Lundgren shared other tidbits, such as the fact that Macy's sold $3 million worth of Beyonce Heat, Beyonce Knowles' debut fragrance, from early February to early March, and 72,000 bottles during the hour she signed autographs in Herald Square. Growth is accelerating for $1 billion macys.com, which saw double-digit gains in February, he said.

...Vertex Inc., which calculates sales tax for Internet sellers, reports that the average general sales tax rate nationwide reached 8.629 percent at the end of 2009, the highest since the company started tracking data in 1982.

That was up a nickel on a taxable $100 purchase from a year earlier and up nearly 40 cents for the decade. The highest sales tax rate in the country now stands at 12 percent.

******

Nationally, sales taxes in 2008 generated more revenue for state and local governments � about $450 billion, a recent Government Accountability Office report suggests -- than did either property taxes ($411 billion) or personal income taxes ($310 billion).

Apparel sales were at stronger prices than a year ago, according to MasterCard, indicating retailers didn't have to resort to sharp discounts. More full-priced and less trade-down purchases could help profits, offsetting the weather's impact.

Department stores reported sales were unchanged from a year-earlier, the first time that segment hasn't posted a year-over-year decline since November 2006.

"A year ago, spending was really in critical condition," said Michael McNamara, vice president for research and analysis at MasterCard Advisors, which tracks sales by all payment forms. "Now, it's in serious but stable condition."

The pace of cremations in North America has typically grown at about one percentage point a year, he says, with 36% of deaths being followed by cremation in 2008. But, he says, he expects that cremations grew at a slightly faster pace in 2009, accounting for 38% of deaths.

People who do choose caskets or coffins--coffins have six sides, caskets are rectangular--have become more frugal during the slump, forgoing higher-priced "luxury" boxes made of precious metals and lined with expensive fabrics like silk.

Revenue at custom coffin maker Coffin It Up, for example, has declined 50% during the past 18 months, says co-owner Dusty Schoening, who runs the company with her husband, Brian, in Pahrump, Nev. In particular, demand has fallen for the couple's preordered custom coffins, which are embellished with engravings or artwork and sell for up to $10,000 apiece. To save money, the couple has cut back on trips and concerts. "We've had to make changes in our lifestyle," says Ms. Schoening.

The big players are making changes too. At casket giant Hillenbrand, Mr. Camp was considering buying a business outside the industry before the recession, but the slump persuaded him to pull the trigger.

The state of the economy scared people into tightening their purse strings so much "it spilled over into funeral services," he says. For its year ended Sept. 30, 2009, Hillenbrand's revenue fell 4.3% from a year earlier to $649.1 million, and for its quarter ended Dec. 31, revenue was down 3% to $161.5 million. Hillenbrand sells cremation products, but the lion's share of its sales are caskets.

It was the lowest rate since the government began keeping records in 1963 and comes after declines in November and December.

The drop surprised many industry analysts. A consensus of economists surveyed by Briefing.com had expected January sales to rise to an annual rate of 354,000.

"Some people were expecting a surge in demand because of the tax credit," said Patrick Newport, an economist at IHS Global Insight. "But that surge isn't materializing."

Industry insiders blamed the disappointing January sales on consumer fatigue following the holiday shopping season and shortages of Nintendo Co.'s motion-controlled Wii videogame console.

NPD said sales of videogame software dropped 12% from the same month a year earlier to $597 million, which is much worse than analysts expected.

The fall came despite continued growth in sales of Activision Blizzard's latest "Call of Duty" game, which was released in November and was the fourth-biggest seller in January. Nintendo's "New Super Mario Bros Wii" topped the sales list with 656,700 units.

1. New Super Mario Bros., Wii (Wii, Nintendo of America) 656.7k
2. Mass Effect 2, (360, Electronic Arts) 572.1k
3. Wii Fit Plus w/ Balance Board, (Wii, Nintendo of America) 555.7k
4. Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, 360 Activision Blizzard 326.7k
5. Mario Kart w/ Wheel, (Wii, Nintendo of America) 310.9k

The company said it sees sales approaching $470 million, compared with its previous forecast of sales declining "slightly" from the $462.4 million it reported for the fiscal third quarter. Same-store sales are expected to be flat overall, down a less-than-feared 7% at its namesake locations and up about 2% at the Loft chain.

The retailer also expects its gross margin to approach 52%, up from its previous outlook and "significantly stronger" than the prior year's 35.7%.

"I am especially pleased that much of the upside was a result of improved product assortments at both brands," said President and Chief Executive Kay Krill. "Overall, our top-line improvement and healthy gross margin performance also reflected the success of our planned promotional strategy and the benefit of our clean inventory position."

The largest U.S. toy maker reported a profit of $328.4 million, or 89 cents a share, up from $176.4 million, or 49 cents, a year earlier. The periods included tax benefits of 8 cents a share and 13 cents, respectively.

Despite a 12% increase in Barbie sales, its overall sales were lackluster, with revenue climbing 1% to $1.96 billion. Sales fell 2% in the U.S., where Mr. Eckert said Mattel lost "a little bit" of market share, mostly as a result of fewer toys tied to entertainment than last year.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had most recently forecast earnings of 68 cents a share on $1.98 billion in revenue for the El Segundo, Calif., company.

First-time buyers rushed to complete deals before the $8,000 government incentive was due to end, pushing sales up 28 percent in the three months to November. The subsequent extension and expansion of the credit to include closings through June signal demand will strengthen in the first half of 2010, while raising the risk the market will then slow anew should jobs remain scarce.

"We'll see a pickup in existing home sales in the next couple of months,” said Adam York, an economist at Wells Fargo Securities LLC in Charlotte, North Carolina, who forecast a 5.4 million sales pace. Although "we're past the bottom," he said, "I don't think there's going to be a lot of buyers out there looking for a home outside of the tax-induced effects until they feel more comfortable with the labor market."

Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter said a strong performance by Nintendo Co Ltd's Wii -- spurred by a holiday sales promotion at Wal-mart Stores Inc -- helped boost overall industry figures.

"It was really all Nintendo, they won by a mile," he said.

The Wii sold 3.8 million units in December and set a record for monthly game system sales in the U.S.

"We expected to have a good holiday and this was a great reaffirmation of that," said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America's executive vice president of sales and marketing.