Research Topic

New York City -- The National Retail Federation said Thursday that it expects retail sales growth of 4% this year, the biggest increase since 2006.

However, the group warned that shoppers are likely to remain cautious as they cope with slow job growth and rising prices.

The NRF said it expects retail sales to reach $2.47 trillion in 2011, up from $2.37 trillion in 2010, excluding automobiles, fuel and restaurants.

Phoenix -- Private equity firm Apollo Management will acquire majority ownership in Phoenix-based Sprouts Farmers Market. Apollo plans to combine Sprouts operations with another of its holdings, Henry's Farmers Market, based in Irvine, Calif. The combined company will operate under the Sprouts Farmers Market name.

Terms of the deal, expected to close in the second quarter of this year, were not disclosed. The combined grocers will have 98 stores and generate annual sales that exceed $1 billion.

From a strictly legal standpoint Walmart may have prevailed this week in a case involving a customer who was murdered in its parking lot after a jury found the company wasn’t liable for inadequate security. Then again, the mere fact that Walmart had to appear in court to defend itself against charges stemming from a murder in its parking lot meant the company was a loser before the trial began simply because of the negative publicity.

Global supply chains in an Ayn Rand World is the theme of the 10th annual Supply Chain Management Research Center spring conference to be held Thursday, March 17 at the University of Arkansas Donald W. Reynolds Center for Enterprise Development. The event will last from 7:15 a.m. to 4 p.m. with industry leaders slated to share their views on a wide range of supply chain topics.

New York City -- For the first time in six years, the number of consumers who switched service providers as a result of poor customer service declined in 2010, according to the latest edition of an annual consumer behavior study by Accenture.

Ann Arbor, Mich. -- The American Customer Satisfaction Index's annual E-Commerce Report, produced in partnership with ForeSee Results and released on Tuesday, showed that customer satisfaction with e-commerce websites is down 2.6% to 79.3 on the ACSI's 100-point scale.

The results are the lowest since 2004.

According to the report, falling satisfaction with online retail pulled down aggregate satisfaction with the e-commerce sector overall, which also includes online brokerage and online travel.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The American Customer Satisfaction Index has dropped just 0.1% from the previous quarter to 75.9 on the ACSI's 100-point scale, indicating that customers satisfaction remains strong, the ACSI reported.

Washington, D.C. -- A report released Tuesday by the U.S. Commerce Department said sales at U.S. retailers edged up 0.3% in January, less than the expected 0.5% to 0.6% increase, but still the seventh straight month of gains. A series of snow storms that hit much of the country throughout the month was cited as one of the factors for the weaker showing.