While recent reports from the National Retail Federation have suggested retailers are gearing up for a slow winter season, one product category is standing out as being particularly lucrative: Licensed children's toys.

Through the end of 2011, licensed toy sales were up in terms of dollar sales by 2 percent and represented 26 percent of total industry sales, the NPD Group reports. Retailers bank on the sales of these products, as they cost 57 percent more than toys not based on popular licenses, such as Power Rangers or Ninja Turtles.

"The overarching story for 2011 was that consumers made purchasing trade-offs. When they did buy toys, compared to last year they purchased more higher-priced toys at the expense of mid to lower-priced ones," said Anita Frazier, industry analyst at The NPD Group.

Overall, approximately $21.18 billion was spent on both licensed and non-licensed toys in 2011.

The report comes just weeks before the annual Toy Fair, an event where big-name toy manufacturers show off their product lineups for the upcoming year.

For retail merchants, one of the core ingredients to success is offering products at competitive prices. While providing a satisfactory customer experience or appealing to a niche audience, modern consumers nowadays are even more conscious of cost. Thanks to the internet and mobile devices, it has also become easier to find the best prices for products and services.

The top retailers know the importance of offering competitive prices and are the most likely to experiment with different cost points, a new survey from Black Lotus suggests. According to the data, the top 20 most-visited retail websites change their prices approximately 30 times more often than smaller websites.

"The top retailers are being very strategic in how they approach pricing," says Rodrigo Carvahlo, the CEO and founder of BlackLocus. "They're using loss leaders to draw in customers, while increasing prices on other products to ensure that their margins are there."

If consumers are paying so much attention to the prices of products, it's crucial that retail merchants do the same. While it may not necessarily be the best idea to get in price wars – this is especially the case for smaller companies – it's worth the effort to know which products are selling and at what prices.

By knowing current market prices and inventory conditions, retailers can capitalize on their competitors' weaknesses. For example, if a product sells out somewhere, merchants could raise the prices on these products and profit on them. Conversely, they could consider lowering costs if they have an opportunity to do so without taking a loss.

"Pricing is increasingly important as consumers become more sophisticated about using the web to compare prices. A recent survey found that 38 percent of smartphone owners said that they used their smartphone to find the lowest price on an item during the holidays," Internet Retailer notes.

Keeping up with prices of competitors can be a challenge. Fortunately, there are technology solutions that can be used to monitor prices at other retail brands more efficiently.

While lower prices will certainly guarantee more sales, it's also important to remember that it doesn't translate into greater revenue. Several retailers recently revised their projections after deep holiday discounts affected their bottom lines.

A number of retailers struggled to meet their annual projections after deep discounts during the holiday season negatively impacted their bottom line. J.C. Penney, however, was apparently not among those retailers – that department store is now marking down the prices at all of its stores by at least 40 percent.

J.C. Penney has traditionally launched a number of different sales each year. However, this strategy may be encouraging consumers to wait for sales rather than buying now, which was not the intended consequence. Now, the brand will hold three tiers of permanent sales – an "every day" low pricing, a "monthly value" and a "best price" sale on the first and third Friday each month.

"Penney's plan comes at a time when stores are struggling to wean shoppers off the profit-busting bargains that they have come to expect in a weak economy," USA Today notes. "The move is risky because shoppers who love to bargain hunt may be turned off by missing the thrill they might get from feeling like they're getting a deal."

Retailers need to plan their promotions in advance to avoid taking losses on them. Strategies such as the one being employed by J.C. Penney may help retailers structure their promotional efforts more efficiently.

When retailers think about growth strategies, they often come up with things they can directly control – the implementation of new technology, rolling out new policies or launching new products. It's crucial they realize these are just means to achieving the objective growth, and that they shouldn't be goals in and of themselves.

"The real news for 2012 is that successful retailers will be focusing their attention where it has belonged all along: on the consumer," Forbes explains. "Acquiring new customers is part of that equation, as is building tighter bonds of loyalty with those who already know (and love) your brand."

New products, discounts and policies can help, though. These are the means through which retail merchants can strengthen their relationship with consumers – a new product gives them something to get excited about, while a more lenient return policy may improve customer satisfaction. It's the small things that lead to growth.

That said, it's crucial retailers keep their profit margins in mind. Many merchants offered deep discounts during the holiday season and had to reduce their annual profit forecasts.

Fed up with long lines in-store or on the phone, many customers are turning to online communities to get answers to their retail problems.

A new survey conducted by Forrester Research suggests 27 percent of American consumers sought help via online communities in 2011, which is up from the mere 27 percent who did so two years ago. This behavior was especially common among Generation X (41 percent) and Generation Y (39 percent) consumers.

"When consumers seek customer service assistance through online communities, such as consumer forums, consumers typically post a question about a concern they have about a brand or product, and may get responses from other consumers who have experienced similar concerns," Internet Retailer notes, citing the report.

Retailers need to be cognizant of these online communities to maximize the support process. Simply being a part of forums or message boards shows that brands care about their customers and aren't letting complaints or service questions go unanswered.

On that note, retail brands should similarly be operating a profile on social networks to answer any inquiries.

According the latest Consumer Spending Index from Deloitte, consumers spent less money in December at retail locations, although prospects aren't as bad as they initially sound.

The Index is compiled using readings of tax burden, initial unemployment claims, real wages and real home prices. While the Index fell overall from 1.93 in November to 1.86 in December, Deloitte was quick to note it actually improved in three of the four categories observed to determine the scale.

"The new year brings new demands on retailers," said Alison Paul, vice chairman and U.S. retail and distribution sector leader at Deloitte LLP. "In addition to a challenging economic climate, shifts in consumer behavior – from price consciousness to technology adoption – will force retailers to find new ways to remain relevant to their customers in 2012."

This year is expected to be a big one for retailers, but not until the spring. According to recent data from the National Retail Federation, container shipments were flat in January but will pick up later this year.

Traditional brick-and-mortar retail stores have felt mounting pressure to expand their online presence, but that doesn't mean the in-store experience is dying. According to a new Deloitte survey, approximately 79 percent of retail experts believe the physical store will be a mainstay to the shopping experience for at least the next five years.

While the polled retail executives expect ecommerce sales to triple through 2016, few think online will replace brick-and-mortar. Instead, the physical space will be the place for retailers to differentiate themselves from their competitors. In response, brands need to reconfigure talent and store operations to better meet customers' changing perceptions of the store.

"A strategy [that aligns these dimensions] and is enabled by the right technology solutions can help retailers deliver a tailored experience for their customers," RetailingToday reports, citing the research. "It is an experience that begins before customers enter the physical store and continues long after they leave."

It's crucial that retail brands keep an eye on the ever-evolving retail industry. By staying ahead of trends, merchants can maximize their chances for success.

While the retail industry was notable in that it was one of the few sectors that did well in 2012, that success wasn't limited to the United States. Globally, the retail business is booming and will continue to do so through 2015, at which point GIA anticipates the sector will hit $9.7 trillion.

As the report notes, the retail industry was under pressure from the collapse of the global economy and felt the hardships of the frugal consumer between 2007 and 2009. However, starting in 2010, the sector began to make a notable recovery. Now, thanks to innovations in both the store front and online experience, the industry will prosper through 2015.

"Against this backdrop, multi-channel retailing is poised to gain paramount importance, with reliance on a single channel making it virtually impossible for retailers to gain a competitive edge in the tough environment. Multi-channel retail format enables retailers to combine the synergies of traditional retail stores with other retailing formats such as mobile stores, online stores, catalogs and convenience stores," GIA explains.

A separate study from Deloitte suggests brick-and-mortar stores will continue to be a main shopping location through this time frame.

In President Barack Obama's State of the Union address, he spoke in-depth about the importance of jobs to the revival of the national economy. While more than 3 million positions have been created in the past 22 months, the country is still down a total of 5 million. Obama hopes to enact new legislation that will restore those lost jobs.

As the National Retail Federation notes, this goal is crucial to the continued growth of the retail sector. Merchants are largely dependent on a health base of shoppers, and more unemployed Americans means fewer people are able to spend money in stores. While the retail sector has contributed a great deal to the 3 million jobs created, other sectors need to pull their weight as well.

"Job creation is our nation's No. 1 priority, and as the industry that supports one out of every four U.S. jobs, retailers stand ready to do their part in putting Americans back to work," NRF president and CEO Matthew Shay said. "Retailers are helping to rebuild the economy, but Washington must get moving to encourage job growth and remove barriers to job creation."

President Obama spoke specifically about different legislation designed to improve hiring in troubled induestries such as construction. However, Shay asserts the president should also aid other service sectors – such as retail – and make it easier for them to take on new help as well.

Earlier this month, Shay and Terry Lundgren, the president of Macy's, sent a letter to Obama that outlined some of the approaches that could be used to reduce the red tape that surrounds the retail sector. Some key issues included sales tax fairness legislation, corporate tax reform and free and open trade initiatives.

"The letter also asked Obama to address neglected transportation infrastructure, credit card swipe fees, and healthcare reform mandates. It also asked for quicker visa processing to make it easier for foreign visitors to come to the United States to shop," the NRF statement notes.

In November, the retail sector was cited as a driving force in bringing the unemployment rate to a two-year low as merchants brought on help for the holidays.

Shopping online is tremendously convenient for consumers – the web enables them to make purchases without ever having to leave the comfort of their own home. However, this also opens the door to fraud, which is a significant risk that consumers have to take whenever they submit their data over the internet.

Retailers need to walk a fine line between offering too much fraud security and not enough. According to a recent survey by Accertify, 28 percent of customers have encountered excessive anti-fraud procedures that denied or delayed their transactions. Conversely, consumers are likely not to shop with a retailer at all if they have no fraud prevention measures in place.

"It is clear that narrow fraud programs can actually push legitimate customers away," said Jeff Liesendahl, senior vice president of Accertify at American Express. "Merchants with inflexible fraud prevention technology or who manually review every suspect transaction end up delaying and denying legitimate transactions."

Retail merchants should put themselves in the shoes of their customers when trying to streamline the online shopping experience. What would drive them to competitors? Conversely, what could be done to enhance it?