NRF Original Research

NRF’s Loss Prevention community has released its 2012 Effective Crowd Management Guidelines to address what retail stores and shopping centers should be prepared for when managing large crowds. In anticipation of what is expected to be one of the busiest holiday shopping season in years – in particular Thanksgiving night and Black Friday weekend – the report can assist retailers in planning advanced measures to protect their stores, customers and employees. This year's guidelines contain insights into new trends and events where security protocols will come in handy.

These holiday consumer charts explore historical data related to what consumers plan to buy and payment methods.

Results from NRF's 2011 Return Fraud Survey include the types of return fraud retailers have experienced in the last year and holiday returns.

In October 2011, NRF released the findings of a survey with 96 retail and restaurant companies to understand the use and scope of background screening in the retail industry. Nearly all retailers polled (96.6%) utilize background screening as part of their applicant hiring process. Background checks are conducted on all levels of employees from store associates and managers to senior executives. The types of checks conducted often include evaluating criminal history, sex offender registration, credit, motor vehicle/driving history, a social security number trace, drug history, education verification and private sector data sharing initiatives such as a stores mutual association check.

Multiple offender crimes aren’t your typical so-called “flash mob”. Traditionally, these multiple offender crime groups engage in grab-and-run scenarios where offenders quickly enter stores and target specific merchandise – such as high-end handbags, jewelry and designer clothing – then flee, sometimes to a waiting vehicle or, as was the case in several high profile incidents, using mass transit.

Retail Industry Indicators 2009 is a comprehensive report on trends in the retail industry. This report was prepared for the NRF Foundation, the non-profit research and education foundation of NRF, by The Trade Partnership.

The National Retail Federation Foundation (NRFF) and KPMG have published the ninth annual "state of the retail industry" study, Retail Horizons: Benchmarks for 2010, Forecasts for 2011. Retail Horizons offers a detailed overview of the current state of the industry and retailers’ plans for the year ahead. The full report provides deep insights into tactical decisions and strategies retail companies will implement as the industry continues to recover, and how they will try to maintain customer focus while placing a greater emphasis on the bottom line. Research for this year’s report was conducted in the fall of 2010 and is based on responses in nine functional areas through online surveys from more than 310 retail executives in 135 companies.

KPMG and NRF Foundation are pleased to deliver the eighth annual state of the retail industry study, Retail Horizons: Benchmarks for 2009,Forecasts for 2010. A year ago, the retail industry was facing its greatest global financial crisis in decades and, while challenges continued in 2009, lessons were learned. This year's report details how retailers moved quickly and thoughtfully to position themselves for success as they entered a new decade.

Charts and data from NRF's consumer survey covering Black Friday weekend shopping trends.

Select charts and information from NRF's 2010 Halloween Consumer Survey.

Some Washington policymakers say a European-style Value Added Tax is needed to reduce the federal deficit. But a VAT amounts to a national sales tax, and two-thirds of consumers surveyed for NRF say it would force them to reduce their spending. Explore select charts and survey results.

This report highlights simultaneous media usage, online search triggers such as coupons, preferred social media websites, blogging habits and even music preferences.

Explore 2010's Back-to-School and Back-to-College survey data charts including: Back-to-School and Back-to-College Spending by Year, Total Back-to-School Spending, How the Economy is Impacting Back-to-School, Total Back-to-College Spending, and Where College Students Will Live.

The consumer trend charts on this page include: graduation spending by demographic and popular graduation gifts for 2007-2010.

NRF Foundation, the research and education arm of the National Retail Federation, is pleased to invite you to the learn more about findings of the eighth annual "state of the retail industry" study, Retail Horizons: Benchmarks for 2009, Forecasts for 2010, sponsored by KPMG

From NRF and The Retail Equation. The fifth Customer Returns in the Retail Industry report represents the second year that The Retail Equation sponsored the NRF Annual Return Fraud Survey as a means to present a single source of metrics to the retail market. Specifically, the goal is to understand the extent of return fraud and abuse (estimated between $9.6 and $14.8 billion), thereby raising the wareness of the problem in order to stimulate a dialogue that will lead to best practices and solutions.

From NRF. NRF is offering a new Holiday Webinar Series to our members. Topics in this series include: 5 Holiday Trends in Advertising and Marketing; 5 Online and Multichannel Trends; 5 Trends about 2009 Holiday Expectations, Gift Cards and Payment Methods; and 5 Lessons Learned from Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

From NRF and BIGresearch. Being a mother is hard work. In addition to the full-time responsibility of taking care of their family and their home, many moms also balance a job outside of the home and try to make time for what they enjoy outside of work. A recent analysis of BIGresearch's Simultaneous Media Usage Survey (SIMM 14) looked at moms’ shopping patterns: when she uses coupons, how she uses the internet to research products, if she likes social media (she does, by the way) and even her favorite television station.

More people will celebrate the July 4 holiday this year than last year. With the holiday falling on a Saturday, many Americans are planning a memorable celebration: 62.6 percent—or 144 million people— will host or attend a cookout, barbecue or picnic, compared to 61.2 percent (139 million people) in 2008.

From NRF. The 2009 Organized Retail Crime Survey was conducted April 21 – May 12, 2009. Senior loss prevention executives from 115 individual retailers participated. The purpose of the annual organized retail crime survey is to understand the impact of this issue on retailers across the country.

From NRF. According to the National Retail Federation’s 2009 Father’s Day Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, conducted by BIGresearch, Americans are expected to spend an average of $90.89 on gifts for dad, down slightly from $94.54 last year.

Retail Industry Indicators 2008 is a comprehensive report on trends in the retail companies. Drawing from official government data, supplemented by industry surveys, it presents up-to-date information on a variety of topics that describe the industry. These include including retailers’ contribution to the overall U.S. economy, retail store and online sales levels and trends, employment and compensation levels and trends, and information about retail companies, including inventory shrinkage, profitability and size of retailers.