that e-commerce sales increased 30%. The company held an investor conference on October 29 and said third quarter sales were expected to decline 1.4% due to softer than expected sales during October.  The top line weakness caused... Read more »

October 27, 2014 Home improvement in New York is in for a new look in 2015 when Lowe’s opens two tiny stores in Manhattan. Lowe’s is coming to Manhattan to bring homeowners, renters and professional customers the products and services they need to maintain and improve their homes and businesses, the company said.  Its two... Read more »

October 30, 2014 The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis today reported 3.5 percent annualized growth in real Gross Domestic Product for the third quarter of 2014, which is above expectations because of strong contributions from net exports and government spending on national defense. The growth in household consumption was disappointing, and business investment grew only... Read more »

October 22, 2014 Family Dollar Stores on Tuesday announced that it has certified substantial compliance with both the Federal Trade Commission’s second request regarding the acquisition by Dollar Tree, as well as the second request regarding Dollar General’s bid for the company. Dollar Tree is expected to certify substantial compliance by November 7, the company... Read more »

October 28, 2014 The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which had decreased in September, rebounded in October.  The Index now stands at 94.5, up from 89.0 in September.  The Present Situation Index edged up from 93.0 to 93.7, while the Expectations Index increased sharply to 95.0 from 86.4 in September. Says Lynn Franco, Director of... Read more »

October 24, 2014 Sales of newly built, single-family homes inched up 0.2 percent in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 467,000 units, the highest level in six years, according to newly released data by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau.  Sales numbers for August were revised... Read more »