Research Topic

WASHINGTON — Retail sales continue to rise for 2012 as the U.S. Census Bureau reported results of February sales on Tuesday.

U.S. retail and food services sales for February, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $407.8 billion, an increase of 1.1% from the previous month and 6.5% above the year-ago period. Retail trade sales were up 1.1% from last month and 6.3% above last year.

Boston -- New research released by Brodeur Partners uncovered that Baby Boomers and Generation Y’ers think differently about the shopping experience.

According to The Brodeur Partners’ Retail Relevance Study, Boomers see the ideal shopping experience as getting a good deal on a decent product. For Gen Y, it’s more about a stimulating, sensual, “sharable” experience.

Well, 2012 is certainly off to a wild start. While there’s been nothing quite as dramatic and earth shattering as last year’s tsunami in Japan, there are plenty of global events and outside influences affecting our industry. I’m talking about the increases we’re seeing at the gas pumps and the warmer-than-average winter we’ve been experiencing throughout the country.

Los Angeles -- A survey released Monday by PriceGrabber said that 77% of consumers who own a tablet computer use either a tablet or a smartphone to shop.

The survey includes responses from 1,829 U.S. online shopping consumers, 22% of whom indicated that they own a tablet computer.

When consumers who use their mobile devices for shopping were asked how often they make purchases from their mobile devices, 40% said a couple times a month, 23% said once a week, 20% said a few times a year, and 10% said daily.

New York City -- The Conference Board reported Monday that its Employment Trends Index increased 1.38% in February to 107.46, from the revised figure of 105.99 in January.

The February figure is also up 6.1% from the same month a year ago.

Everett, Wash. -- Teen retailer Zumiez Inc. reported Thursday that profit for the fourth quarter increased 24.9% to $18.7 million, from $15 million a year earlier, boosted by better margins.

Revenue rose 18% to $183.9 million, edging Wall Street’s expected $183 million in revenue.

The company has now surpassed analyst estimates for four quarters in a row.
 

Overall, February witnessed a year-over-year decline in total flyer circulation per market as well as pages per market. Conversely, the biggest change in this month was witnessed by Walmart, which saw a considerable jump in flyer circulation as well as the number of pages. This dramatic increase of 122% increase in flyer drop was mainly due to the two extra flyers dropped in the second and fourth week of February this year unlike the previous year.

Birmingham, Ala. -- Hibbett Sports Inc. reported Friday that profit for the quarter ended Jan. 28 jumped 27% to $15.8 million, compared with $12.5 million in the year-ago period.
 
Revenue increased 10% to $190.7 million from $173.2 million, missing Wall Street’s expected $192.2 million in revenue. Same-store sales rose 7.2%.

For the full year, Hibbett reported net income of $59.1 million, up from $46.4 million last year. Revenue rose to $732.6 million, from $665 million.