Sales & Marketing

The National Retail Federation’s Annual Convention & Expo kicked off  at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center on Sunday, Jan. 9, with a lineup of power speakers and plenty of buzz. It is the 100th anniversary of  annual event, which attracts retailers from around the world.

This year, the four-day NRF show featured more than 600 exhibiting companies, new retail technology pavilions, and presentations from a stellar line-up of top-tier retailers. Total attendance was estimated at more than 18,500, with representatives from 70 countries.

FORT MILL, S.C. — According to the latest “Mobile POS Survey” commissioned by Honeywell and conducted by Harris Interactive online in December, consumers are accepting of a mobile checkout offering at retail — 50% of those who have tried mobile checkouts believed it saves time and 43% like the convenience of paperless receipts delivered via e-mail.

Miami -- Navarro Discount Pharmacies has signed a lease for a new 14,000-sq.-ft. store in North Miami, Fla. With a store opening planned for the summer, North Miami will be the company's 29th store location and its first new store opening since the airport location opened in 2007.

New York City -- Affinity Solutions, a provider of partner-funded rewards programs, announced that it has signed an extension with Anna’s Linens as a client in its bank rewards program, which connects national and local retailers to a network of over 400 banks. Anna’s Linens will also continue its use of the Affinity Dashboard, a proprietary analytic tool that offers retailers access to in-depth consumer spend data.

Chicago -- Year-over-year retail sales rose a solid 4% for the 2010 holiday shopping season (November/December), according to ShopperTrak’s National Retail Sales Estimate.

Conversely, total U.S. foot traffic fell slightly below expectations as consumers continued the pattern retailers saw throughout 2010 of fewer mall and individual store visits with a larger spend. ShopperTrak’s revised holiday forecast called for a 1.8% traffic increase.

New York City -- Quiksilver is targeting its next phase of corporate development using industry-specific software from SAP AG. By replacing its existing business software systems, the sports-themed lifestyle retailer aims to better support the global development, production and distribution of its diversified mix of branded apparel, footwear and accessories.

New York City -- RadioShack Corp. plans to almost double its presence in Target stores, where it operates wireless departments for the Minneapolis retailer, according to Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal.

RadioShack ran mobile departments in 850 Targets at the end of 2010, the report said, with the number expected to increase to approximately 1,450 Target stores by June 30.

New York City -- A retail industry expert presented research Monday at the National Retail Federation convention in New York City that showed shoppers will continue to spend more this year, spurred by a slowly improving job market and an uptick in income.

However, Ira Kalish, director of global economics for Deloitte, added that enough shoppers are still struggling with their finances that any increase will be modest.