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Walmart has launched a “Pay with Cash” service that offers cash payment options for online orders at Walmart.com in the United States. Walmart is the first major retailer to offer online purchases without the need for banking services or a credit, debit or prepaid card. The retailer said that the majority of its in-store transactions… Read more »

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index®, which had declined slightly in March, was virtually unchanged in April. The Index now stands at 69.2 (1985=100), down slightly from 69.5 in March. The Expectations Index declined to 81.1 from 82.5, while the Present Situation Index improved to 51.4 from 49.9 last month. Says Lynn Franco, Director of The… Read more »

A report released by Bloomberg showed that household confidence improved last week to match the highest level in four years.  The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index improved in the week ended April 15 to match the highest level in four years as more Americans said their finances were in better shape.  The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index… Read more »

Lowe’s has created two new executive positions, with the goal of streamlining its operations to better serve its customers. The new positions are chief customer officer and chief operating officer, and they will be filled by current EVP business development, Gregory Bridgeford, and Rick Damron, EVP store operations, respectively. The promotions are effective May 5,… Read more »

The U.S. Census Bureau announced that advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for March, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $411.1 billion, an increase of 0.8 percent (±0.5%) from the previous month and 6.5 percent (±0.7%) above March 2011.  Total sales for the January through… Read more »

Numerous research studies demonstrate that retail point of sale reporting (POS reporting) provides vendors with a critical advantage in sales and inventory management.  But we often find a disconnect between the POS report and a hard ROI.  Why is that? Many vendors that create retail POS reporting systems are managing what we call “rear view”… Read more »

The warmest March in North America in more than 50 years resulted in many apparel retailers and department stores registering solid gains in March, as an early spring brought out shoppers looking for seasonal merchandise earlier than they typically would.  Macy’s, Kohl’s Corp., Limited Brands and Gap Inc. were among the retailers who topped analyst… Read more »

The Consumer Confidence Index from the Conference Board fell slightly in March to 70.2 from 71.6 in February.  “Consumer Confidence pulled back slightly in March, after rising sharply in February,” said Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center. “The moderate decline was due solely to a less favorable short-term outlook, while consumers’… Read more »

Nothing seems to be able to slow down the discount store channel right now as Dollar General opens it’s 10,000th store.   “Opening the doors of our 10,000th store is a meaningful day for all of us at Dollar General, and we are excited to celebrate the occasion in California,” said Rick Dreiling, Dollar General’s… Read more »

The Accelerated Analytics team will be attending The National Hardware Show® May 1-3, 2012 in Las Vegas again this year.  We have attended the show the past several years and find it is a very good opportunity to connect with our customers and network with retail buyers and vendors.    If you have not attended the… Read more »