While payments peeps and financial services fans spend an awful lot of time contemplating the greater mysteries of the credit scoring system in the United States, the average American really doesn’t spend all that much time thinking about it. Unless, of course, they are in...
Depending on your persuasion, millennials’ generational lack of interest in buying real estate can be chalked up to their inherent indolence, their preference for communal and urban living arrangements or their lagging finances. Whatever the reason, the luxury apartment has become the new McMansion of...
Though it was their grandparents that gave rise to modern American consumer culture, millennials often get dinged for being too obsessed with having the latest and greatest gadgets. While it’s true that Apple and other smartphone makers have developed nearly irresistible cults of personality around...
There’s no question that online shopping hasn’t managed to penetrate every retail segment in America. For example, it’s still mostly easier to buy a car or a house in person. However, other categories that might have once been considered insulated from the spread of eCommerce...
The United States economy managed to eke out a gain that was faster than estimated in preliminary results, with the consumer, yet again, acting as a prime growth engine, buffering the nation from continued global macro-weakness. Bloomberg reported that the revised 1.4 percent boost in...
When luddites complained a decade ago about having to go through automated touchtone phone systems, people laughed. Now that automation is becoming a very real possibility in retail, consumers aren’t laughing anymore. In fact, according to a new report from Accenture, the lack of human...
For the month of March, consumer confidence slipped a bit, on the heels of what The Wall Street Journal reported were lingering concerns tied to rising gasoline prices. And, of course, doubts about the economy at large have played a role as well. The gauge...
When stereotypes collide, everyone usually ends up wrong. Take millennial shoppers and fashion trends, for instance. The former can’t make up their minds about brands their loyal to or even what price they’re willing to pay, and the latter change faster than the seasons they...
St. Patrick’s Day — the one day a year everyone pretends like they don’t really drink that much all year long. Naturally, where there’s alcohol, there’s bound to be bad decisions, and while friends should already know not to let friends drive drunk, much fewer know...
