Consumers used their credit and debits cards more often in January, suggesting retail spending was up for the month. Overall dollar volume growth climbed 7 percent and transaction growth increased 7.2 percent in January 2012 compared to the same time last year, according to a report from the First Data SpendTrend.

Credit cards exhibited the most growth in the two categories, improving by 7.8 percent in transaction growth and 8.5 percent in dollar volume growth. Signature debit was up 6.4 percent and 4.8 percent in both categories. First Data notes credit card spending resumed in January after consumers were hesitant to charge on their cards in December.

"Retailers benefited from the mild weather in January. Reduced energy and home heating expenses combined with lower food inflation provided consumers with extra income to spend on discretionary categories such as clothing and home goods," said Silvio Tavares, senior vice president and division manager of First Data Global Information and Analytics Solutions.

A separate report from the Federal Reserve suggests consumer debt jumped 7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011, which indicates consumers are growing more confident in their ability to spend and pay off their bills.

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Tuesday, February 14th, 2012 at 12:36 pm .

With the number of smartphone phones in the hands of Americans on the rise – 97.9 million U.S. consumers owned the devices as of December, according to comScore data – retail merchants are employing new means of leveraging the mobile communication tools.

A new report from Robert Half Technology suggests nearly half of all American companies are looking to make an impact on the mobile space. Twenty-seven percent already offer a mobile application, while 22 percent are planning to do so before the end of the year.

That isn't to say, however, that creating a mobile app is a walk in the park. Developing mobile applications is challenging because it involves a number of different departments, ranging from information technology to marketing.

"Building mobile applications requires intense collaboration between numerous groups within an organization, including marketing, IT, operations and sales," says John Reed, executive director of the firm. "It's important for mobile application developers to have strong skills, in addition to the ability to write code and test and debug software applications."

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Monday, February 13th, 2012 at 2:40 am .

Who says men don't like shopping? A new report from IBM suggests that American men led a surge in retail sales in 2011, particularly in the category of apparel. Men's apparel is expected to jump 8.2 percent over the course of 2011, RetailingToday reports.

"The forecast of men's apparel sales reflects a growing trend: men are definitely developing a taste for fashion – especially in business attire," Jill Puleri, global retail leader for IBM Global Business Services, explains. Final Census figures won't be available until the end of February.

On the flip side, women's apparel sales are projected to be up only a meager 1.96 percent over 2010. Another noteworthy retail category is footwear, which is expected to be up 3 percent. Attractive sales and unpredictable weather patterns led sales of footwear during the holiday season.

Three recent trends led to the uplift: More disposable income, less saving and improvements in consumer confidence, the report noted.

Men are expected to spend even more money at retail locations this month with Valentine's Day right around the corner.

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Monday, February 13th, 2012 at 2:39 am .

Shoppers are recognizing bulk supplier Costco's store operation as doing something right – they recently ranked the retailer as No. 1 in a Consumer Reports survey.

In a survey of its 26,000 readers, the publication asked consumers to rank their shopping experiences at large chains such as Costco, JCPenney, Kmart, Kohl's, Macy's, Meijer, Sam's Club, Sears, Target and Walmart. Of these retailers, Costco was the only one to receive an "outstanding" grade for the quality of its merchandise.

Additionally, the major retailer also scored high for all 10 of the product categories consumers were asked to rate, including electronic entertainment, jewelry and sporting goods. Participants also noted a preference for its online operations.

"However, in-store shoppers found a few chinks in Costco's armor: The chain's walk-in stores scored below average for selection, checkout (because of long lines), and service, and its shoppers were more likely than those elsewhere to complain about a lack of fitting rooms," the report explains.

One chain on the list, JC Penney, may see movement on the list next year, though. The company has announced a series of revamps in an effort to boost customer satisfaction, engagement and experience.

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Monday, February 13th, 2012 at 1:40 am .

This year, the Retail Industry Leaders Association is looking to tackle a retail merchandising issue that is being played out in state legislatures across the country: the enforcement of sales tax collection among online retailers.

In the recently released 2012 Retail Industry Leaders Association Agenda: A Roadmap for Job Creation, the organization is hoping to point congressional offices to the issue of sales tax parity.

Currently, many business experts argue that current sales tax collection methods put in-store retailers at a disadvantage to their online counterparts, which in many states aren't required to collect sales tax. This policy allows online retailers to charge lower prices in many cases.

"The role that Main Street retailers play in the economy is enormous, but the laws governing sales tax collection put them at a distinct disadvantage to online-only retailers, threatening their ability to grow and create jobs," said RILA president Sandy Kennedy.

Currently, states such as Illinois and Arizona are weighing the advantages and disadvantages of bills that would not only make in-state online retailers pay sales tax, but out-of-state companies that sell in-state as well.

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Friday, February 10th, 2012 at 8:38 am .

Shifting technology and marketing strategies are changing the way companies approach retail merchandising, as well as the speed and timeliness with which they do so.

In a recent interview for the website Small Business Trends, senior vice president of marketing at Desk.com Matt Trifiro explained how mobile technology is changing customer service strategies and relations.

"Mobile has completely revolutionized our relationship to the internet and similarly our relationship to companies," Trifiro explains. "When I had a good or bad customer service experience, chances are, the device that is nearest me is going to be my mobile phone. The easiest thing to do was to Tweet, and I've done that."

To prevent consumer from harnessing this technology to vent, Trifero suggests that companies identify the tools that will help them manage the technologies more effectively and efficiently.

Companies, he explains, don't need to hire separate social media, email and customer service experts in all cases. If companies choose their social networks and employees wisely, they can take care of consumer needs without breaking the bank.

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Friday, February 10th, 2012 at 4:36 am .

Retailers using printed circulars to promote sales and new product releases are altering their approaches – rather than sending higher volumes of flyers to consumers, they are instead trying to send more information in one complete package.

Recent data from Market Track, a company that measures the return on investment achieved by retail marketing efforts, found that overall circular counts per market declined in January 2011 from five to four. On the other hand, the number of pages per flyer jumped 7.6 percent during the same time frame.

For example, Lowes sent out massive 20-page inserts in the first week of January, whereas the company released two smaller flyers during the same period last year.

"JCPenny distributed only two flyers this January compared to five flyers last year, resulting in a 48 percent decrease in pages," RetailingToday notes, citing the research. "Walmart and Safeway worked on their promotions in a different way this month, they dropped fewer flyers per market but increased the number of pages per insert by 42 percent and 5 percent respectively compared with last year."

Retail merchants looking to bolster sales should experiment with a variety of means, ranging from time-proven methods such as circulars to new mediums such as mobile devices.

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Friday, February 10th, 2012 at 2:42 am .

As the American economy continues to improve and the unemployment rate falls, consumer confidence is slowly improving, a new Bloomberg report suggests.

For the second consecutive week, the Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index shows consumer confidence in the U.S is on the rise. The index was observed at minus 44.8 on January 29, up from minus 46.4 the previous week. This is the best reading from the index since June.

"Gains in employment and post-holiday clearance sales at retailers also helped create a better buying climate for consumers," RetailingToday notes, citing the report.

For retailers, the improving consumer confidence index is absolutely paramount to their success. Confident Americans are more likely to spend big at retail, while less confidence conversely means fewer dollars given to merchants.

While there is very little companies can do to affect consumer confidence, it's crucial they make shopping as easy as possible when Americans are more hesitant to spend money. Whether they run more sales and discounts or simply make the shopping experience more enjoyable, it's the little things that count.

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Friday, February 10th, 2012 at 2:36 am .

Retailers are looking to advance and tighten up store operations through the diversification of marketing channels. One avenue through which this is being accomplished is social media.

However, according to a recent infographic from Zendesk, consumers don't feel like they are receiving the level of customer care and support from retailers on social networks that they desire. In fact, 62 percent of survey respondents said they want companies to be more social.

"Brand reputation and promotions still tops the list of how brands are using social media. The good news is once companies begin to engage in this arena, the more they find the importance in engaging in social channels," the infographic demonstrates, according to Econsultancy.

The survey found that social networks and blogs are the most popular online destinations, followed distantly by online games and email. The top online network, with 34 percent of the vote, is Facebook followed distantly by Twitter, which garnered only 4 percent.

Consumers are interacting with companies on social networks for specific reasons. Retailers may want to consider improving their customer service policies as well as the discounts and exclusives they offer online.

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Friday, February 10th, 2012 at 1:33 am .

Retailers already had a good idea that the amount of money spent shopping online in the fourth quarter of 2011 was up significantly compared to the previous year – comScore reported shortly after the beginning of the new year that Americans spent more than $34 million buying goods through the web in November and December.

The digital measurement firm recently released a new study which gives a clearer picture of total online expenditures. ComScore found that $49.6 billion was spent shopping online during the fourth quarter of 2011, marking yet another double-digit quarter-over-quarter spending increase. For 2011 as a whole, more than $161.5 billion was spent online.

"The fourth quarter of 2011 capped off what was yet another strong year for online retail, one in which every quarter achieved double-digit increases versus the prior year," said comScore chairman Gian Fulgoni. "In the face of continuing uncertainty regarding the U.S. economy, consumers increasingly went online for their shopping needs."

ComScore's report further highlights the need to have at least a basic ecommerce platform in place, whether it's a full-blown online store or a simple merchant portal on Facebook.

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Thursday, February 9th, 2012 at 2:51 am .