by Christina Lee on June 7th, 2009
This Father’s Day, U.S. consumers are buying what they know will suit their loved ones, while spending just a little less.
After spending $88.01 on recent graduates and $123.89 on mothers in May, U.S. consumers plan to spend an average of $90.89 on fathers, down from last year’s $94.54. The National Retail Federation also expects total spending to reach $9.4 billion, according to the D.C. trade association’s most recent survey.
Sporting goods, gardening tools and appliances are still mainstay Father’s Day gifts, as consumers anticipate spending more than $500 million in each product category.
But while ties and socks also... Read more »
by Christina Lee on April 2nd, 2009
U.S. consumers anticipate spending an average of $116.59 on Easter merchandise – though $18 less than what they paid last year, still enough reason for retailers to keep promoting their products.
“With Easter falling so late this year, retailers will have plenty of time to entice shoppers with deals on spring apparel and other Easter merchandise,” said Tracy Mullin, president of the National Retail Federation.
The D.C. trade group expects total spending to reach $12.73 billion, based on a survey conducted with BIGresearch in early March. Nearly 80 percent of those surveyed said that they observe Easter.
While the holiday... Read more »
by Christina Lee on December 16th, 2008
Give the business owner you know a bit of inspiration – whether it stems from innovative ideas or long-accepted axioms. Either type can be found in any of these best-selling books, which have been ranked by the New York Times, Amazon.com, Business Week, and Forbes. Retail prices are listed:
The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life, by Alice Schroeder, $35
Over the past five years, this book became Schroeder’s means of exploring the many paradoxes that she found in Buffett: a rich man who did not spend, a man raised Republican but voted Democrat, and even a rich... Read more »