Massachusetts treasurer calls for sales tax bill debate with Boehner
Massachusetts treasurer Steven Grossman challenged House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, to a debate Thursday, after Boehner said publicly that he probably won't vote in favor of the Marketplace Fairness Act. "Local retailers and other merchants should not have to compete…
Merchants use service, in-store technology to tackle showrooming
A recent study, by Seattle-based group Placed, found 40% of the shoppers participated in showrooming and concluded the threat to retailers may be more serious than they realize. The study was based on survey results from nearly 15,000 people. Retailers…
Neilsen Co. Quarterly Assessment of US Consumer Confidence
The Nielsen Co. is out with its quarterly assessment of consumer confidence in the US, which it says shows "the biggest jump in Consumer Confidence since 2008."Highlights: "The "biggest jump in Consumer Confidence since the beginning of the Great Recession…
Survey: Shoppers abandon hard-to-use sites quickly
Some 65% of consumers abandon e-commerce sites that don't let them quickly find what they're looking for, according to a survey. The survey detailed consumers' pet peeves with online and brick-and-mortar stores, including out of stock inventory and having to…
Report: U.S. retailers added 29,000 jobs last month
About 29,000 of the 165,000 new jobs created in April were at retail companies, including 14,800 positions added at general-merchandise retailers, according to the report released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which also revealed that the unemployment rate…
Adults still shop as Mom would, research says
Even in adulthood, shoppers' purchases and cooking habits are influenced by their mothers, according to a white paper by Sullivan Higdon & Sink. "It's not just what we buy, it's also why we buy certain types of food -- like…
Poll: Many Americans do not support taxes on soda, candy
Data from a Harris Interactive/HealthDay survey showed that 56% to 58% of respondents oppose taxes on soda and candy, while 21% to 23% were in favor of such taxes. Researchers found that many respondents doubt that taxing the items would…