Consumer Attitudes & Behavior

WASHINGTON -- With Easter falling in late April this year, retailers are without a major holiday to boost March sales, and many are expecting weaker sales this month. However, thanks to St. Patrick's Day, which falls on March 17, retailers have the help of this micro-holiday.

Washington, D.C. -- Total spending on St. Patrick’s Day festivities is expected to hit $4.14 billion this, according to NRF’s 2011 St. Patrick’s Day Consumer Intentions and Actions survey, conducted by BIGresearch. The survey found that 52.4% of Americans will celebrate the Irish holiday, up from 45.2% last year and the most in the survey’s eight year history.

YONKERS, N.Y. -- In another positive sign for the economy,  the March Consumer Reports Index reveals its most positive results in two years.

According to Consumer Reports National Research Center, which conducts the survey, the Consumer Sentiment Index has broken into positive territory at 50.3, which is up from 48.7 a month ago. This is the first time sentiment has been in positive territory since it was first measured in October 2008.

NEW YORK — Amid researching its customers' changing media habits, supermarket retailer Supervalu has partnered with a leading provider of digital marketing services and technology to enhance how the grocer reaches customers.

Supervalu said that after conducting a joint study with Nielsen Catalina Solutions, which measured more than 30 million impressions delivered by PointRoll, in-store sales at Supervalu experienced an overall increase during a three-month period, thanks to PointRoll's PaperBoy eCircular, an interactive expandable ad unit.

New York City -- The Conference Board’s Employment Trends Index, released Monday, increased in February for the fifth consecutive month.

According to the Conference Board, the index now stands at 101.7, up from January’s revised figure of 100.1. The index is up over 8% from a year ago.

For a company so often on the leading edge of offering its shopper affordable fashions in the apparel and home categories, there is one area where Target has been slow to keep pace with the prevailing trend.