Shoppers Still Shopping

U.S. consumers are, not surprisingly, worried about junk mail and airplane travel. But according to statistics compiled by PlanetFeedback (Cincinnati), an online consumer feedback site, consumers are not afraid to shop.

Sifting through what it said were “a monumental tally of nearly half-a-million consumer responses,” PlanetFeedback reports that “worries of large crowds and/or anthrax have not yet had a significant impact on shopping. A full 75 percent of consumers plan to shop as they always have and 7 percent intend to shop more, including during the holiday season. Only 12 percent say they plan to shop or spend less.”

Another survey, this one conducted by Clickin Research (Austin, Texas), says that shoppers are flocking to convenience stores in particular, because they “appear to offer their customers not only gas and cigarettes but perhaps comfort as well.”

The survey reports that 58 percent of convenience store customers believed that terrorism will now be an ongoing part of their lives, and two-thirds believed that the war against terrorism will last several years or longer. “The results pointed out the reassuring role convenience stores can play with their customers,” said Dr. Martha Russell, president of Clickin Research. “Familiarity gives comfort, and daily and weekly routines of customers'stopping at convenience stores are part of this. Convenience stores are part of consumers'sense of community.”

Perhaps that helps explain why 7-Eleven, Inc. (Dallas) reported a 6.2 percent same-store increase in merchandise sales for its 2001 third quarter. Quarterly revenue increased 5.5 percent for the nationwide chain of convenience retailers , and merchandise sales grew by 7.2 percent. The company, which operates or franchises approximately 5800 7-Eleven stores in the United States and Canada and licenses approximately 16,000 7-Eleven stores in 17 other countries and territories throughout the world, announced that it is exploring additional licensing arrangements in the People's Republic of China.