Hoping to increase sales and traffic in their restaurants, fast-food and fast-casual operators are cranking up the menu innovation to produce items that stray from the gastronomic norm.
» Read MoreAhh…temptation. Isn’t that what shopping is supposed to be about?
Sometimes it’s hard in these tough times for retailers to think about anything survival, and stick to the safe and secure, but that’s not always going to be the right trick to woo the consumer. Sometimes, it pays to take a risk, especially when there’s a void to be filled.
Although consumers are still spending with restraint, Frederick's of Hollywood actually saw a pick up in sales of their fall collection during the month of August. CEO Linda LoRe attributes this trend to the "bright colors and fun fabrics" featured in the fall line-up.
"The price points are so sharp," LoRe adds.
According to LoRe, shoppers have a more limited budget, but they still want to be excited by the clothes they buy. "They want value. They want style," she says. Frederick's has been trying to stand out from "same T's, tanks and pants."
Click ahead to see some items consumers are buying from Frederick's.
By Christina Cheddar Berk
Posted 14 Sept 2009
The fabric in the hands of Thakoon Panichgul, one of Michelle Obama’s favorite designers, is exquisite. An Italian jacquard, woven from yarns of eight different colors, it costs $100 a yard. A dress that Mr. Panichgul plans to make from the cloth for his runway show next week will cost $2,000.
He lets it fall away. It troubles Mr. Panichgul that as much as people love beautiful clothes, they do not understand why they cost so much. “It’s becoming a losing battle,” he said.
Despite all its success, Wal-Mart Storeshas yet to conquer the online retail world. With its launch of the Wal-Mart Marketplace , the world's largest retailer may be hoping to change that.
The stores may be shuttered, the company liquidated, but retail brands are increasingly living on long after the bankruptcy proceedings have ended.
Now comes the tough part.
The latest batch of monthly retail sales reports showed steep sales declines for high-end retailers like Saks and Nordstrom , but with signs the economy is beginning to turn around, it will pay for luxury brands to hold their ground.
The government's "Cash for Clunkers" program was "ingenious" because it coaxed wary consumers into re-leveraging their personal balance sheet, Doug Dachille, CEO of investment firm First Principles Capital Management told CNBC.
These days with folks posting their every move on social networking Web sites such as Facebook and Twitter, it's hard to know where the lines of privacy are drawn.
With so many folks paying their bills online, or electronically through an automatic checking account deduction, it's hard to imagine that a good slice of consumers are still paying some of their bills in person.
As folks try to use the back-to-school shopping season as a barometer for the Christmas holiday season , one analyst, who was pretty sharp with his forecast for the 2008 holidays, has issued his preliminary read for the 2009 season.
Christina Cheddar Berk is editor of CNBC.com's Consumer Nation and chief trend spotter.
A Bangladesh factory where Wal-Mart Stores and Inditex inspectors spotted cracks is still making Wrangler shirts.
Baby boomers preparing for retirement are driving a surge in small business sales.
Maxim Group upgraded shares of JC Penney to buy and slapping a $27 price target on the stock. Rick Snyder, Maxim Group and William Frohnhoefer, BTIG, discuss.
