Budgets/Spending/Market Size

More Americans this year are expected to put their tax returns in the bank. According to the National Retail Federation (NRF)’s Tax Returns Survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics, 46% of those expecting a refund this year will put their money into savings, up from 44% last year and the highest percent in the survey’s history.

Chicago — Consumers reportedly are not willing to pay higher fees for Amazon Prime subscription service. According to the Wall Street Journal, a recent survey of 300 current Amazon Prime members from research firm Consumer Intelligence Research Partners indicates fewer than half of members would renew their subscription at a higher cost.

Boston — Businesses are spending more money on and paying more attention to user experience research. According to a new survey of 1,300 marketing, product and user experience professionals from user experience technology provider Usertesting.com, 55% say usability testing budget increased in 2013.

Consumers leveled off post-holiday shopping and spending in the beginning of the year due in part to severe winter weather in much of the country. According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), January 2014 retail sales, excluding automobiles, gas stations and restaurants, were flat seasonally adjusted month-to-month, yet increased 3% unadjusted year-over-year.

Washington, D.C. -- Import volume at the nation’s major retail container ports is expected to drop 8.4% in February from the same time last year as the shipping cycle reaches its slowest month of the year, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.

L’Oréal is reportedly buying back 8% of its shares from Nestlé, loosening their long-standing alliance.

L’Oréal will buy 48.5 million of its own shares. Following the transaction, Nestlé’s stake in L’Oréal will be reduced from 29.4% to 23.29% of the share capital and the Bettencourt Meyers family’s stake in L’Oréal will increase from 30.6% to 33.31%.

New York -- Retail and consumer (R&C) total transaction value in the United States for 2013 surpassed $100 billion for the first time since 2008, according to PwC’s US retail and consumer deals insights 2013 Year in Review and 2014 Outlook report. Deals in the food and beverage sector and private equity (PE) investment in the apparel, footwear and accessories sector continued to drive activity in the R&C industry.

San Francisco -- Gap Inc. posted strong sales for January and issued a fourth-quarter profit forecast that topped expectations.

The retailer said its same-store sales rose 1% in January. Analysts had expected a drop of 1.3%. Net sales for the four weeks that ended Feb. 1 were $899 million, compared with net sales of $1.13 billion for the five-week period ended Feb. 2, 2013.

For the fourth quarter, net sales were $4.58 billion, compared with $4.73 billion a year earlier.

San Diego - For the month of January 2014, net sales at PriceSmart increased 11.5% to $193.5 million from $173.5 million in January a year earlier. For the four weeks ended Jan. 26, 2014, same-store sales for the 30 warehouse clubs open at least 13 1/2 full months increased 8.4%, compared to the same four-week period last year.

There were 32 warehouse clubs in operation at the end of January 2014, compared to 30 warehouse clubs in operation in January 2013.

Washington, D.C. -- Retail industry sales (which exclude automobiles, gas stations, and restaurants) will increase 4.1% in 2014, up from the preliminary 3.7% growth seen in 2013, according to the National Retail Federation. The association’s 2014 economic forecast, released Thursday, calls for online sales to grow between 9% and 12%.

A number of factors contributed to NRF’s 2014 economic forecast, including: