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Story Archives of 'retail'
Retailers Shift Gears
By Virginia Prescott on Thursday, November 5, 2009.A slew of retailers released their October sales numbers this morning. Abercrombie and Fitch is down 5 percent Neiman Marcus is down 6 percent, but Target is inching up to 3 percent growth.
As stores ship off Halloween costumes and drag out the Christmas displays, they’re trying some new, creative tactics to lure in consumers and drive up sales. Some surprising big box stores are putting an end to sales and permanently lowering prices. Other mid-level retailers are rolling out luxury goods in the hope of snatching high-end shoppers trolling for deals. Department stores are ordering less and keeping more in the warehouse to drive up demand, so don’t assume that holiday-themed sweater will be waiting for you in the sales bin this January.
Jena McGregor has been watching these trends from her perch at BusinessWeek, where she’s editor of the management department.
McGregor wrote about how retailers are responding to changing consumer demands for a recent issue of the magazine and joins us as part of NHPR’s Working It Out series.
(Photo by Mark Kobayashi-Hillary via Flickr/Creative Commons)
Millennials at the Mall
By Virginia Prescott on Wednesday, September 23, 2009.
With school back in session, the mall is eerily quiet during the day. Visit during an evening or weekend and you’ll see packs of young people browsing, shopping and socializing. Malls have long been gathering places for teenagers, but teens and twenty-somethings of today are packing a little more might. There are 84 million of them, the largest segment of the U.S. population. They're wired and check online sales before making the trip to the mall.
Generation Y spends more than previous generations of teens – over 200 billion dollars a year. In the current economy, retailers are looking to them for a boost. For more on this we’re joined by consumer research scholar Kit Yarrow. She teaches marketing and psychology at Golden Gate university. Her new book, co-written with USA Today reporter Jayne O’Donnell, is Gen BuY: how Tweens, Teens and Twenty-Somethings are Revolutionizing Retail.
(Photo by Merlijn Hoek via Flickr/Creative Commons)
Beige Book OK; Shoppers Aim for the Basics
By Jon Greenberg on Friday, September 11, 2009.Each week at this time we take a look at the state’s economy. It’s part of our ongoing series, Working It Out. Our topics today range from beige to white. As in beige book and white blouses. New Hampshire Public Radio’s Jon Greenberg has the details.
Once You Pop, You Can't Stop
By Andrew Walsh on Friday, July 24, 2009.Temporary stores are popping-up in cities around the country, then disappearing before they can become too passé. They’re called “pop-up stores”, in fact, and according to The Economist’s business page, they thrive on shock value:
Rising Massachusetts Sales Tax May Be Good for New Hampshire
By David Darman on Tuesday, July 21, 2009.The sales tax in Massachusetts is set to rise to 6.25 percent in August.
Bay State lawmakers raised the tax to get an additional 633 million dollars for their treasury.
That money helps close a budget shortfall that grew to as much as 5 billion dollars.
Massachusetts retailers worry the 25 percent tax hike is going to hurt business.
But cross the New Hampshire border and retailers are looking to profit from what’s happening in the Bay State.
NHPR’s David Darman has more.
Drug Store Doctors
By Virginia Prescott on Thursday, July 16, 2009.
Retail health care? While Congress wrangles over public options and universal coverage, the private sector is experimenting with new models.
Like this one: your neighborhood drug store. Imagine the shelves of toothpaste and shampoo, the bustling prescription counter...and health care professionals on-site to take your blood pressure, diagnose allergies, and prescribe medications for about 75 bucks. No health insurance required.
A pair of entrepreneurs who set up in-house clinics at Disney World, Toyota plants, and other corporate offices is now setting up shop in Walgreens drug stores. Fast Company Magazine profiled Walgreens' in-house clinic model, which may play a big role in the future of American health care. David Lidsky, senior editor of Fast Company, told us more.
Fast Company Magazine: Why Walgreens is Building Its Own Universal Health-Care System
(Photo by hawaii via Flickr/Creative Commons)
Not a Good Week in Cars, Homes, and Retail: Round-Up
By Jon Greenberg on Friday, May 15, 2009.Chrysler and GM’s decision to cut loose car dealers tops this week’s economic round-up from NHPR’s Jon Greenberg. It’s part of our ongoing series on the economy, Working It Out.
Sales Are Off For Many Retailers, Even in New Hampshire
By David Darman on Tuesday, December 23, 2008.The International Council of Shopping Centers or ICSC today (Tuesday) came out with its latest sales data from the nation’s biggest retailers.
It shows sales up slightly from mid November to the period just after Thanksgiving.
But sales have been dipping for much of the holiday season.
NHPR’s David Darman has more.
Retail in a Recession
By Laura Knoy on Thursday, December 11, 2008.The holidays are usually a boom time for the nation’s store owners, but with the economy in decline, the retail industry presents a mixed bag this year. Some stores are doing quite well, others are not…and many are lowering prices and marketing aggressively. We’ll look at the state of retail in New Hampshire.
Guests
- Nancy Kyle, president and CEO of the Retail Merchants Association of New Hampshire
- Denis Paiste, business reporter for the New Hampshire Union Leader and Sunday News
- David Darman, business reporter for New Hampshire Public Radio
We'll also hear from
- Tony Sicurella, manager of J.C. Penney in Salem
- Donna Goodrich, co-owner of Top Furniture in Gorham
- David Souter, owner of Barron's Major Brands
Self Service Lanes Get Mixed Reviews
By Sheryl Rich-Kern on Monday, December 1, 2008.In good times and bad, retailers are always looking for ways to make shopping as quick and easy as possible.
To that end, supermarkets and do-it-yourself stores have been installing self-service checkout lanes.
That's where you get to be both customer and clerk at the same time.
As NHPR Correspondent Sheryl Rich Kern reports Customer reviews are mixed, but self-service technology is not likely to go away.
