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Total apparel industry dollar sales grew 2% in the retail calendar year ended February 2015. However, in-store sales of apparel fell 2%. While New York and Los Angeles are the biggest US markets selling clothing, smaller regions like Orlando and Washington, DC are now the top markets for dollar volume increase for the apparel industry.... Read more »

Traditional Black Friday takes place the day after Thanksgiving, the biggest shopping day of the year and the most recognized branding for shoppers. Retailers are attempting to use that recognition to drive sales this spring with “Spring Black Friday” events. Home Depot stores started its “Spring Black Friday” with a cyber week of deals at... Read more »

Major retailers, trade groups and politicians gave an outpouring of congratulatory remarks last week following the introduction of trade legislation with potentially large implications for the retail industry and US economy. The trade promotion authority (TPA) legislation, titled the “Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015” is a necessary precursor for the President... Read more »

US consumer sentiment, which measures Americans’ assessment of their personal finances, rose higher than expected in April, based on a University of Michigan survey released Friday. Analysts were hoping to see a rating of 94 in April, after a March rating of 93. Preliminary results for April rises the rating to 95.9. The survey did... Read more »

The US Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy will be hosting its annual Energy Star Partner of the Year awards in Washington, DC, on April 20. Of the approximately 16,000 companies who partner with the EPA on their broad-based energy efficiency program, 128 companies are being recognized as Energy Star Partners of the Year.... Read more »

The National Retail Federation conducted a Tax Return Survey to determine where refund money will be spent by consumers. Two-thirds of the shoppers surveyed were expecting a refund. 47% of shoppers will put their refund into savings, 39.1% will pay down debt and 25.1% will use their refund for daily expenses. Among consumers surveyed between... Read more »

The Home Depot kicks off the Spring season with a variety of omnichannel shopping features. Online shoppers can have purchases sent directly to their home or shipped to their nearest store for pick up. In 2014, 40% of online orders on Homedepot.com were picked up in a local store. Online tools and calculators, such as... Read more »

The latest Survey of Consumer Expectations from the New York Fed stated that as of March consumers expect their spending will increase by 4.5% over the next year. This is a big change from February findings, when consumers thought spending would be just 3.8%. The February decline is attributed to the poor weather conditions. Retail... Read more »

Belk Inc., founded in 1888 by William Henry Belk and in the third generation of Belk family leadership, has hired Goldman Sachs to help it evaluate strategic alternatives, including a potential sale. Belk is the largest family owned department store chain in the US, valued at as much as $4 billion. In fiscal year 2014,... Read more »