Winter Holidays

No surprise that traffic to retail websites falls off appreciably in February after the big holiday surge, but Target really took it on the chin and nearly fell out of online measurement firm comScore’s ranking of the top 50 U.S. Web properties.

Washington, D.C. -- Spring apparel and candy are predicted to push Easter sales past the $16 billion mark this year, according to a new survey released Tuesday by the National Retail Federation.

The Easter spending survey, conducted by BIGinsight, found that Americans will shell out an average of $145.28 on everything from apparel and candy to food and decorations this year, up 11% from $131.04 last year. Total spending is expected to reach $16.8 billion.

NEW YORK — During the 2011 holiday season, the top retail applications and websites combined — including Amazon, Best Buy, eBay, Target and Walmart — reached nearly 60% of smartphone owners, according to Nielsen.

“The majority of smartphone owners used their devices for shopping this past holiday season,” said John Burbank, president of strategic initiatives at Nielsen. “Mobile shopping has reached scale and is only going to grow as smartphone penetration continues to rise.”

LONDON — Walmart's U.K. subsidiary Asda is making it easier for brides to feel special on their wedding day by launching a new bridal lingerie line at its George stores. 

The retailer has a launched a four-piece "bridal inspired" collection that ranges from 11.50 to 16 GPB. According to Asda this is 1,639% cheaper than the most expensive alternative. 

New York -- During the 2011 holiday season, the top retail apps and websites combined — Amazon, Best Buy, eBay, Target and Walmart — reached nearly 60 % of smartphone owners, according to Nielsen.

“The majority of smartphone owners used their devices for shopping this past holiday season,” said John Burbank, president of strategic initiatives at Nielsen. “Mobile shopping has reached scale and is only going to grow as smartphone penetration continues to rise.”

New York -- The average gift card dollar volume growth on a year-over-year basis increased 10% during the last six months of 2011, with consumers shopping earlier in the holiday season for prepaid cards and adding more value to their purchases than in 2010, according to a study by First Data Corp.

Pleasanton, Calif. -- Ross Stores Inc. reported Thursday that profit for the quarter ended Jan. 28 rose 19% to $192 million, from $161.8 million last year. A profitable holiday season helped boost the discounter’s results, which met Wall Street expectations.

Sales surged almost 12% to $2.4 billion, and same-store sales increased 7%.

For the full year, Ross reported a net income rise of 18% to $657.2 million. Sales increased 9% to $8.6 billion, with same-store sales up 5%.

As Walmart CFO Charles Holley noted recently during an investor conference, the company was pleased with its February sales. Unseasonably warm weather surely played a role as did a surge in promotional activity which seems oddly inconsistent with the company’s renewed emphasis every day low prices. The number of ad pages increased 58% to 41 total pages compared to 26 the prior year, according to promotional research firm Market Track.