Consumer confidence continues to climb…in February, 53.2% contend they are confident/very confident in chances for a strong economy, up from 50.5% last month and the highest reading since April 2002 (56.9%).

Although confidence increased, consumers haven’t completely lowered their guard…as the war in Iraq wages on, insecurity regarding political and national issues increases a point from January to 18.3%.

Increasing confidence does have consumers decreasing their practicality (slightly)…fewer than two in five (38.7%) contend that they’ve become more practical in the last six months, down almost a point from 39.6% last month and more than three points from ’06 (42.1%).

Perhaps motivated by end-of-winter sales, those focusing on needs over wants make a slight decline from 48.5% last month to 47.8%.

The employment outlook in February is a mixed bag…29.8% expect more layoffs in the next 6 months, up a point from January (28.6%). 58.8% predict that layoffs levels will remain the same (down from 60.7% last month), while 11.4% foresee “fewer” layoffs, increasing from January (10.7%). Personal concerns about becoming laid off flat from last month at 4.2%, though down a point from ’06 (5.1%).

With almost one in three (30.9%) agreeing that they abide by the spending philosophy “live for today, because tomorrow is so uncertain,” it’s no wonder that 40.4% plan to pay down debt so that they can live tomorrow…this top financial priority rises from last month (38.3%), as does increasing savings (31.1%). However, consumers continue to show their less practical stripes: “decrease overall spending” and “pay with cash more often” decline.

Increased consumer confidence may have provided a boost to investor confidence in February…69.4% of investors contend that they would definitely/probably invest in the stock market, up almost a point from last month. Additionally, 13.7% of investors plan to buy stocks in the next 3 months, up more than a point from last month (12.1%), while those planning to sell remain flat (6.0%).

With year-over-year average national gas prices on the decline (source: AAA), fewer drivers are feeling drained at the pump…this month more than one in three (33.6%) say fuel prices have made “no major impact” on spending, up half a point from January and almost four points from ’06 (29.9%). Consumers expect an average pump price of $2.37 come St. Patrick’s Day, a more optimistic outlook than the $2.58 predicted for Valentine’s Day.

So how are drivers who are feeling the pump pinch coping from the wallet drain? 37.3% are simply taking fewer shopping trips, 35.6% shop closer to home, and 31.1% are bargain hunting by shopping for sales more often.

The Golden Arches takes a quarter-pounder bite out of the fast food market…that’s right, almost one in four (24.1%) consumers eat at McDonald’s most often, compared to Wendy’s (12.0%), Burger King (7.8%), Taco Bell (5.9%), and Subway (5.1%).

So what motivates fast food connoisseurs to dine at a particular restaurant most often? Location is tops for McDonald’s and Burger King, it’s menu selection for Wendy’s customers. Price for Taco Bell loyalists, and healthy menu options for Subway fans:

So where might these fast food consumers choose for their second choice restaurant? McDonald's loyalists are most likely to head to Wendy's, while Wendy's, Burger King, Taco Bell, and Subway customers' second option is, you guessed it, McDonald's. McDonald's also has the lock on early bird eaters...the Golden Arches tops the list for breakfast with 10.5%. IHOP (3.3%) and Denny's (2.0%) trail in second and third positions.

The “Wal-Mart slide” continues in Women’s Apparel…this month 11.9% contend they shop at Wal-Mart most often, down from 16.4% a year ago. Kohl’s (7.6%), JC Penney (6.1%), and Macy’s (5.8%) continue year-over-year share gains, while fifth place Target remains flat at 2.7%.

So would you shop at Wal-Mart for Women’s Clothing? That may depend on your fashion attitude…"fashion forward” consumers shop at Macy’s (9.3%) most often, followed by Kohl’s (6.1%). Those who prefer traditional stylings head to Wal-Mart most often (9.3%), barely edging out Kohl’s (9.0%). However, when it comes to value and comfort, Wal-Mart (17.3%) maintains a strong lead over Kohl’s (8.2%).

Wal-Mart’s share descent also occurs this month in the Men’s section…14.4% shop Wal-Mart most often for this category, a more than four point decline from last year (18.8%). Top competitors JC Penney (8.8%), Kohl’s (7.7%), and Macy’s (5.0%) again gain year-over-year, while #5 Sears declines half a point to 3.4%.

This broken record continues to play for Wal-Mart in footwear as well…about one in ten (10.7%) shop the discounter for Shoes, a decline from 14.0% in ’06, for a second place finish behind Payless, which also declines from 14.6% to 11.7% this month. Kohl’s (4.3%),
JC Penney (3.1%), and Macy’s (3.0%) round out the Top 5.

Those who subscribe to the Retail Ratings Reports (available for 10 major retail categories) already knew that Wal-Mart and Payless were losing valuable female customers in the Shoe department to the likes of Macy’s and Kohl’s…click on the link to for special sample insight: www.bigresearch.com/cast-members/big-rrr-shoes-jan07.pdf.

Purchasing Electronics can be an expensive proposition, so it’s no surprise that almost three-quarters (73.5%) admit that price is the reason why they buy their gadgets and gizmos at a particular store...selection (60.4%) and location (45.5%) follow. Best Buy dominates as the top shop for Electronics, wi th more than a third (33.7%) shopping there most often…Wal-Mart (16.5%), Circuit City (9.3%), Sears (3.1%), and Target (2.6%) follow.

And it appears that Best Buy will continue as the biggest big box on the block…According to this month’s Consumer Migration Index (CMI) for Electronics, which tracks those who have immigrated to a store (new customers within the past year) against those who have emigrated (left within the past year) and where a positive rating spells net growth to a retailer, Best Buy has continued to build its customer base with a +2.7 rating. Wal-Mart, although faltering in softlines, gets a boost in this category with a +1.1 rating. Circuit City and Sears seem to be in need of some rewiring:
Chart 1, right.

High prices drove almost a third (30.1%) of these consumers to another Electronics store, followed by poor customer service (18.2%), inconvenient location (18.0%), unknowledgeable salespeople (14.9%), and poor selection (14.3%).

But who gets the gold star? Among the top ten Electronics retailers, discounters were the least likely to be recommended to others by their current customers…while about nine in ten would recommend Wal-Mart (91.8%) or Target (89.1%) to others, this is comparably lower than web king Amazon.com (98.0%). Costco (97.8%) and Sam’s Club (96.8%) also rate as highly recommendable by their customers, as does Circuit City (96.6%): Chart 2, right.

Pay attention, sports fans, we’ve got a battle brewing for king of the Sporting Goods hill…While big discounter Wal-Mart retains the top spot in this category with 12.6% shopping there most often (down 15.5% last year), Dick’s has become a contender for the top spot with 10.8% (up from 5.9% in ’06). So you’d better read your BIG Briefing…we called the Dick’s charge back in September 2006…and August 2005. The rest of the Top 5 (2006 shares in parenthesis): 3. Sports Authority 5.6% (3.4%), 4. Sears 2.8% (3.4%), 5. Academy 2.6% (2.2%).

Wal-Mart’s lead in Groceries, though, is relatively stable…the big discounter, with national presence, tops this category with 14.9% shopping there most often in February. Rival grocers Kroger (5.8%), Publix (3.4%), Safeway (3.3%), as well as discounter Meijer (2.4%) round out the Top 5.

And, with almost one in three (27.9%) shopping there most often for Health & Beauty Care, Wal-Mart maintains a solid lead over Walgreens (7.8%), CVS (7.2%), Target (6.8%), and Rite Aid (2.2%).

Traditional drugs stores, though, still have the cure for consumers purchasing Prescription Drugs…Walgreens and CVS hold the top spots in this category with 15.7% and 13.8% shopping most often, respectively. Wal-Mart (7.9%), Rite Aid (4.5%), and Eckerd (2.4%) round out the Top 5.

Rising consumer confidence translates into increasing spending confidence…according to the BIGresearch Diffusion Index (those who say they’ll spend less subtracted from those who’ll spend more), all major categories improved month-over-month and year-over-year:

Now that Punxsutawney Phil hasn’t seen his shadow, consumers are hoping that there really is an early spring…purchase intentions for vacation travel and major home improvements begin their seasonal ascent in February. Furniture also up…Auto, home appliances, house, RV/boat flat, while computer, jewelry, stereo equipment, TV, DVD/VCR, and digital camera decline.