Mobile Shopping, Yum Eyes Chinese Chain, JCPenney RFID
Consumers connected to the mobile internet prefer browsing and buying goods and services from their mobile device more than from their PC,
according to data from InMobi.
A study reveals half of mobile shoppers still prefer hitting the stores (49%) but 35% are now comfortable with shopping from a mobile device and only 16% prefer shopping from their PC or laptop.
International Expansion
- Yum Brands, owner of the Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and KFC fast food brands, is considering buying a majority stake in the Little Sheep Group Ltd. restaurant chain in China.
IT Operations
- Instead of trying to speed checkout, JCPenney is only using RFID to keep shelves stocked in specific categories of goods.
- Kroger and Tesco will both implement the latest version of KSS Retail's PriceStrat price optimization software, which now features customer segment-based modeling and optimization.
Product Assortment
- 99 Cents Only stores has launched its “Bridal Registry” with more than 999 items.
Fraud, Theft & Security
- Last week, Sony’s online network for the PlayStation suffered a catastrophic failure through a hacking attack which resulted in an unauthorized person obtaining personal data.
Stats & Research
- Visitors to Groupon and Living Social are similar in that nearly two-thirds are female and more likely than the average U.S. Internet user to be affluent.
- The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index stands at 65.4 (1985=100) for April 2011, up from 63.8 in March.
- As the national average for a gallon of gas edges closer to $4 a gallon, U.S. consumers have cut back on their driving, reports market research firm The NPD Group.
- Gallup's Economic Confidence Index dropped to -39 in the week ending April 24 -- a new weekly low for 2011.
- Canadian retail sales increased 0.4% in February 2011, offsetting most of the decline in January.
- In an unexpected turn of events, MySpace.com, which has been losing traffic consistently for more than a year, experienced a 5% uptick in March 2011, according to Compete.
