2012 is one of those extra-special calendar years when we all get an additional day to celebrate the month of February. The shortest month of the year is packed with the biggest sporting event of the year, cultural and historical holidays, and the allure of spring-like weather just around the corner. While Congress was busy reexamining regulations for organizing union elections last month, the White House took a positive (and exciting) step toward backing fundamental reform of the U.S. tax code. NRF CEO Matthew Shay also found himself touting retail’s role as a job creator during the latest Retail Means Jobs road shop stop, February 15th in New York City. With this Leap Day now behind us, let’s see what else was hot in retail for last month.
NRF Information
- Americans didn’t plan on holding back this year for Valentine’s Day. Our 2012 Valentine’s Day Consumer Intentions Survey found that lovers, friends and holiday enthusiasts were celebrating in record numbers. Respondents said they would spend an average of $126, up nearly 10 percent over last year, and the highest in the survey’s 10-year history.
- Just like last month, retailers wanted to make sure they had correct sales reporting dates marked for the year thanks to NRF’s 4-5-4 calendar. The 2012 vs. 2011 has been especially useful, as it notes that there’s an extra sales release week to account for in this 53-week year.
- The NRF Foundation and KPMG’s Retail Horizons: Benchmarks for 2011, Forecasts for 2012 survey marked its ten-year anniversary, and retailers were eager to see what strategic priorities topped executive’s list this year. The report is available for purchase in hard copy, electronic copy, or by section from the NRF store.
- Yearly and month retail sales forecasts and actualities have also been hot items for industry insiders as NRF’s forecast of a 3.4 percent increase for retail sales for 2012 and a release on January sales figures have seen consistently high visits.
- Last year was a tremendously busy (and successful) year for NRF, and the retail community turned to the recently-released 2011 NRF Annual Report for a snapshot of last year’s successes within and on behalf of the industry.
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