Two on-air jewelry retailers announce layoffs
Both QVC and Jewelry Television are slashing their staffs in response to slowing sales in the face of the current economic crisis.
Consumer confidence bumps up in November
New York--The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which sank to an all-time low in October, saw modest improvement in November, but consumer pessimism lingers, according to a new survey.
Study: Consumer Spending Index turns negative
New York--Substantial increases in unemployment claims and a continued weakness in the housing market in October caused the Deloitte Research Leading Index of Consumer Spending to produce a negative...
NRF: Spending limited to essentials last month
Washington, D.C.—Consumers focused more on buying necessities than discretionary items in January, edging up retail sales 2 percent unadjusted over last year and 0.1 percent seasonally adjusted...
Consumer confidence up slightly in September
New York—The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index, which had improved moderately in August, increased slightly to 59.8 in September, up from 58.5 in August.
Consumer confidence drops in January
New York—The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which had improved moderately in December to 90.6, dropped this month to 87.9.
Consumer confidence slides further in March
New York—The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index, which had already dropped sharply in February, fell further to 64.5 in March, indicating that consumer's gloomy feelings about the...
Study: Big-ticket sales continue to tumble
New York—Sales of big-ticket items, including appliances, cars, electronics and furniture, are expected to continue their downward spiral as the Deloitte Leading Index of Consumer Durables...
Rough-diamond prices up 15 percent this month
London--Sightholders collecting their boxes of Diamond Trading Co. (DTC) rough earlier this month paid as much as 15 percent more for larger goods, according to a release from the DTC.
Holiday spending to increase 3 percent, study says
New York—With many economic factors such as higher energy and food prices and a dramatic drop in home mortgage refinancings weighing heavily on consumers' minds and wallets, retailers should...
Survey: Affluent shopping less, more strategically
Stevens, Pa.—The majority of affluent Americans are changing their shopping habits in light of the recent turmoil on Wall Street, according to a new study by Stevens, Pa.-based Unity Marketing.
Study: Consumer spending perks up in June
New York—Tax rebate checks coupled with a decrease in the tax burden and a lower decline in real wages has put a break this month on the freefall in consumer spending seen since October 2007,...
Consumer confidence drops again in April
New York—The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index, which had already dropped sharply to 65.9 in March, fell further to 62.3 in April, suggesting that economic conditions have slowed...
NRF lobbies for second round of rebate checks
Washington—With the weakest holiday season in six years looming, the National Retail Federation (NRF) has asked Congress to consider a second round of tax rebate checks, or other direct relief,...
Whitehall in default, weighing options
Washington, D.C.—Amid default notices from two suppliers and liquidity issues, Whitehall Jewelers Holdings Inc. is "considering various financing options and may seek protection under the...
Study: October online spending slowest on record
Online spending in October 2008 increased by only 1 percent over October 2007, the lowest monthly growth rate since ComScore began tracking e-commerce in 2001.
Survey: Consumers say U.S. recession is here
Schaumburg, Ill. —Concerned about debt and their jobs, a whopping 85 percent of U.S. consumers believe the country is currently in a recession, and more than of a third listed the economy as...
March 'difficult for retailers'
New York—U.S. chain store sales fell slightly in March, decreasing 0.5 percent compared with the same period last year, according to the latest study by the International Council of Shopping...
Rough-diamond prices up 15 percent this month
London—Sightholders collecting their boxes of Diamond Trading Co. (DTC) rough earlier this month paid as much as 15 percent more for larger goods, according to a release from the DTC.
Study: Consumer spending slides in July
New York—After a slight uptick last month, consumer spending fell again in July, continuing the decline seen since October 2007, according to the Deloitte Research Leading Index of Consumer...