Budgets/Spending/Market Size

Austin, Texas -- A survey released Friday by coupon site RetailMeNot found that coupon use for back-to-school shopping surged this year, particularly for retailers selling books, school supplies and apparel.

According to RetailMeNot, which measured coupon usage during the July 1 to Aug. 20 selling period, as compared with the prior three months, the average daily coupon clicks increased more than 130% for book retailers, more than 40% for merchants selling back-to-school supplies and more than 30% for stores selling apparel and shoes.

New York -- Shares of Sears Holdings were under heavy selling pressure Thursday morning, sliding 7% to $53.38 on Standard & Poor's. S&P plans to remove the chain from its S&P 500 Index because the chain’s public float has has been below the index's 50% threshold for an extended period of time.

The Sears' name, in one form or another, has been in the S&P 500 since it was created some 55 years ago. Sears will be removed from the index at the close of trading on Sept. 4. The retailer will be replaced by chemical maker LyondellBasell.

Sears Holdings will lose its spot in the S&P 500 after the close of trading on Sept. 4. It will be replaced by chemical maker LyondellBasell (LYB).

As one of America’s oldest retailers, Sears, Roebuck & Co. was one of the original members of the S&P 500 when the index was created in 1957 (69 of the index’s original components are still in the S&P 500 today, according to S&P’s Howard Silverblatt).

New York -- Macy's, Limited Brands and Gap Inc. all posted August same-store sales that topped analysts' estimates as retailers across the board generally posted strong sales, boosted by back-to-school shopping and aggressive promotions. The strong showing comes shortly after the news that consumer confidence for August slumped to its lowest level of the year.

Schaumburg, Ill. -- Consumers focus on savings when they log in to their digital devices to shop for groceries, according to a new study from Nielsen. The top weekly U.S. activities related to grocery shopping on a connected device, ranging from a mobile phone to  tablet, included reading online grocery circulars (62%), looking for coupons online (55%) and browsing a manufacturer’s website for a grocery category (55%).
 

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- The Fresh Market Inc. said Wednesday that its second-quarter net income surged 27%. The company also lifted its profit outlook for the year.

For the quarter ended July 29, Fresh Market earned $13.3 million, up from $10.5 million in the same period last year.

Revenue rose 21% to $313 million as the number of shopper purchases rose 5% and the average amount spent rose 3%. Same-store sales rose 8%.

Warrendale, Pa. -- Rue 21 earned a better-than-expected $9.1 million for the quarter ended July 28, up from $7.7 million in the same quarter last year.

Revenue rose 17% to $202.1 million, from $172.8 million. Same-store sales rose 0.5%, well below analyst expectations.

New York -- The store opening plans of retailers hit a four-year high in July, according to the August edition of the National Retailer Demand Monthly report from RBC Capital Markets and Retail Lease Trac.

Retailers in the RBC database currently plan to open 78,325 stores over the next 24 months, which represents an 11% increase over openings projected at the end of 2011, and a 0.6% increase over June’s level.