Seasonal

New York -- Almost seven-in-10 consumers surveyed expect to make more money, save more money and afford things they need in 2014, according to RetailMeNot’s 2014 Shoppers Trend Forecast. 

Almost seven-in-10 consumers surveyed expect to make more money, save more money and afford things they need in 2014, according to RetailMeNot’s 2014 Shoppers Trend Forecast. 

GameStop reported increases in global and same-store sales for the nine-week holiday sales period ended Jan. 4, but results missed analysts’ expectations thanks to a greater-than-expected decline in sales of new game titles for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Despite severe winter weather travails during the holiday shopping season, the National Retail Federation reported that December retail sales didn’t take the hit that many feared.

In fact, taking advantage of heavy promotions and last-minute deals, shoppers were able to move the December retail sales needle up 0.4% month-to-month, excluding automobiles, gas stations and restaurants, and up 4.6% year-over-year.



New York -- Despite severe winter weather travails during the holiday shopping season, the National Retail Federation said Tuesday that December retail sales didn’t take the hit that many feared.

In fact, taking advantage of heavy promotions and last-minute deals, shoppers were able to move the December retail sales needle up 0.4% month-to-month, excluding automobiles, gas stations and restaurants, and up 4.6% year-over-year.



New York -- Overall retail sales rose 0.2% last month, the Commerce Department said on Tuesday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had forecast a 0.1% increase.  Excluding autos however, December retail sales were up a solid 0.7%.

Auto sales fell 1.8%, dragging down broader figures, a reflection of  bad weather and calendar quirks than the start of a new trend. Retail spending figures for prior months were revised down to a 0.5% increase in October and a 0.4% rise in November.

Irvine, Calif. -- Statistics released by The Retail Equation, gathered during the seven days after Christmas, revealed that the Midwest states had the highest rate of returns, when comparing total dollars purchased to total dollars returned and exchanged.

New York & Company CEO Gregory Scott is pleased with the company’s holiday performance. The operator of 514 stores has navigated through what it called a challenging retail environment to build on the momentum it generated in the first three quarters of the year.

Comparable-store sales for the nine-week period ended Jan. 4 increased 1%. Additionally, the specialty apparel chain narrowed its outlook for the 13-week fourth quarter ending Feb. 1.