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Top retail chains are set to report a jump in March sales, lifted by an early Easter, an improving job market and warm weather, in what may be the strongest sign yet that consumers are shopping again.

Import cargo volume at the nation’s major retail container ports is expected to be up 8 percent in April compared with the same month a year ago, and solid increases are expected to continue through the summer as the U.S. economy improves, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released today by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.

Expanding waistlines might not be good for the nation's health, but it could mean a new revenue stream for men's clothier Jos. A. Bank. The Hampstead retail chain is bringing its line of clothing for "portly" and tall men to more of its stores and expanding its product line for online sales. The company, which for several years has offered a limited selection of items for the big-and-tall set, such as longer neckties and larger-size dress shirts, said that population is one that has been underserved.

The shoppable video section of the recently launched KmartDesign Facebook page is, as far as we are aware, the first time a brand has integrated video shopping directly into a brand’s social community. I hesitate slightly in saying “the first time ever…” as there is so much happening so quickly in the world of content marketing with video that someone else may be launching similar functionality as I write these words. But if they are, we aren’t aware of it. And it’s pretty cool.

Blake Mycoskie, the founder of Toms Shoes, has hit on the perfect fund-raising pitch for his shoe-giving charity. The idea has soulful simplicity: For every pair of rubber-soled "alpargatas" shoes Mr. Mycoskie sells to the affluent, he gives away a pair to someone who needs it. When it comes to "cause marketing," — the pairing of a product or brand with a social mission — Mr. Mycoskie is a pace-setter.

Catalogs are forecast to generate $7.34 in sales for every dollar spent to make and mail them in 2010, according to the Direct Marketing Association (DMA). This is a slight increase over 2009 and, in turn, 2008. Catalog ROI could be understated since it is difficult to track online sales that are influenced by catalog shopping.

The Labor Department reported that 36,000 jobs were lost in February, in addition to the 8.4 million that have vanished since the Great Recession began. The unemployment rate still sits at 9.7 percent. But not every big company has been hunkering down and waiting for the economy to recover--some are expanding right now to gain market share while their weaker competitors flounder. Looking at data from publicly traded companies, Forbes created a top 10 list of publicly traded companies that added the most workers organically in 2009. It includes blue chips like Amazon.com, Comcast and Lowe's. The group is a window into where the recovery will take place.

KangaROOS, creator of sneakers with pockets popularized by Walter “Sweetness” Payton in the 80s, recently launched an e-commerce website with Volusion’s award-winning shopping cart platform to make a wider selection of the vintage-style sneakers available for direct purchase by US consumers. After only three weeks of launching the online store, KangaROOS generated more revenue than its brick and mortar store attracted in three months. Additionally, web traffic has increased by 10 percent and first month’s sales have increased by 75 percent week after week.

After a year of sales and profit declines, plus-size-apparel retailer Charming Shoppes Inc. said yesterday that it would turn to American Idol to draw customers to its Lane Bryant clothing shops. The Bensalem-based company, whose 2,121 stores also include Fashion Bug and Catherines outlets, said it planned to spend $4 million on Lane Bryant ads during the nationally televised talent competition in the coming weeks.

eBay said today it is launching two iPhone selling apps, one for its online marketplace and one for its new classifieds site. With the new eBay Selling and classifieds apps users can photograph and list an item in less than a minute.  On April 3, the company will introduce a new version of the eBay app for iPad.