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Citgo Gas Stations Go Online
Petroleum supplier Citgo Petroleum Corp. is providing a web page for all of its approximately 7,000 owner-operated U.S. retail locations.
According to Convenience Store News, operators are able to customize their sites to match specific products and services offered at an individual store. Sites can also promote prices, special offers, store hours, community and charity projects, and employment...
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Costco Cools Off ‘Hot Fuel’ Lawsuit
Discount club retailer Costco has agreed to settle a lawsuit regarding the temperature of gasoline in its fuel pumps. The class action lawsuit, brought by non-profit group Consumer Watchdog, alleged Costco was selling consumers less fuel than they paid for when gasoline temperature inside its fuel pumps rose above 60 degrees Fahrenheit.
According to Consumer Watchdog, when the temperature of...
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Kroger Kicks Up Financial Momentum
Supermarket retailer The Kroger Co. reported gains in sales and earnings for Q4 and fiscal 2008. Highlights from each period are listed below.
Q4 2008 (ended January 31, 2009) Net earnings totaled $349.2 million, an 8% increase from $322.9 in Q4 2007. Total sales were $17.3 billion, a fraction of a percentage point increase from $17.2 billion in Q4 2007. Identical supermarket sales, excluding...Continue Reading »
Susser Holdings Holds Strong in ‘08
Susser Holdings Corporation, an operator of convenience stores and fuel distributors in the US Southwest, reported mostly positive results for Q4 and full year fiscal 2008.
Q4 same-store merchandise sales increased by 6.5% on a reported basis and by 7.3% comparing year-over-year results as if the company’s November 2007 Town & Country Food Stores acquisition had taken place on January 1, 2007....
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Customer Satisfaction Improves Overall, Retail Makes Largest Gain
Customer satisfaction with the goods and services that Americans buy improved in the fourth quarter of 2008, according to (pdf) the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), which climbed to 75.7 on the ACSI’s 100-point scale, up 0.9% from the previous quarter.
Every fourth quarter ACSI measures customer satisfaction with retail, finance and insurance, and e-commerce.
Consumer spending has...
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Retail Sales Sink 2.7% in December
US retail and food services sales for December were $343.2 billion—a decrease of 2.7% from the previous month and down 9.8% compared with December 2007, according to the US Census Bureau’s advance estimates.*
Those figures are adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes.
Retail sales recorded their biggest drop since record-keeping began...
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Gift Card Sales to Decline to $25 Billion
Consumers will not only spend less on gift cards during this holiday season but also shift gift-card spending toward necessities such as groceries and gas or small indulgences such as dining out, according to Archstone Consulting’s 2008 Holiday Gift Card Survey.
Archstone Consulting “expects gift card sales to dip 5%, to $25 billion in Holiday 2008 as consumers continue to manage the challenges...
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Growth Opportunities for Private Label in Convenience Stores
Private-label products, or store brands, are growing faster in convenience stores than other stores and represent a tremendous growth opportunity for the convenience channel, according to research by The Nielsen Company.
Sales of private-label products rose over the last year nearly 20%, to $826 million, in convenience stores, compared with the 15% increase in drug stores and just under 10% in...
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Fuel Costs Drive At-Work Consumers to Consolidate Shopping Trips
In today’s economy, with gas prices at or near $4 a gallon, a study from BIGresearch suggests that cash-strapped consumers are calculating how to save both time and money by consolidating shopping trips and work commutes - somewhat like a “pit strategy” in motorsports.
In one year’s time, gas prices have more than doubled, resulting in a 20% increase in the number of consumers opting to “drive...
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Sears Recalls 145,000 Coffee Makers
Sears has issued a voluntary recall on 145,000 Kenmore brand coffee makers, citing faulty wiring that can overheat and cause fires or burns, according to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (USCPSC).
There have been 20 reports of the Chinese-made coffee makers’ overheating - including 12 fires - and causing damage to countertops, cabinets, and flooring. No injuries have been reported to...
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