retail

Expansion At Hand As M-Commerce Plans Gain

Target-Store-Front

After a long period of curtailed expansion plans, retailers are ready to swing back to growth mode: A new survey from the National Retail Federation and KPMG finds that 41% of retail executives plan to increase store expansions this year. That compares to just 25% in last year's survey. Both Target and Dollar General have announced such expansion plans in recent weeks; Microsoft, Disney H&M and Nordstrom also have new units on the horizon.

M-commerce is also high on retailers' radar, with 69% of the executives surveyed saying mobile is an important strategic initiative -- up from 28% a year ago. Cost-cutting is still important, but it's less of a focus. This year, 58% report that cost reduction and cost containment programs will remain a strategic initiative in their company, down from 81%. Overseas expansion is also inching up on retailers' agenda: 25% say they plan to expand overseas, up from 21% a year ago.

advertisement

advertisement

Other shifts include a big jump in insight gathering, with 74% of retailers planning to boost their data-gathering projects -- up from 65% in the prior year -- a bigger interest in Twitter (79% are using it, compared to 61% last year), and a renewed interest in customer loyalty programs with 78% ranking them first among customer insight initiatives, up from 65% a year ago.

The survey, the ninth annual Retail Horizons effort from NRF and KPMG, is based on interviews with 318 retail executives at 135 North American retail chains.

Next story loading loading..