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IHA’s blog features informative posts written to keep the housewares industry educated and informed about key strategic issues and IHA member services.

British Retail Sales Rose Strongly in July

The Wall Street Journal reported today that, post Brexit, “(UK) households largely shrugged off the referendum result and kept spending” with retail sales gaining 5.6% in July compared to a year earlier. For more information, please click here. …

Retail Profile: The Culinary Apple

Retailer: The Culinary Apple Location: Chelan, Wash. Founded: 1996 Owners: David and Mary Weldy Square footage: 1,600 sq. ft. in the retail space; less than 500 in the kitchen space Located in the heart of Washington State’s apple country, The Culinary Apple has taken a leaf from its surroundings with a housewares store stocked with all things apple. There are apple cookie…

Are you selling product online directly to consumers?

There seems to be an increase in the number of reported lawsuits levied by plaintiffs against IHA members alleging that the Terms and Conditions of their online ecommerce websites violate New Jersey’s arcane Truth-in-Consumer Contract, Warranty and Notice Act (“TCCWNA”). These lawsuits don’t have to prove there has been a loss or damage suffered by the consumer. Your company…

Retail Alchemy

Gourmet retailers work hard to find the products their customers never knew they have always wanted. Walking trade show floors, developing relationships with vendors and manufacturer’s reps and going the distance to figure out how to get the best pricing, are part of the mix of a successful sale. But perhaps the most important element of that brew is observing what one’s own…

Stats: Ad blocking in Real Time

Here are some quick facts about the rise in the use of ad-blocking software: At least 419 million people (22% of the workforce’s 1.9 billion smartphone users) are blocking ads on the mobile web. Both mobile web and in-app ads can now be blocked. As of March 2016, an estimated 408 million people are actively using mobile ad-blocking browsers (that means a mobile…

Trends: Software blocks ads and retail dollars

Many retailers with websites find that online ads help finance those sites, but a new study finds the rise of ad-blocking software is leading to a decline in online ad revenue. The ad-blocking browsers allow users to remove online ads when they use the Internet. Ad blockers also make websites load faster by saving data, which helps explain why nearly 200 million people…

How Business Can Win Big in the Age of Aging

Boomers and Millennials—Understanding the Needs of Key Consumer Groups IHA’s 2016 CHESS conference, October 6-7, in Rosemont, IL, offers top-level educational presentations for housewares industry executives. One of the valuable programs on Friday, October 7 will be Peter Hubbell’s analysis of how to reach Baby Boomers and Millennials. Hubbell, CEO of BoomAgers, the New…

Retail Profile: The Kitchen Place

Retailer: The Kitchen Place Locations: Marlborough, Mass.; Salem, N.H. Owner: Pamela Sullivan Founded: 1987 Square footage: Marlborough--1700 sq. ft.; Salem--1,900 sq. ft. The first thing a customer notices about The Kitchen Place is a proud sign posted at the front of each of the two stores: “We are a locally owned business” it starts, noting that the stores have been…

Drinkware Parties On

Thanks to the two largest generations entering new life stages, and apparently celebrating along the way, specialty retailers say sales of drinkware continue to rise. Consumers between the ages of 25 and 34, otherwise known as Millennials, and Baby Boomers in their 50s and 60s are helping to fuel those sales, retailers say. Researchers at the NPD Group agree, noting in a…