Retailers are spending less on loss prevention, and maybe that’s not such a good idea. In 2016, the rate of “shrinkage,” or inventory that goes missing for any reason, increased to 1.44% of all sales, or a total of almost $48.9 billion. [More]
national retail federation
Ignore The Trend Pieces: Cash Isn’t Going Away
By 5.8.17
If you listen to trend pieces in the news and online commenters, cash is on its way out. There are coffee shops and restaurants that don’t accept it, and most people don’t carry very much cash at any given time. Yet it turns out that retailers still generally prefer cash, since it’s the cheapest way to accept payments. [More]
Survey: Americans Waiting Until After Election To Shop For Holidays
By 10.27.16
Whether it’s because of anxiety due to the upcoming presidential and congressional elections or a stubborn refusal to even think about winter holidays before Halloween, Americans are reportedly waiting until after the election is over to begin their shopping. No, they’re not waiting until after Thanksgiving: that would be silly. [More]
Retailers Tell Fed: Debit Card Swipe Fees Are Still Too Dang High
By 3.28.16
Even though the Dodd-Frank financial reforms effectively halved the fees that retailers must pay to banks for each debit card transaction, the stores say that amount is still too much. And with all of their legal options exhausted, the retail industry is calling on the Federal Reserve to re-think the cap it put in place nearly five years ago. [More]
Americans Guess They’ll Spend About $146 Per Person On Easter This Year
By 3.16.16
If you celebrate Easter, what are your plans this year? According to a survey by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights and Analytics, Americans will spend an average of $146 per person on Easter this year for a total of $17.3 billion. That includes the expenses of baskets full of candy, egg hunts, clothing, gifts, festive meals at home or at a restaurant, and flowers. [More]
Consumers Expected To Spend More Than $6.9 Billion On Halloween Costumes, Candy & Decorations
By 9.24.15
The candy, the costumes, the decorations: it appears that excitement – or rather spending – surrounding the upcoming Halloween holiday isn’t quite what it used to be, with consumers expected to spend less on all the revelry associated with the spooky day than last year at just $6.9 billion. [More]
Retailers Put Aside Differences, Band Together To Fight Future Massive Hacks
By 4.14.14
You know that scene in superhero and/or spy movies (and especially in sequels) where the hero and his/her longtime nemesis must begrudgingly band together, if only for one kick-butt scene, to take down a larger foe that could hurt them both? That’s probably the most interesting way to think about today’s announcement from the National Retail Federation. [More]
Court Strikes Down Fed’s Debit Card Swipe-Fee Rules
By 7.31.13
One of the more contentious aspects of the recent financial reforms was a directive from Congress for the Federal Reserve to set a cap for swipe fees — the amount charged to retailers for each debit card transaction — in order to bring the fees in line with what it actually costs to process the transactions. This morning, a U.S. District Court judge ruled that the Fed disregarded the intention of the reforms by setting that cap much higher than it should have been. [More]
National Retail Federation Confirms Existence Of Back-To-School Creep
By 7.8.13
Last week, we mentioned that even though some schools have just recently finished for the school year, retailers are already beginning their back-to-school promotions. We wondered (and hoped) that this was just an anomaly and that we weren’t seeing evidence of Back-To-School Creep, but people who know a thing or two about the retail business say it’s a growing trend. [More]
Increase In Shoplifting May Be Sign Of Economic Recovery
By 6.27.11
While one might initially expect an increase in shoplifting to be a sign that more people are facing dire financial straits, there are those who believe the recent uptick in retail theft could actually be a hint that the economy is improving. [More]
Amazon.Com Wins Best Customer Service
By 11.7.06
Online megastore Amazon.com won top honors in a national customer service survey released last Thursday. Here’s the top ten list, according to a National Retail Federation/American Express study.
