Wealthy Shoppers Are Developing A Habit That’s Killing Neiman Marcus

Wealthy shoppers have started comparing prices between retailers on everything they buy, and that’s hurting Neiman Marcus, according to Karen Katz, the company’s CEO. “There’s no question that our core customer is visiting us a little less frequently,” Katz told analysts on an earnings call Tuesday. “Customers in general are less loyal to any one retailer and I think a lot of that is because of the price transparency of online. I think that’s here to stay. I don’t think that’s going to change.” Katz made the remarks after Neiman Marcus reported an 8% drop in quarterly same-store sales, marking the retailer’s fifth straight quarter of declining sales at stores open at least a year. The company’s total sales dropped to $1.08 billion from $1.16 billion one year ago and net losses widened to $23.5 million from $10.5 million in the period. Price-comparison shopping is a trend that’s been around for a while. Read more at Business Insider.