Denim apparel is making a comeback in shops and fashion magazines. But some of the new designs—from denim leggings for women and jean shorts for men to head-to-toe denim outfits for both sexes—risk pushing the revived trend too far.

The consumer may be stirring gently this summer. Leisure-products makers are gearing up for the return of vacationers and home-redecorating projects.

Infomercial products are morphing from gizmos marketed to insomniac TV watchers to little splurges for shoppers bargain-hunting at stores like Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Target Corp. and Bed Bath & Beyond Inc.

The average consumer had planned to spend $699 on gifts but ended up racking up $811 in purchases, according to a Consumer Reports survey expected to be released today.

Loyalty programs represent a large and growing portion of marketing budgets. But according to a new report from the CMO Council, relatively few companies are fully delivering the elements that are most important in acquiring and keeping participants engaged.

The Washington, D.C., bag tax seemed simple enough: Beginning Jan. 1, grocery stores in the district would charge five cents a bag, plastic or paper. The goal was to cut down on waste and raise money to clean up the polluted Anacostia River. But nearly a month into the program, it’s turning out that government is having trouble legislating its way out of a plastic bag.

The National Retail Federation released its 2010 economic forecast today, projecting retail industry sales (which exclude automobiles, gas stations, and restaurants) will increase 2.5 percent from last year.

The recession pushed shoppers to pick necessities over discretionary items, discounts over luxury. But retailers hope to shift such behavioral changes further in coming months, affecting what consumers will buy, pay and experience at stores.

Finally, beyond the sale of virtual gifts like hugs and angel wings, Facebook has an app that allows you to open an ecommerce storefront via Payvment. Introduced in November 2009, Payvment uses a PayPal shopping cart for its app to work with Facebook Pages.

When is National Bubble Week?
When is National Make Men Dinner (Steak and ….) Day?
When is Mother-In-Law Day?
The 2010 Epps Consulting Retail Promotion Calendar is here!

The Internet Media Retail Group says many online retailers might not be aware they are breaking the law.

Independent stores nationwide seem to have done as well or better than the chain-dominated retail industry during the 2009 holidays, according to a survey issued Thursday.

Haiti’s devastating earthquake has crippled the country’s garment industry, a growing source of jobs and exports and a vital link in trade with South Florida.

Even as the fashion press gears up for an orgy of trend-spotting at New York fashion week, which starts Feb. 11, many observers feel Mr. Wolfe is right: We’ve reached the end of the trend as the guiding stricture in fashion. The “must-have” currently being attached to certain styles—The trench coat! The one-shoulder dress! Metallics!—is little more than a marketing pitch.

American consumers have been profoundly altered by the recession in a way that will have a lasting effect on how they shop and buy.

Retailers trying to influence moms should pay close attention to their social media efforts and also focus on free items, promotions and discounts, according to a Retail Advertising and Marketing Association (RAMA) survey conducted by BIGresearch.

RECENT RESEARCH SHOWS that buying local campaigns provide only limited and short-lived results for small businesses. So, as budget-conscious consumers turn to mass retailers, Internet and malls for bargains, what can small business owners do? Here are three suggestions.

Forget the hair, focus on the footwear? Working women apparently do, especially younger working women: 64% of women rely on footwear as the keystone in the business ensemble, per Chicago market research firm Mintel.

Grocers and other retailers nationwide are resurrecting, revamping or simply promoting more heavily discounts aimed at senior citizens, yet the folks lining up for these cuts of 10, 15 and even 20 percent aren’t exactly the frail oldsters on fixed incomes some might imagine.

You might notice that department stores, restaurants and grocery stores are beefing up what looks like a store within a store: Peet’s Coffee & Tea inside some Raley’s grocery stores; Sephora makeup stores inside JCPenney stores; and coming soon, Sunglass Hut stores in Macy’s. The collaborations will continue to multiply rapidly, retail analysts say.