Research Topic

Richmond, Va. -- Survey results released Tuesday by Affinion Loyalty Group found that 89% of consumers are interested in redeeming points at point-of-sale.

The survey also found that the respondents identified cash and retail store gift cards as their two favorite redemption items.

Dallas -- Tuesday Morning Corp. reported Tuesday that sales for the quarter ended Dec. 31 rose 4.5% to $285.3 million, compared with $273.1 million in the year-ago quarter.

Same-store sales increased 5.6%.

Tuesday Morning also reported that beginning with this second quarter sales report it will no longer provide net income estimates with sales figures, but will instead consolidate that information in its earnings reports.

By Ann Natunewicz, national manager, Retail Research, USA Retail Services Group

The outlet shopping experience has morphed from warehouse settings offering damaged and closeout merchandise to today’s centers that are designed to maximize customer flow and sell merchandise from the most exclusive international designers.

New York -- Hiring by the nation’s retailers this past holiday season was at the highest level in six years despite the uncertain economy, Superstorm Sandy and the presidential election, according to an analysis of government job data by Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Chicago, a leading outplacement consultancy.

Bolingbrook, Ill. -- Ulta Beauty reported that its holiday revenue grew 23.2% as sales “strongly” rebounded the weekend before Christmas.

Total sales for the seven-week holiday period were $475.6 million, compared with $386 million in the year-ago period. Same-store sales increased 7.4%, on top of a 12.6% increase during the same period in the prior year.

By Raymond Florio, [email protected]

Wal-Mart Asia CEO Scott Price is among the feature speakers participating in this year’s World Retail Congress event scheduled for March 19-21 in Singapore.

Nineteen of the nation’s leading retail and CPG companies received perfect scores on the 2013 Corporate Equality Index compiled by the Human Rights Campaign.

The Human Rights Campaign released its 2013 Corporate Equality Index, which gives companies ratings of up to 100% based on their policies regarding LGBT employees and also released a buyer's guide for LGBT consumers. According to the equality advocacy group, a total of 1,848 companies were invited to submit applications, of those 530 actually did so and of those 252 received scores of 100%.

WASHINGTON — The NRF Foundation and American Express announced the winners of their fifth annual Aspire2Retail Intercollegiate Challenge. Each student will receive an educational scholarship worth $2,500.

The contest is designed to increase understanding of diverse career paths in retail by engaging university students in a competitive, collaborative roleplay that involves implementing a multi-tiered business strategy.

San Jose, Calif. -- A Friday report by RetailNext said that its analysis of 8.5 million shopping trips to big-box and specialty retailers in the U.S. during the 2011 and 2012 holiday seasons revealed that: