When little else is certain, there is always coffee. The beverage remains the undisputed favorite in the U.S., with Americans consuming 400 million cups per day. But believe it or not, fewer people drank coffee in the United States during the pandemic compared to levels seen before it, according to a survey by the National Coffee Association (NCA).
As the U.S. economy reopens, consumer spending has increased in travel-related sectors. Transaction data shows sales for air travel, hotels, and travel arrangement services have increased since plummeting in March 2020, and rose dramatically in March 2021, while the cruise industry’s recovery remains sluggish.
The Dodge Momentum Index posted an 8.6% gain in April, climbing to 162.4 (2000=100) from the revised reading of 149.5 in March. The Momentum Index, issued by Dodge Data & Analytics, is a monthly measure of the first (or initial) report for nonresidential building projects in planning, which have been shown to lead construction spending for nonresidential buildings by a full year.
This month marks the 125th anniversary of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, a stock-value metric for 30 blue-chip U.S. companies. There are very few assets that have such a long valuation history, and fortunately single-family housing is one such asset. To commemorate the quasquicentennial, let’s compare how stock and home prices have fared over time.
As environmentally-conscious consumers turn away from fast fashion and seek more sustainable alternatives, resale marketplaces have been on the rise. Furthermore, traditional retailers have started implementing new resale initiatives; Lululemon recently announced a resale program for pre-owned activewear, and Neiman Marcus launched a platform for its stylists to sell clients’ unwanted handbags and accessories.
With Mother’s Day fast approaching and graduations around the corner, many shoppers are looking for last-minute gifts. Flowers are the go-to presents for these special spring events. This raises the question: Which flower websites are outperforming now? To answer this, we’ve compiled a list of the fastest-growing flower sites in the U.S. for the first quarter (Q1) of 2021. Keep reading to find out which industry trends are driving this growth.
When we covered Best Buy’s strong start to 2021, we noted that the brand was positioned exceptionally well for the recovery period. And while our overarching affection for the brand and its powerful strategic decisions are clear at this point, recent data only deepens our expectation for a very strong 2021.
While it’s extraordinarily positive and extremely encouraging to be so firmly entrenched in economic recovery mode, there’s a strange sense of deja-vu that we’ve returned to a very similar place circa 2011/2012 with everyone trying to read tea-leaves and goat entrails to discern where the job market is and what the pace of job gains will be in the coming months.
The latest research from ForwardKeys reveals that vaccinations appear to hold the key to reviving international travel. Two destinations, Greece, and Iceland, which have announced that they will welcome vaccinated visitors this summer have seen inbound flight bookings pick up dramatically from the moment of their announcements.
Another 4/20 has come and gone. The annual cannabis holiday has only continued to grow as cannabis slowly becomes decriminalized and legalized state by state. In our research from last year, we found that 4/20 national online spend was up 108% compared to 2019. To see if 2021 follows the trend of increased online spend on cannabis, Edison Trends took a deep dive into over 12,000 transactions.
With U.S. COVID cases receding and travel increasing once more, rental car firms are seeing demand sharply increase. However, having sold a larger portion of their fleets last year to generate cash, the lack of supply is now driving customer prices to record highs.
Southeast Asia is a major region for mobile gaming growth — with markets seeing up to 55% growth in consumer spend. Vietnam is a major market in terms of both being home to a stronghold of mobile apps and game publishers as well as having a heavily mobile-first consumer base.
With social distancing guidance easing, many couples are taking advantage and throwing wedding celebrations that they had deferred last year. In today’s Insight Flash, we examine how wedding industry dynamics have changed since 2019, including which brands are benefitting the most from resurging nuptials, how wedding sizes are changing, and how these changes are different by geography.
Heading into the print on May 6, we used Similarweb’s alternative data to analyze Peloton’s (PTON) unique users and payment referral traffic as a window into F3Q21 earnings. Peloton is in a tricky spot right now. Shares are down 35% year-to-date, as investors question the sustainability of elevated pandemic growth levels.
Research late last year indicated that travelers’ accommodation preferences had been drastically impacted by the pandemic. However, there is now greater optimism for the eagerly awaited exit from the pandemic as vaccinations continue to expand and more parts of the world “reopen.” With more reason for optimism in the travel and tourism industry, we set out to examine if sentiment toward accommodation type had once again shifted.
Consulting firms have long been a career launching pad to young professionals, promising a feather in the proverbial career cap to employees in exchange for grueling work hours. A key part of this bargain is that consulting firms select top students which add to the prestige of the firm itself.
The retail landscape is changing, but the last year has proven the fundamental importance and centrality of physical retail. The result is not a doomsday, retail apocalypse scenario but instead a newer, more sophisticated ecosystem that places emphasis on the full range of value driven by an offline location.
“Whales” are usually referred to as a small group of people who contribute a large percentage of revenues in successful games. These users’ purchasing behavior can be very different from regular users. Previous studies showed that 1% of the users are responsible for over 59% of the revenues on iPhone’s marketplace in the US.
The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending May 1, 2021, as well as volumes for April 2021. U.S. railroads originated 951,840 carloads in April 2021, up 23.7 percent, or 182,060 carloads, from April 2020. U.S. railroads also originated 1,173,952 containers and trailers in April 2021, up 33.8 percent, or 296,758 units, from the same month last year.
Admittedly, we have always taken a more bullish approach to Macy’s. The willingness to try new concepts and strategically deploy rightsizing efforts are elements that deserve recognition. But in light of the recent announcement of an expansion of Backstage “store-within-a-store” efforts, we felt it necessary to dive in once again.
