Resources

March 25, 2014 Despite expected headwinds from slower generic drug introductions, comparisons with last year’s flu season and severe weather, Walgreens saw solid top-line growth in the second quarter ended February 28, driven by record quarterly sales and record second quarter prescriptions filled. The company also continued to gain prescription market share while maintaining a... Read more »

March 25, 2014 Sales of newly built, single family homes fell 3.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 440,000 units in February, according to newly released figures from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. “There is no doubt that the persistently bad weather took a toll... Read more »

March 25, 2014 The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which had decreased in February, improved in March.  The Index now stands at 82.3, up from 78.3 in February.  The Present Situation Index edged down to 80.4 from 81.0, while the Expectations Index increased to 83.5 from 76.5. “Consumer confidence improved in March, as expectations for... Read more »

March 18, 2014 Walmart this week opened its first small format convenience store branded as Walmart To Go in its hometown of Bentonville. The concept offers a familiar blend of convenience store products, prepared foods and gasoline and is not to be confused with Walmart’s other small format concept known as Walmart Express.  The Express... Read more »

March 14, 2014 Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores said Fourth-quarter same-store sales declined 3.4% as two of the company’s best known brands had disappointing results.  Sales in the fourth quarter declined 4.5% to $602.4 million due to the combination of a 3.4% same-store sales decline and an extra week in the fourth quarter the prior... Read more »

My team has the opportunity to spend a significant amount of time in various retailer portals downloading store lists, POS data and other files as part of the work we do for our customers.   We routinely encounter errors with the portals and in particular during peak times like early morning.   When prospective customers ask me... Read more »

March 13, 2014 Consumer spending on retail sales rose a healthy 0.3 percent in February, despite widespread inclement weather.  This good result essentially offsets the declines registered in January.  The core retail sales measure that excludes autos, building materials and gasoline also advanced a solid 0.3 percent supporting consumer spending in Q1.  Online store sales... Read more »

March 18, 2014 Nationwide housing starts were virtually unchanged in February, inching down 0.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 907,000 units, according to newly released data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Census Bureau. “Continuing the January trend and in line with our recent surveys, builders are... Read more »

March 7, 2014 The economy generated a gain of 175,000 jobs in February.  Whether that is enough to dissipate uncertainty about where the economy is headed this year remains the big question.  Even though the number of workers unable to report to work due to inclement weather increased strongly, and average weekly hours declined, the... Read more »