Bruzzone Strategics

Impulse buying pumps 70% of U.S. economy

SAN FRANCISCO, CA --  A new study shows the power of impluse buying by shoppers.  Since 70% of the U.S. economy relies on consumer spending, the study is significant.

"Our data shows that 61% of off-list shoppers purchase an additional one to three items," said Craig Elston, senior VP, Integer. "This shows that if you reach a particular shopper at the right moment with the right message, for example — using in-store signage to play into their desire to pamper themselves — it can end with that item being added to their basket."

The study by The Integer Group and M/A/R/C Research found that, despite the us of shopping lists, nine out of 10 shoppers still buy items not on their list. More

 

The Fickle American Consumer: Slightly more Pessimistic in March

SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- As leading real estate brokerage firms issue reports on the puzzling economy and the slo-mo recovery, all eyes, private and institutional, remain focused on the American consumer. So here's the Conference Board most recent polling results..

New York -- The Conference Board said Tuesday that its Consumer Confidence Index pulled back slightly in March, to 70.2, down from 71.6 in February.

The Expectations Index declined to 83.0 from 88.4 in February as consumers became less optimistic about the short-term outlook.

BIll boards that recognize faces --- Retailers get personal

SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- Ready for launch in the Central Florida area.  Right out of the movie, "Minority Report."  Billboards that recognize you through facial recognition software.  Then offer you a personalized message based on age, gender, and race.  Full recognition can't be far behind with it the full data mine info...

Dollar General Finally Coming to California

Just a matter of time when one of the dollar giants would set its eyes on the Golden State. Should be a success especially with the glut of retail space throughout the state.  From Chain Store Age:

Goodlettsville, Tenn. -- Dollar General plans to open 625 stores and add more than 6,000 new jobs in 2012. The locations will be spread among Dollar General’s 38-state operating area, and include the new markets of California, where it will open 50 stores and a distribution center, and Massachusetts. The discounter will also open a distribution center in the Golden State this year.

via chainstoreage.com

More somber forecast from Grubb & Ellis: Continued sluggish real estate recovery in 2012

SAN FRANCISCO, CA.  --- I remember last year about this time, Grubb & Ellis, and most of the major investment brokerage firms predicted a fairly strong recovery in 2011.  I questioned their optimism.  Certainly for tier one, institutional grade, cash only deals, it was a robust market.  Not so for the investor/operator or smaller equity groups.  Glad to see a more sober forecast this year.

"Santa Ana, Calif. -- The struggling housing market, weak job growth and ongoing consumer deleveraging caused the retail market to lag other property sectors in 2011, according to Grubb & Ellis Co.’s 2012 National Real Estate Forecast, which predicts a year of slow but continued growth for all commercial real estate property sectors."

READ Full Report at ChainStore Age

Bed Bath & Beyond's to Open 45 Stores, Q4 profit up 25%

SAN FRANCISCO, CA ---   Bed Bath & Beyond ranks high on my top 10 U.S. retailers list,and has for some time. This big box retailer was an regular inhabitant of "power centers," then discount centers, and now thrives in the post-2008 consumer environment.  In other words, they're retail survivors  --- which is the highest accolade in today's market.

FROM Chain Store Age:

By jmosscrop

Bed Bath & Beyond reported Wednesday that profit for the fourth quarter ended Feb. 26 rose 25% to $283.5 million, compared with $226 million a year earlier.

Retailing Misfire: Best Buy cancels some Black Friday orders days before Christmas

A retailer's worst nightmare.  Hungry shoppers fighting to order your products, but you can't deliver.  For Best Buy, this could be their "Netflix" experience. In a fragile economic recovery, this is the last event you want to happen.  Read on, especially some of the customer comments on forums

FROM SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE:   Best Buy might make the naughty list this Christmas.

Some customers are still waiting to receive electronics purchased online  in December and November, including some Black Friday specials, according to various media reports.

The company released a statement this week to FOX 9 in Minneapolis apologizing for the untimely issue.

“Due to overwhelming demand of hot product offerings on BestBuy.com during the November and December time period, we have encountered a situation that has affected redemption of some of our customers’ online orders,” Best Buy said in an emailed statement to FOX 9. “We are very sorry for the inconvenience this has caused and we have notified the affected customers.”

Customers have taken to the company’s forum to blast the electronics retailer for failing to deliver the items ahead of Christmas or Hanukkah.

Politically charged. but retail realities: Working Americans get smaller slice of pie

[FROM CNBC:]  Working Americans are now getting the smallest slice of the income pie on record — which, combined with high unemployment, could be behind the slow speed of the economic recovery.

What a difference a recession makes: Dollar store boom good for retail landlords

SAN FRANCISCO, CA --  There was a time when a dollar store was a stigma for a shopping center.  They were thought to lower the center's appeal, draw 'undesirable' consumers, and upset the other center tenants.
    Not now as this report from Chain Store Age reveals:

 

Seattle -- The combined store count of the four national dollar store (or extreme value) chains — Dollar General, Dollar Tree, Family Dollar and 99 Cents Only — has now surpassed that of the three biggest national drugstore chains (Walgreens, CVS, and Rite Aid), according to a new report  by Colliers International, the third-largest commercial real estate services company in the world. 

READ MORE...via chainstoreage.com

Report: U.S. consumer confidence rises most since 2003

Washington, D.C. -- A report released Tuesday by the Conference Board showed that consumer confidence experienced its biggest gain in more than eight years, jumping to 56 in November from a revised 40.9 reading in the month prior. The leap was the biggest since April 2003 and exceeded the most optimistic forecast by Bloomberg News.

via chainstoreage.com

So, the $52 billion Black Friday spending spree was not an aberation. Add online sales on Cyber Monday were up 33% over 2010.  But over the next months, we'll learn if economists, the markets or consumers have the best take on the U.S. economy..