Shop Talk

Check Out Line: Signs of brighter days ahead?

Check out hopeful signs that the recession may be abating.

While recent reports showed slumping sales at many big-box retailers, there are other signs that the economy may be bottoming.

U.S. retail sales rose in May and the number of workers who filed new applications for jobless benefits last week fell for the fourth straight week.

The Commerce Department today reported that U.S. retail sales rose 0.5 percent in May, thanks partly to gasoline sales that jumped 3.6 percent. Meanwhile, the Labor Department said initial jobless claims fell to their lowest levels since Jan. 24.

Discount retailer Target has increased its quarterly dividend, Clorox did the same while also affirming its 2010 profit outlook and financial targets for 2013, and Del Monte posted far stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings and provided a better-than-expected 2010 forecast.

Netflix tops customer satisfaction survey

Online retail may be outperforming brick-and-mortar rivals amid the U.S. recession, but that’s no reason to get complacent.

In a wake-up call to the industry, a new survey shows that customer satisfaction with online retailers declined 3 percent from last year.

Slump means market share gains in E-commerce

We know the U.S. recession is gloomy for retailers, online stores included, but at least a third of these e-commerce sellers say they’re taking greater market share amid the slump. 

That’s according to Shop.org and Forrester Research in a marketing study based on their annual State of Retailing Online report. Shop.org is a division of the National Retail Federation.