A new report from Colliers International, called "The U.S. Retail Highlights: 2012 Outlook," notes some relevant trends that retail merchants should consider as they plan for the upcoming year.

First, it's important retail brands realize that sales aren't expected to jump as much as they did last year. While they will still improve in 2012, they will do so at a slower pace. According to a report from the National Retail Federation, new sales will be up 3.4 percent in 2012, compared to the 4.6 percent increase observed last year.

Ecommerce will also continue to play a pivotal role, Inc. magazine notes.

"Ecommerce will grow exponentially, both in the way products are offered and purchased – with the latter seeing an influx in transactions via mobiles and tablets. Mobile sales this year are projected to climb 49 percent to $10 billion as retailers are seeing such devices as a bridge between their online and offline operations," the news source explains, citing the report.

A separate report from comScore further illustrates the growing value of ecommerce – during the fourth quarter alone, online shopping was up 14 percent to $50 billion.

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Monday, February 27th, 2012 at 10:37 am .

According to one research company, nearly half of all mobile subscribers now own smartphones instead of traditional feature phones.

A recent Nielsen report suggests 48 percent of all mobile subscribers in the United States now have smartphones, such as Apple's iPhone or HTC's Evo. This is even more so the case among young consumers in the 25 to 34 age bracket, with 66 percent of these people owning the devices.

"In the same age group, eight of 10 of those that had gotten a new device in the last three months chose a smartphone. Among those who chose a device in the last three months, more than half of those under 65 had chosen a smartphone," the report notes.

Moreover, smartphone owners are particularly lucrative as they are affluent individuals. Four-fifths of young consumers generating incomes of more than $100,000 annually (80 percent) own smartphones, while 74 percent of people in the same age bracket making between $75,000 and $100,000 have the devices.

If retailers still aren't sold on the value of having a smartphone application, a separate report from Nielsen suggests the devices are "the ultimate shopping companion" for consumers. Approximately 38 percent of shoppers use their phones to compare prices in stores, 38 percent look for products using apps, 32 percent read online reviews of goods, 24 percent search for coupons and 22 percent actually buy items straight from their smartphones.

A significant number of consumers are also interested in using their phones as mobile wallets to make point-of-sale purchases at cash registers.

"Apps, which account for the majority of mobile phone time in the U.S., may be the key to shifting consumers from browsing products on their phone to making purchases on the spot. Although only 9 percent of mobile shoppers have used their phone to pay at the register, the desire to do so is apparent – 71 percent of app downloaders would be interested in an app that allows them to use their phone as a credit card," the Nielsen report added.

Separate data from comScore offers a different view. While the research firm notes there are currently approximately 100 million smartphone owners, that is only 41 percent of the existing mobile subscriber base.

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Monday, February 27th, 2012 at 10:31 am .

Walmart took a gamble during the 2011 holiday season, giving shoppers the lowest price on any given item, regardless of when they purchased in the holiday season. The tactic had mixed results – while the retailer's revenue declined 15 percent year-over-year, it also gained customer traffic for the first time in several years.

The international retail chain accounts for approximately 10 percent of all nonautomotive retail sales, which means customers in general are looking to shop more – provided they are getting the best deals. Net income was approximately $5.1 billion for the three-month period ending on January 31, with new Walmart stores enjoying a 1.5 percent revenue increase.

"Core customers remain cautious about their finances," said Mike Duke, president and CEO of Walmart Stores. "They rely on Walmart's (everyday low price) promise to help them manage through today's economic challenges."

Some retail chains made note of Walmart's promotion and are trying to incorporate that into their operational plans. For example, JCPenney recently began offering specific sales days year-round to generate consistent in-store traffic.

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Sunday, February 26th, 2012 at 10:14 am .

A snazzy ambiance and massive selection may woo shoppers at a brick-and-mortar retail store, but when it comes to ecommerce, service and deals are king, InternetRetailer reports.

AccessoryGeeks, an online retailer that sells consumer electronics such as cell phone and iPad add-ons, began sending promotional offers to consumers who had left items in the online shopping cart. After noticing the response to this campaign, the brand quickly extended this to real-time platforms. Now, AccessoryGeeks offers round-the-clock customer service through email and text – a move that has improved overall results significantly.

"Customers online, they demand more and more and more as time goes along," says David Byun, the e-retailer's president, told the news source.

The key is making customers feel empowered. Nowadays, there are dozens of ecommerce websites out there and if shoppers can't find the product or service they are looking for on one retail site, they'll move to another.

Retail merchants should use customer service and lucrative promotions to keep customers in their sales loop, rather than giving them the opportunity to go to a competitor.

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Friday, February 24th, 2012 at 10:16 am .

While a number of consumers are still looking to use their tax refunds for retail purchases, many will be saving their money for future purposes, a new report from the National Retail Federation and BIGinsight suggests.

Nearly half of Americans (43.8 percent) expecting refunds will save some of their money, which is an increase from the 42.1 percent who said the same last year. As the NRF notes, this is the highest number of Americans looking to conserve their refunds in the nine years the survey has been given. Approximately two-thirds (66.2 percent) of taxpayers are anticipating a refund this year.

"After a rocky few years, consumers are now more vigilant about how they spend their money and the importance of preparing for future financial stability," said NRF president and CEO Matthew Shay. "Increased consumer savings proves extremely beneficial to shoppers and businesses in the long run, allowing future opportunities to invest in a large household item or even take advantage of a well-deserved family vacation."

That isn't to say all Americans are saving their money – 12.3 percent said they will use their refunds for a big purchase, such as a television. Retailers hoping to capture some extra sales may want to consider launching a tax refund promotional event.

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Friday, February 24th, 2012 at 10:15 am .

According to the recently released 2011 retail report from the Commerce Department, approximately 5 percent of all retail expenditures – or 5 cents for every U.S. dollar – was spent shopping online. That marks a notable 16 percent increase from 2010, with online spending crossing the $61 billion milestone for the year as a whole.

Since 1999, Americans have been shopping online more frequently. Over the past 12 years, ecommerce's market share has grown eightfold. Despite the economic recession, ecommerce has remained consistent, only experiencing stagnation instead of suffering the retreat other sectors did.

"Cyber sales are soaring since more people feel comfortable buying online, and the real game changer this past holiday season has been the increased use of smartphones … to shop online," economist Chris Christopher of IHS Global Insight told Rent-to-Own News. "Online retailers are starting to make a dent in the brick-and-mortar business model. Many chain stores are looking to cyber space to supplement weak in-store sales."

Moreover, some retail sectors tend to see even more online activity. For example, sporting goods, hobby shops, books and music retailers have gained ground, while electronic and appliance retailers have improved their market share even more. Even more startling, the news source notes, is that the online sales of traditional brick-and-mortar merchants are counted as in-store in the Commerce Department's report, so in reality, ecommerce could be even bigger than the data suggests.

"But there are still some brick-and-mortar retailers who have little to fear from the internet," Rent-to-Own News adds. "In the fourth quarter of 2011, gas stations represented 11 percent of all retail sales, up from 10 percent during the recession and 7 percent in 1999. Part of that is due to rising prices at the pump, but gas also is something you still have to go out to purchase."

The Commerce Department's report is even more optimistic than recent research released by comScore, which suggested ecommerce spending was up only 14 percent to $50 billion in 2011. The research firm noted that digital content and subscriptions, jewelry and watches, consumer electronics, toys and hobbies and computer software were the big 2011 drivers.

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Friday, February 24th, 2012 at 10:12 am .

The average American is a busy person, trying to juggle multiple tasks at once in their everyday lives. Retail merchants need to recognize this and assist customers by making the shopping experience revolve around their busy schedule. This is best done by enabling "easy in" and "easy out" shopping, a new report released by The E-Tailing Group suggests.

Every feature or service a retailer launches needs to be focused on expediting the shopping experience. The average customer no longer has the time to figure out how to find whatever it is they are looking for – this process needs to be as seamless and intuitive as possible to secure their purchases. Consumers don't want to invest any more energy than that.

"When deploying new functionality and evolving existing tools, ensure all features are sensitive to the time demands of harried shoppers," Internet Retailer notes, citing the report.

For the most part, merchants are doing an effective job of meeting the demands of today's shopper. For example, the number of retailers offering advanced search features that help consumers more efficiently find goods increased from 21 percent in 2010 to 39 percent in 2011 – up almost twofold. Meanwhile, the merchants offering navigational drop-downs or fly-outs grew from 70 percent to 81 percent in the same time period.

As a model example, the report points to Walmart's website. The retailer's ecommerce platform enables shoppers to narrow their searches by in-store and online availability, brand, price, customer rating, color, special offers and affiliated retailers. Moreover, all these features are integrated seamlessly into the company's website, which makes them easy for time-harried shoppers to use and find.

Organization by brand is one feature that a number of various retailers have implemented into their online product search.

"With more manufacturers selling directly to consumers, merchants have to work harder to distinguish themselves from online competitors," Internet Retailer explains.

"The percentage of sites that enable shoppers to refine results by brand jumped to 79 percent from 64 percent. And the percentage that allow consumers to shop by brand increased to 84 percent from 75 percent," the news source adds.

Retailers should also consider this as they design their anchor stores. Aisles and products should be organized in a way that makes it easy for consumers to find what they want.

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Thursday, February 23rd, 2012 at 9:56 am .

Gift cards are a lucrative way for businesses to accommodate the needs of their consumers while boosting revenue. Now, however, retailers will need to ensure their store operations are equipped to handle the payment option as they will be subject to federal regulations.

The U.S. Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announced this week that any retailers who sell gift cards and other products known as "pre-paid access products" will be required to follow anti-money laundering regulations.

Gift cards that are valued at or below $2,000 will be exempt from pre-paid access regulations, though. The full set of rules can be found on the agency's website, covering items such as cards used internationally or refilled remotely.

"The rule addresses regulatory gaps that have resulted from the proliferation of prepaid access innovations over the last 12 years and their increasing use as an accepted payment method," said FinCEN director James H. Freis, Jr.

Fortunately, retailers can find help navigating the new rules as well as protecting their customers' private financial information through the use of retail point of sale software.

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Thursday, February 23rd, 2012 at 1:00 am .

More than ever successful retailers are finding it necessary to make their store operations multichannel, allowing consumers to access and contact them through a variety of mediums.

However, according to a recent survey from rich media mobile and social merchandising provider Zmags, few retailers are prepared to deal with the growing number of computer tablet users.

In their report "Mobile & Tablet e-Commerce: Is anyone really ready?", Zmags revealed that only one third of internet retailers have optimized their websites for tablet users, with most respondents saying they continue to rely on their PC-based layout for mobile users.

"More than half of retailers have developed smartphone-specific offerings to provide key functionality for the smaller screen," the study reports. "While more than two-thirds of the retailers have developed iPhone apps, only half of that group offers the ability to purchase via the app."

Retailers should ensure that tablets aren't the only mobile devices optimized for m-commerce. Websites should also be accessible and readable on smartphones' much smaller screens.

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Thursday, February 23rd, 2012 at 12:58 am .

Retailers are increasingly looking to marketing options to set them apart from their competitors. However, a recent report suggests that companies may want to harness a more traditional strategy to boost their store operations.

Consumers are increasingly augmenting their shopping and purchasing experiences with coupons and special offers, according to the 2012 NCH Coupon Facts report. The research found that approximately $470 billion of coupon value for consumer package goods was offered to U.S. consumers in 2011, MediaPost reports.

Of the amounts offered, $4.6 billion in savings was realized by consumers, amounting to a 12.2 percent increase over 2010 and a 58.6 percent jump over 2006. Consumers used 3.5 billion coupons, an increase of 6.1 percent from 2010.

Additionally, retailers embraced new delivery modes for coupons last year.

"Digital coupons, as the newest media choice for marketers to reach consumers, grew with 11 percent more print at home and paperless offers distributed and tracked on NCH's database; yet, the total quantity of coupons in these growing formats doesn't yet exceed 1 percent of all coupons distributed in the U.S," MediaPost explains.

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Thursday, February 23rd, 2012 at 12:56 am .