In 2009, e-commerce in the U.S. managed to buck the recession that dragged down the rest of retail, growing 11% to reach $155.2 billion, according to Forrester Research. The research firm is predicting in a report out Monday that e-commerce in America will grow another 11% this year.

Just a few years ago, online shopping was growing at more than 20% per year. But today, that growth is stabilizing, as shopping habits have shifted to make buying online a more regular occurrence for many types of products. Already, 52% of all computer hardware, software and peripherals are bought online, says Forrester – and growth in online sales of those products is likely to slow considerably in the coming years.

“There are still high levels of growth. But we are on a much bigger base now,” says Sucharita Mulpuru, Forrester’s e-commerce analyst. Compare 11% online growth to the 2.5% predicted by the National Retail Federation for U.S. retail overall in 2010.

In 2010, e-commerce will likely account for 7% of all U.S. shopping, excluding auto, travel, and prescription drugs. That could go as high as 20% someday, says Mulpuru, as a generation that has grown up with e-commerce gains more spending power. In the immediate term, online shopping is going to be driven by purchases of electronics and apparel and footwear, and relatively less mature categories such as furniture, beauty products and groceries.

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Traditional top selling sectors UK All Companies and UK Equity Income suffered net outflows of £208m and £65m, IMA statistics show. However, the Global Growth sector led equity sales with a net inflow of £229m, followed by Specialist on £153m and Asia Pacific ex Japan with £132m.

Retail investors are continuing to rotate out of the £ Corporate Bond sector in favour of £ Strategic Bond. Corporate Bond saw the biggest outflows of any IMA sector in January at £228m, while Strategic Bond saw a £284m net inflow.

Meanwhile, Property starts the year as the top selling IMA sector, with net retail sales of £373m.

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The news also helped soothe fears among some economists that weak consumer spending might make the recovery short-lived.

A broad array of merchants, from luxury retailer Nordstrom Inc. to midbrow Macy’s Inc. to discounter Target Corp., reported solid sales increases yesterday that beat analysts’ estimates.

Last month’s overall 3.7 percent gain in same-store sales, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers’ index of 31 merchants, came in the face of a decline in consumer confidence, high joblessness, and tight credit.

It marked the third consecutive monthly sales increase for retailers, according to the council.

The figures for sales at stores open at least a year - same-store sales - are an important measure of retailers’ health.

When the Great Recession began, shoppers flocked to cheaper stores, but yesterday’s figures show that consumers are wandering back to their old higher-price haunts for certain items, while still shopping at such discounters as TJX Cos. Inc. and Target.

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The S&P Retail Index /quotes/comstock/10u!i:rlx (RLX 435.22, +5.23, +1.22%) rose 1.2% to 435.11 in late trading, extending an advance from Thursday as retailers’ February results showed the best monthly sales gain in more than two years. Shoppers heat up February sales.

U.S. nonfarm payrolls fell by 36,000 in February, with the nation’s jobless rate unchanged at 9.7%. The employment report was better than expected, as economists surveyed by MarketWatch had forecast a drop of 90,000 while expecting the unemployment rate to rise to 9.8%. See full story on jobs report.

The news gave hope that a recovery in employment would make consumers more confident about opening their wallets, analysts said.

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Software giant Microsoft, the Singapore Institute of Retail Studies and the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) announced yesterday a training course for IT-retail staff, with a focus on addressing customer needs.

The Microsoft Retail Sales Professional programme is the latest salvo in a national effort to raise service levels here.

It is also the first WDA-co-funded training course for IT-retail staff. The fee for the 42-hour course is $1,029, but Singaporeans and permanent residents have to pay only $45 after receiving subsidies.

The Singapore Institute of Retail Studies designed it to improve sales officers’ knowledge of Microsoft products and services, as well as to improve their soft skills to better communicate with and advise customers on products.

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Years ago, I did see a therapist within the NHS. I saw her weekly for about four years, until she upped sticks and left the country. She was funny, insightful, irreverent, delightful, and she helped me a great deal. It is in large part because of this experience that I’ve been considering therapy in an attempt to climb out of the great empty crater left by the retirement of my social worker just over a year ago.

Times have changed. The sort of open-ended therapy I received is no longer available in my health trust. Two years seems to be the limit, and though this might appear ample, once you factor in breaks (psychotherapists do love taking breaks) and the time it takes to get the whole thing going and the time it takes to wind the whole thing up, and the silences – oh dear, the silences, which in my case can gobble entire sessions – then it’s really no time at all.

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Rigona.com stands out among other competitors and is voted the most user friendly site among other online retailers in beauty care industry. One of the chief features is our search ‘AutoComplete’ option with which customers no more need to type in the entire product name. The search box automatically comes up with options when customer starts typing in the product name. Thus if customers don’t know the complete name or the spelling of a certain product, they can simply type in the first few letters, pause for a second, and the options will appear. Rigona.com also provides the option to buy products in bulk based on most frequently bought together product combinations by customers. Searching for different brand products may consume time; however, Rigona.com understands the similarity between products and suggests them on the product page while customers place the order. These appear under ‘You may also like’ sections.

There are many other improved customer service technicalities brought about on Rigona.com. Along with competitive prices and easy product searches, fast shipment is another area that makes our customers happy. If a customer needs help at any time while browsing the site, customer service is just a click away using our “Live Sales Chat” option available for prompt help. The representatives assist the customers in choosing the right product, payment, and answer other queries. Customer’s feedback is of utmost importance to us. Rigona.com sends out customer surveys after every purchase made to ascertain the appreciation/suggestions made by users.

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Having already revealed it will be opening stores in Essex, the West Midlands and Hampshire in the coming months, the consumer electronics retailer said this week that a fourth outlet will appear at London & Stamford Property’s Rececourse Retail Park on the outskirts of Liverpool this spring.

Positions up for grabs at Best Buy in Aintree include store manager and department heads, as well as a number of sales, operations, merchandising, asset protection and administration roles. More than 100 employment opportunities will be created.

Chief Executive Officer of Best Buy Branded Operations Paul Antoniadis remarked: “We’ve received over 8,000 applications for positions in our first three stores, and I’ve been truly excited about the high calibre of people we’ve seen and the enthusiasm they’ve shown.”

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However, the retail division, largely made up of Wickes, saw total sales increase by 4.3% from £940.7m to £980.7m with lfl sales increasing by 3.2% in the period.

This increase came despite the general economic uncertainty, following relatively stronger market conditions as consumers found their discretionary spending power had gone up.

The report put this down to reductions in mortgage costs, utility bills and other elements of their non-discretionary spend.

Wickes’ pre-tax profits soared from £10.2m to £57m in 2009. Lfl sales for the full year of Wickes’ core products were down only slightly by 0.8%, but kitchen and bathroom lfls were ahead by 27.7%, boosted largely by the demise of MFI in 2008.

The report said: “Wickes’ strong kitchen and bathroom (K&B) sales performance reflects Wickes’ initiative to capture market share following the withdrawal from the market in late 2008 of a significant K&B competitor. Wickes enjoyed great success with this initiative, exceeding its targets for share gain and taking more share than its overall market presence.”

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The Commerce Department said total retail sales edged up 0.5% to $355.8 billion last month, compared with December’s revised decline of 0.1%. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had anticipated that January sales would grow 0.3%.

The year-to-year increase was more impressive. January retail sales jumped 4.7%, compared to the same month in 2009.

Consumer spending accounts for two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, and related reports such as retail sales are used to gauge whether a recovery is underway.

Sales excluding autos and auto parts rose 0.6% last month. A consensus of economists had projected ex-auto sales to rise 0.5% in January.

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