Budgets/Spending/Market Size

Washington, D.C. -- A report released Thursday by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates said import cargo volume at the nation’s major retail container ports should be nearly flat during January compared with the same month last year, but significant year-over-year increases are expected this spring.

Washington, D.C. -- The National Retail Federation reported Thursday that holiday sales edged NRF forecasts, rising 4.1% to $471.5 billion for the period.

NRF predicted 3.8% growth. Results exclude automobiles, gas stations and restaurants.

Tokyo -- Fast Retailing Co., operator of the Uniqlo apparel chain, reported Thursday a net profit of $405.3 million for the first quarter, a 37% rise that the company said was due in large part to a change in accounting methods. Operating profit dipped 2.8%.

Sales gained 8.6% overall for the quarter, but the company has trimmed its full-year outlook as sales in its home market remained sluggish.

WAYNE, N.J. — Toys"R"Us has announced that its eighth annual fundraising campaign to benefit the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation was its most successful to date, raising $4 million and collecting more than 400,000 toys to help make the holidays brighter for kids in need across the United States.

Atlanta -- Dollar volume growth on cards overall was a healthy 6.9%  in December, according to First Data Corporation’s First Data SpendTrend analysis for the full month of December 2011 compared to December 2010. SpendTrend tracks same-store consumer spending by credit, signature debit, PIN debit, EBT cards and checks at U.S. merchant locations.

However, strong auto sales, driven by low interest rates, likely diverted consumer spending to car sales from other retail areas, the report said. Auto sales are not captured in SpendTrend figures.

Dallas -- Zale Corp. reported Tuesday that same-store sales for the holiday selling season of November and December 2011 rose 5.9%, compared with an 8.5% gain in the same period last year.

Within the two-month period, same-store store sales increased 10.1% in November and 4.2% in December.

Revenues for the two-month period were $564 million, compared with $533 million in the same period last year, an increase of 5.8%.

Columbus, Ohio -- DSW Inc. said Tuesday it will open between 35 and 40 stores in 2012, up from an initial plan of 15 to 20 new stores this year.

The footwear and accessories retailer also raised its annual earnings guidance.

“The expansion of our footprint into new and existing markets is a key growth initiative for us,” said Mike MacDonald, president and CEO, DSW Inc.

The majority of the new stores are slated to open in the second half of 2012, according to the company.

Armonk, N.Y. -- On Tuesday, IBM released its final Benchmark announcement for the 2011 holiday season, detailing a continued strong performance for mobile as well as an overall increase in online spending for December 2011.

According to the report, the U.S. online retail sector delivered 7.5% growth in December 2011 compared to the same period last year. This followed a strong November where both Black Friday 2011 and Cyber Monday 2011 delivered double-digit growth over 2010.

Other key findings of the IBM report included: