Retail Stores

Total retail sales in July sustained momentum despite inconsistencies in other areas of the economy. According to MasterCard SpendingPulse, which tracks national retail and service sales, excluding auto sales, retail sales in July grew 8.7 percent year-over-year. Retail sales are on par with the average growth of the previous three months.

2-D barcodes attract market interest and media hype, but after more than 40 years of use conventional 1-D linear barcodes are still useful, ubiquitous and important in mobile barcode scanning applications, especially in the late third quarter and fourth quarter of the year.

Two Athleta stores will open this week in Manhattan. The openings mark the women’s active wear brand’s entry into the East Coast market and support Athleta’s plan to open up to 50 stores by 2013.

Major retailers, including Nordstrom and Gap, have begun offering electronic versions of receipts, either emailed or uploaded to password-protected websites. The retailers report more customers are opting for paperless.

Sports Authority said it will open six new stores on Aug. 13. The new stores will open in five states, and include the major markets of Miami, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, Chicago and Milwaukee.

American Apparel finally had a quarter where the company's financial results weren't a total disaster. Same-store sales, a key measure of retail health, didn't plummet. But they didn't rise either. This is the first time that's happened since the month of January, 2009. 

British retailers held an emergency meeting with Theresa May, the Home Secretary, to express their sense of helplessness and anger that they've received little support during the violent riots that erupted across London and parts of Britain.

Best Buy has announced the expansion of its self-service kiosks, with nearly 100 locations to be added in the next year. Best Buy Express has opened in 150 locations over the past three years and will be adding two locations at the Downtown Disney District in Anaheim, Calif., multiple locations at college campuses and also at events and ferry hubs.

Team officials have yet to unveil the sweaters the Winnipeg Jets will wear in 2011-12, their first season since moving to Manitoba. Yet counterfeiters have spent the past month stitching up sales, according to reports from Canada.

When China's online luxury shoppers click to spend on fashion website thecorner.com.cn, they'll have an option the company doesn't make available to any other customers around the world. FedEx delivery men will wait on the doorsteps of Chinese consumers while they inspect their purchases, try them on for size and decide if the products are worthy of keeping or sending back.