Retail Stores

Graduation season brings with it backyard parties and nostalgia, but it also comes with lots of interesting retail data. After comparing the shopping habits of more than 8 million people nationwide for the time periods before and during graduation season, RetailNext found that the nation as a whole declined roughly 5 percent in shopping for traditional gifting items during graduation.

Despite rampant showrooming concerns, a new study finds smartphones "contributing to — not taking away from — in-store sales," with smartphone shoppers 14 percent more likely to convert and make a purchase in the store than nonsmartphone users. According to the Mobile Influence Factor study from Deloitte Consulting, through activities such as product research, price comparison and other mobile application use, smartphones currently influence 5.1 percent of annual retail store sales, translating into $159 billion in forecasted sales for 2012. 

Earlier this year several major retailers, including Marks & Spencer, J Sainsbury and John Lewis earmarked the first Olympics on U.K. soil for 64 years as a major opportunity for a fillip to sales. Yet the financial stresses of recession, coupled with an absence of public holidays and unhelpful weather patterns, mean any boost may be muted.

Amazon.com is poised to open a digital bookstore in Brazil in the fourth quarter that features a Portuguese-language catalog of digital books and the Kindle e-reader, Reuters reported Friday, citing Brazilian publishers and an industry source familiar with the company's plans.

Dick's Sporting Goods has released 2012 Football, a digital publishing suite app for the iPad that's basically a retail catalog selling football cleats, equipment and apparel, according to Adobe.com's blog. It's designed to ease the gear research and purchasing process for the brand's football customers. For example, interactive photos of gear highlight helpful product attributes for the customer, while in-app videos demonstrate how they work. Combining these interactive features with the immersive experience of a catalog app, Dick's Sporting Goods is able to showcase products in the context of their environment and inspire consumers to buy, said the blog.

As part of the company's Smarter Commerce marketing effort, IBM is investigating the possibility of using augmented reality (AR) to help retailers provide more product information to their customers, as well as to gather more information about customers. The company's research labs have designed a prototype of a mobile application that can be used by store goers to identify products and retrieve more information about potential products. The company is testing it now with a number of retailers.

Texas joined eight other states in taking legislative action by requiring online-only retailers, notably Amazon.com, to collect state sales tax. Online retailers began collecting sales tax in Texas on July 1. “A true free market is devoid of government preferences and special treatment," said Sandy Kennedy, president, Retail Industry Leaders Association. "Texas has made a powerful statement that it's time to end special treatment for online retailers and close the sales-tax loophole that gives companies like Amazon an artificial leg up on Main Street retailers." 

After 9/11, political leaders and commentators had a suggestion to boost American spirits and fuel patriotism: Go shopping. This Fourth of July, more Americans are doing the opposite: barbecuing instead of buying. A fifth of Americans (21 percent) said they don't plan to celebrate Independence Day and those who are plan to spend less than last year, according to a survey released Sunday of a little more than 1,000 people by Visa.

According to a recent study from Mashable, tablet shopping is on the rise. Sixty-five percent of tablet users report shopping on their devices at least two to three times monthly (going up to twice a week). This growth is promising for retail marketers wishing to capitalize on this trend. Tablet shoppers are generally a wealthier, more educated population. 

Upscale department store Nordstrom plans to finally open a store in Manhattan. The store will be located in a planned hotel/residential tower at 57th Street and Broadway, according to The New York Times. The store will contain approximately 30,000 square feet of space. Nordstrom has been looking for a site in Manhattan since the 1990s, but hasn’t been able to find the right opportunity. The retailer did open a Nordstrom Rack store at Union Square in 2010.