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Posts Tagged ‘NRF’

Is Back-to-School Shopping Already Doomed?

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on July 21, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

The calendar only reads July 21 but should retailers be concerned that the back-to-school shopping season this year is going to be a bust?  Maybe so.

A survey by the National Retail Federation (NRF), conducted by BIGresearch earlier this month, reveals that consumers will likely reign in spending on school supplies in 2011–families with kids between kindergarten and grade 12 are expected to spend roughly $603.63 during the back-to-school season, which would be a decrease of 0.5 percent from last year.

Total spending for the retail industry’s second most-important shopping period of the year, for K-12 and college combined, is expected to total about $68.8 billion.

Still, high prices at the gas pump combined with continued record unemployment around the country seem to have already hurt the prospects for a bigger back-to-school season.  As a result, shoppers are going to be looking for deals wherever they can find them and retailers that hope to survive will need to oblige.

“Families aren’t opposed to spending on what they need, but parents want their children to take a good look around at what they already have before deciding what to buy for back to school this year,” said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay in a statement.  “Retailers understand consumers are extremely focused on value and are taking this opportunity to offer substantial savings on merchandise.”

The survey polled 8,694 shoppers in early July.  Highlights from the data include:

–57 percent of respondents will shop at department stores, targeting private label brands that are often a cheaper alternative;

–Electronics won’t be nearly as sought-after this year, with slightly more than half of those polled planning to buy them, down from 63. 7 percent in 2010;

–With 43.7 percent of respondents saying the economy will force them to spend less in general, 39.9 percent will be looking for store-brand or generic items and 50 percent will be shopping for sales;

–The web will once again be a haven for back-to-school shoppers; 31.7 percent will go online in 2011 (up slightly from 30.8 percent a year ago) and 29.8 percent will use online comparison shopping resources;

–Average spending on clothing ($220.60) and school supplies ($88.99) will slightly decrease this year, while families will spend an average of $104.53 on shoes, a slight increase over last year;

–A majority of those polled (68.4 percent) said they plan to make at least one purchase from a discount store, while clothing stores (48.7 percent), office supply stores (38 percent) and electronics stores (21.7 percent) should also be good for at least one purchase as well.

The results overall tend to mirror similar (and earlier) assessments of the 2011 back-to-school shopping season.  While the numbers don’t seem too bad per se, the estimates certainly fall short of what many in the retail and e-commerce industries have to be hoping for as the summer starts to wind down.  Only time will tell if actual sales equal, fall short, or exceed the expectations put forth by the NRF and others.

As always, leave us your thoughts and comments!

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Jewelry Expected to be a Top Item this Holiday Season

Posted in Ecommerce, Online Shopping, Retail, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , on October 20, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

It’s hard to believe, but Christmas is only about 65 days away.   As such, it’s not surprising that we’re already starting to see news on what items could be the most sought-after this holiday shopping season.

Granted, year to year, popular product categories for the holidays tend to stay relatively the same—electronics, books, clothing, footwear and books are always very popular.  However, each year, the degree to which consumers favor certain categories over others is always changing.

One such category that is expected to be on more holiday wish lists this year, at least according to a new survey from the National Retail Federation, is jewelry—more than 23 percent of people will ask for jewelry gifts this year, 10 percent higher than just a year ago.  And if that turns out to be a solid prediction, it could mean that more holiday shoppers will be looking at discretionary items in 2010 and reversing the trend in recent years of sticking with more practical, budget-friendly gift items.

The NRF’s 2010 Holiday Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey also finds that overall holiday spending should be up this year, with consumers expected to spend an average of $688.87 on holiday items (up from last year’s mark of $681.83).   It also revealed that online shopping will once again play a big role in the holiday retail picture.   Those who shop online for the holidays are expected to spend 25 percent more than the average adult shopper—somewhere in the ballpark of $850. Online holiday shoppers are also more likely to shop early and mix in some things for themselves along the way as well.

Still, the web will not be the MOST favored shopping resource this year. Department stores (54.5 percent) and grocery stores (46.7 percent) took the top spots among shoppers’ preferred destinations, with the Internet coming in third at 43.9 percent.

And while expected jewelry sales made a big leap from 2009, gift cards figure to remain the most requested holiday gift this year, with nearly 60 percent of respondents choosing them as their top item.  Clothing (48 percent) and books (47 percent) were second and third, respectively.

While the economy has still not fully recovered, NRF president and CEO Matthew Shay predicts that if consumer spending habits this holiday season go as anticipated, it could signal that things are at least starting to return to normal and give weary retailers some much needed relief.

“As Americans open up their wallets for more discretionary gifts like jewelry or take advantage of sales to buy for themselves, retailers will begin to truly believe that the worst may be behind them,” said Shay.

What are your thoughts here?  Do you have jewelry on your wish list for 2010?  If not, what items are you hoping to get for the holidays?  Leave us a comment!

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Shop.Org Makes Leadership Appointments

Posted in General News / Technology, tagged , , , , on September 14, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

Shop.org, the digital retail division of the National Retail Federation (NRF), has announced the appointment of Joan Broughton as interim executive director and has also elected 11 new members to its board of directors.

Broughton replaces Scott Silverman, who left Shop.org in August to start a virtual goods retailing outfit.  Silverman had held the executive director post since 2001 and Shop.org may take at least a few months before a permanent replacement is selected.

Broughton has been a part of the Shop.org/NRF family since coming on board in 2006.  Prior to that, she was as a vice president at leading outdoor and sporting equipment retailer Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI), where she headed up multi-channel programs and e-commerce operations.

After leaving REI, Broughton assumed the title of vice president of content and education for Shop.org. She eventually transferred to the broader NRF, serving as the head of internet strategies.   Broughton is also a former Shop.org board member herself.

In addition to the Broughton appointment, Shop.org has added 11 new individuals to its board of directors.  Six of the new appointees are retailers, bringing the total number of retailers on the 19-person board to 11.  The new members, who will each serve a two-year term, are:

–Anne Ashbey, vice president, marketing, Blackstone Audio Inc.
–Bill Bass, president, Charming Direct Division, Charming Shoppes Inc.,
–Troy Brown, retail practice leader, Demandware
–Peter Cobb, co-founder, senior vice president, eBags,
–Chuck Davis, CEO, Fandango; executive vice president, Comcast Interactive
–Kevin Ertell, vice president, retail strategy, ForeSee Results Inc.
–Patti Freeman Evans, vice president, research, Forrester Research Inc.
–Misty Locke, president and co-founder, Range Online Media Inc.
–Paul Misener, vice president, global public policy, Amazon.com Inc
–Chris O’Neill, director, retail, Google Inc.
–John Rogers, vice president and general manager, global e-commerce, Under Armour Inc.

Note:  We apologize for not having any news to post the past few days.  Our editor was out on vacation but you can expect daily news from us again this week and as always, we welcome your comments and ideas!

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NRF Predicts a 10 Percent Bump in Back-to-School Shopping

Posted in Ecommerce, Online Shopping, Retail, tagged , , , on July 16, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

We love wrapping up the week with an item that offers some hope and good news for retailers. And this certainly qualifies.

The National Retail Federation is projecting that families will spend about 10 percent more on back-to-school items this year than they did in 2009.  Such an increase could push the industry’s back-to-school sales figures past $55 billion, making it the second-biggest consumer spending period behind the holiday shopping season.

The forecast predicts that families will spend an average of $606 in 2010 on various back-to-school items, from electronics to footwear and apparel.  Last year, the average family expenditure was about $549.

“The industry still remains cautiously optimistic about recovery,” NRF CEO Matt Shay said in a statement.  “As the second half of the year gets under way, retailers will gauge their customers’ spending appetites, which often serve as a bellwether for the all-important holiday season.”

Despite the projected increases, it’s not a clear sign that free-spending consumer habits have returned fully.   In fact, back-to-school shoppers will do their best to stretch their dollars as much as possible—more than 71 percent of those surveyed indicated that they’ll shop at discount stores and 44 percent plan to buy store labels or genetic brands this year, up from 42 percent in 2009.

Clothing and footwear will make up a majority of the back-to-school spending, averaging $225 and $103 respectively.  Electronics and tech spending will reach about $182 for grade- and high-schoolers and $237 for college students.

But perhaps most importantly, 31 percent of those polled indicate that they’ll be shopping online for back-to-school in 2010.  That’s up from 22 percent last year.

The NRF’s projections are a bit higher than the International Council of Shopping Centers, which estimates only a 5.4 percent total rise in back-to-school spending this year.

The NRF polled 9,009 consumers between June 30 to July 7 to compile its data.

Any way you look at it, it appears that shoppers will in fact be spending some money in advance of this fall.  Retailers should already be well underway with your back-to-school strategy and planning, and this report certainly should provide hope that the industry reports strong sales numbers ahead of the holiday shopping season.

Leave us your comments below.

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Merchant Tips: Visa Clarifies Card Security Measures for Merchants

Posted in Ecommerce, Merchant Tips, tagged , , , , , , , on July 15, 2010 | 1 Comment »

Visa, far and away the most popular credit card choice for consumers, yesterday clarified its regulations governing how retailers collect and store customer account information for post-transaction disputes in a move that could help merchants save both time and money.

The central item in the clarification, which applies to both online merchants and traditional brick and mortar retailers, is that neither is required to store cardholders’ full 16-digit credit and debit card numbers in the event of a dispute.

Announcing the updates in a joint statement with the National Retail Federation (NRF), Visa Inc. said that retailers need only to provide truncated, disguised or masked card numbers on receipts during post-transaction disputes.

The company also recommended that merchants disguise or suppress the full expiration date and all but the last four digits of the card number on a customer receipts. Merchant copies of receipts should be altered to ensure that no more than the first six and last four digits of a credit/debit card are displayed.

“Merchants should be encouraged to minimize both the amount of card information they store and the duration they keep it,” says David Hogan, the NRF’s senior vice president and chief information officer.

The changes should make it easier and more affordable for retailers to comply with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, a program that is run by all of the major card networks to protect credit and debit card data.

“This will significantly reduce the scope of PCI compliance for merchants,” Hogan says.

Visa is the first of the major credit card networks to issue updates to these regulations, though the NRF is optimistic that American Express, MasterCard, Discover and JCB International will all follow suit in the near future.

The statement also advises acquirers to offer systems to merchants that allow full card numbers to be replaced with “substitute transaction identifiers,” such as tokens, which turn a card number into a code that is useless to fraudsters.  Outside payment service vendors often times hold such a code and provide it to a retailer with the actual card number when needed.

Keep your eyes peeled for future announcements from those other card providers on similar information. And as always, feel free to leave us a comment!

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Shop.Org to Launch Think Tank

Posted in Ecommerce, General News / Technology, Online Shopping, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on June 17, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

The retail industry has undergone a tremendous amount of change since the advent of e-commerce and online shopping.  Even in the year and a half or so since we started Junkie, we’ve seen the introduction of many new technologies and expanded online offerings that have had a huge impact on the way traditional brick and mortar merchants approach their day-to-day operations.

Apparently, the National Retail Federation and its e-commerce arm, Shop.org, recognize this changing landscape as well, and they are springing into action.

Shop.org is teaming up with the market research firm ForeSee Results to form a think tank that will examine the leading trends within e-commerce and cross-channel retailing and study every major issue affecting the industry.

Kevin Ertell, vice president of retail strategy at ForeSee announced the formation of the think tank in a Shop.org blog posting today.

“Many great solutions can be found within the Shop.org community…but we lack a common center of excellence that can debate various solutions and produce a solid point-of-view,” Ertell says in the posting.  “We think this group can be the pre-eminent thought leadership center for e-commerce and cross-channel retail.”

Ertell and Shop.org’s Scott Silverman have worked in tandem to devise the plans for the new think tank.

The group’s mission, as defined by the Ertell, is “to harness the vision of industry leaders to provide guidance, credibility and innovative ideas to help Shop.org members tackle the most pressing strategic issues facing their organizations and the industry today and, more importantly, over the next ten to fifteen years.”

Among the topics the think tank will be working on:

–How do retailers navigate through the new disruptive business models powered by digital such as private sale sites, deal-of-the-day sites, community buying, social shopping, mobile commerce, gaming mechanics, mass customization, GPS-based, etc.

–How should multi-channel retail organizations organize around cross-channel strategies? What types of employee incentives would best drive the cross-channel strategies?

–What types of metrics should drive the industry? Which metrics in use today work well and which do not?

–How should retailers use and benefit from social media?

–What are the pros and cons of an OPEN brand strategy? How can believers sell this concept to non-believers?  What are the best metrics to prove success?

Shop.org is already soliciting membership applications for the group now and interested parties can apply online . Applications are due by August 13 and members will be chosen by the close of summer.  The first meeting of the think tank will take place in September.

Let us know your thoughts and comments!

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National Retail Federation Tabs Shay for Leadership Position

Posted in Retail, tagged , , , on March 17, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

Matt Shay has been named the new president and CEO of the National Retail Federation.

Shay replaces longtime NRF head Tracy Mullin, who is retiring after three decades with the NRF, the retail industry’s lobbying and advocacy arm in Washington, D.C.  His tenure starts May 10.

Shay most recently served as president and CEO of another industry trade group, the International Franchise Association.  He had worked at the IFA since 1993, heading government relations efforts and serving as chief counsel prior to ascending to the top post in 2004.

At NRF, Shay says his top priority is to balance the organization’s advocacy work with its economic efforts.   While health care and immigration remain the group’s top legislative efforts, Shay believes that neither can be tackled without first addressing the lagging economy and the country’s high unemployment rate.

The NRF membership is comprised of 2,500 nationwide retailers, including mom and pop stores, big box merchants and online outlets.

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NRF Predicting a Solid 2010 for Retailer Sales

Posted in Ecommerce, tagged , , , , on February 15, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

We’re only a few weeks into 2010, but the retail industry’s flag waver in Washington is forecasting that the industry will see a healthy dose of growth this year, an optimistic outlook given that many economic measurements continue to grow at a snail’s pace, at best.

The National Retail Federation (NRF) is predicting a 2.5 percent pick-up in sales for the coming year, citing improved consumer confidence and a number of other economic indicators heading upwards in the near future.  The anticipated 2.5 percent rate of growth would reverse an overall decrease in retail sales last year of the same amount.

“While we still expect shoppers to continue to be frugal with their discretionary spending, retailers will soon be able to reap the benefits of leaner, smarter inventories and a year and a half of pent-up consumer demand,” said NRF’s Chief Economist Rosalind Wells in a statement.

The bold prediction does come with a caveat, however, as Wells estimated that consumer spending would likely continue to lag behind overall economic growth in the coming year. Nevertheless, the NRF’s outlook is based heavily on turnarounds in the housing market, as well as strong exports and a big turnaround in retail inventory cycles in 2010.

While we like the sound of this and are certainly buoyed by the NRF’s confidence in a retail turnaround in 2010, the fact remains that retailers everywhere (both online and brick and mortar), still have some obstacles to overcome if such a prediction is to come to fruition.  The country’s 10 percent rate of unemployment is foremost among the issues of concern, since it’s very difficult to envision people spending money when 1 out of every 10 of them is looking for work. An uptick in fuel prices could also negatively affect the industry as well by adding costs to the shipping component of a retail sales operation.

We’ll continue, as always, to keep track of all the important economic news and indicators that impact the retail industry.  But we’re also going to keep this 2.5 percent increase estimate in the back of our minds moving forward and see just how accurate it was this time next year.  In the meantime, we welcome your comments and feedback!

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