Retail Stores

Kantar Retail IQ has released a report comparing a basket of goods bought at Target with an identical basket bought at Wal-Mart. The findings were good news for Target customers, because the study found that Target is cheaper than Wal-Mart.

Automation — long a force in agriculture and manufacturing — is accelerating in the retail sector, a trend that could hamper efforts to bring down the nation's stubbornly high jobless rate.

Customer engagement can be broadly defined as when a targeted consumer focuses their complete attention on a particular brand’s message in an uncluttered environment. Then, this attention is accounted for and recorded. True engagement is a long-term play that encourages repeat customer value through purchasing actions and the generation of word-of-mouth interest.

For many, it's already too late to change direction on a rudderless ship that has been left in the wake of the rapid decline in hard copy book sales. Barnes & Noble on the other hand, is using a change in strategy to help weather the storm.

Staples said its fourth-quarter net income rose 18 percent on lower operating expenses, but winter storms kept results under analyst expectations. The chain offered first-quarter guidance slightly below expectations.

Discount retailer Loehmann's said it's emerged from bankruptcy protection, which it sought in November after its Dubai government-linked owner failed to reach a debt-extension deal with creditors. 

Fresh off a big win at the Oscars, Liberty Media booked higher revenues in its QVC and Starz businesses during the fourth-quarter, led by stronger e-commerce sales and improved across-the-board demand.

Retail giants, non-governmental organizations, academic experts, and the Environmental Protection Agency are banding together to reduce the social and environmental impacts of apparel and footwear products sold worldwide. 

PetSmart's fourth-quarter net income rose 20 percent, helped by more customer transactions and a strong holiday season. The pet-supply chain's net income rose to $90.3 million, or 77 cents per share, from $75 million, or 61 cents per share, in the same period last year.

The top February same-store sales gains should come from warehouse club operator Costco and Saks, with estimated increases of 7.3 percent and 5.2 percent, respectively.