Although leading luxury brands such as Richemont and LVMH have recently announced remarkable revenue and profit growth, the latest results of a luxury consumer confidence and spending survey conducted by Unity Marketing say differently.

The coming year will be “all about the customer,” especially when it comes to reaching and serving them via online channels, a new study finds.

Retailers of consumer goods rank middle of the pack when it comes to customer service, according to a recent survey by Accenture.

Whether it’s an engagement ring or a simple pair of diamond stud earrings, jewelry is what women want on Feb. 14, a new national survey commissioned by Sears shows.

National Jeweler's post-holiday survey analyzes jewelers' sales for both the holiday and 2011 as a whole, breaking results down by product category and considering key metrics including margins, discounting and more.

Total spending on jewelry this Valentine’s Day is expected to reach $4.1 billion, up from $3.5 billion last year, according to the National Retail Federation’s 2012 Valentine’s Day Consumer Intentions and Actions survey.

Romance is in the air as Valentine’s Day approaches. And with consumer spending set to rise, it seems as if retailers are going to be getting a little more affection than last year. Love-struck consumers are expected to spend 8 percent more than in 2011, with four million people expected to announce their engagement on Feb. 14, according to the latest American Express Spending & Saving Tracker report.

Retail sales are expected to increase 3 percent to $2.53 trillion this year, held back by the high unemployment rate and lack of new jobs, the National Retail Federation predicts.

Women were more frugal and thrifty than men in their spending for gifts this past holiday season, The NPD Group, Inc. reports.

Affluent consumers are planning to increase their spending on travel in 2012, Unity Marketing says, with more than half reporting that they derive their greatest satisfaction from experiences, not luxury goods.

The number of shoppers in the market is beginning to decline, according to The NPD Group, reporting that 66 percent of consumers went shopping at a brick-and-mortar retail store the week ending Jan. 2, compared to 69 percent the previous week.

Gift card redeemers, self-purchasers and couples looking for the perfect engagement ring have kept many stores busy after the holidays, with snow even factoring in for one jeweler.

For some jewelers, the end of the holiday season was strong enough to draw comparisons with post-recession seasons, while others reported they saw fewer customers but that those who did come in spent more.

Early estimates from American consumers indicate that 2011 holiday spending will be stronger than in 2010, according to Gallup, a research-based performance-management consulting company.

Less than a week after the National Retail Federation upgraded its holiday sales forecast, another company that tracks retail sales is doing the same, citing strong November results, colder weather and a later Hanukkah.

The number of consumers roaming the aisles at brick-and-mortar stores rose slightly in the week ended Dec. 19, though the number of people shopping online was down a bit.

More than $1 billion was spent in online retail sales for four of the five workdays last week, putting this year’s holiday season e-commerce 15 percent ahead of 2010, according to comScore.

Despite holiday surveys ranking gift cards as popular presents this year, many jewelers say they are accounting for a very minor percentage of sales, citing flexible return policies at their stores.

With only 5 ½ shopping days left until Christmas, most jewelers reported a busy weekend. Male shoppers, in particular, were out purchasing jewelry over the weekend to place under the tree for their significant others.

There was an increase in the number of shoppers in the week ending Dec. 12, with 67 percent of U.S. consumers shopping at brick-and-mortar retail stores as compared to 66 percent the week prior, according to The NPD Group’s Shopping Activity Weekly Holiday Trends report.

Affluents shoppers notice when brand makes an effort to source products responsibly or give back to their community and are more likely to buy from such companies, a new study shows.

A strong Black Friday weekend helped to buoy sales in November, as consumers rushed out at the end of the month to take advantage of holiday promotions, the National Retail Federation reported Tuesday.

So far this holiday season, most retailers have experience a moderate to significant increase in both foot traffic and sales, and they expect this trend to hold, a new National Jeweler survey shows.

Sales increased just 0.2 percent year-over-year for the week ending Dec. 3, representing a 22.5 percent decrease from the prior week, which included the largest Black Friday in history, both in terms of sales and traffic.

Nearly 70 percent of holiday shoppers say they provide a gift receipt most or some of the time, according to the National Retail Federation’s 2011 Holiday Returns Survey, marking the highest percentage in the survey’s history.