In 2006, sales of Christian products were about $4.63 billion, up from $4.3 billion in 2004 and $4 billion in 2000, according to a study conducted by CBA (formerly the Christian Booksellers Association).  The number of new Christian stores is also growing each year. In 2006, the Christian retail channel added 589 store locations, up from 437 new stores in 2005.  Click here for the full story.

A growing awareness of Christian retail in the past five or six years has contributed to the market’s growth, said Nancy Guthrie, spokeswoman for CBA. She attributes the growth to broader product availability and a larger awareness of matters of faith as a part of the national dialogue.

Just when you thought you could escape, the WiFi radio has arrived.  Internet radio.  Satellite radio.  There may be 10,000 internet radio stations worldwide and they are all here for you - Click here for the story.

The beauty of WiFi radio: no ads.  Several small companies are already rolling out products for this.  Did we say a possible ginormous market?  Some radios already have several thousand stations listed on the menu.  Can’t get a local station?  Don’t want to pay for satellite?  Then WiFi radio’s your ticket.  This one may be ahead of the curve but it’s coming quickly.  Where do we invest?

Organic now means personal care.  Recent research shows organic and natural personal care product revenues shot up 200% in the past 4 years - Click here for the story and numbers.

Despite that surprising growth, there is more in store.  Or in the store.  The forecast for the next 5 years is almost another doubling in revenues as the consumer increasingly angles for organic products.  Is this personal care, healthcare or cosmeceuticals.  Whatever it is,  it surely has fast growth for the players involved.  

Hopefully consumers will be flocking to the stores this holiday season to buy the latest consumer electronics.  Taiwan has certainly benefited up front as export orders were up almost 24% over last year.  A major contributor was electronics - Click here for more details.

This number has outpaced what economists were predicting.  Maybe fears of a global slowdown from the latest credit scare are misplaced or is it to soon to tell?  Let’s see if the consumer actually does buy all those electronics on the shelves this Christmas. 

Spurred by a strong growth in overall retail revenue a need to modernize, Chinese retailers represent a strong growth market for IT service providers according to IDC.

In 2006, Chinese retailers spent US $551 million for IT services, while in 2011, they are projected to spend over US $1 billion. It seems China is on a high growth curve about how IT can improve their business operations. According to the study, the biggest drivers for growth are in Business Intelligence, CRM and SCM. To read more click here.

Retailers in China are obviously gearing up for more growth in the retail sector and see the opportunities associated with better operational management through IT. It seems they come out positive on the immediate return on their IT investment vs. what they have and the probable lessons learned coming out of the U.S. It would seem to make sense that if they were to engage a systems integrator, they would do it with a U.S. or European based provider where they could benefit from the collective experience. Large scale IT projects can change careers in a good and bad way.

Gardening may have taken a new turn. Seems like an unlikely objective, but there is a new trend to attract wildlife into - not out of - the garden. Most gardeners seem determined to fight the encroachment of wildlife into the yard - specifically deer in suburban America. A recent article highlights a trend toward building wildlife habitats as a protected home for local animals. See the Full article for details.

Much of this seems combined with the eco-friendly trend toward organic fertilizers and natural solutions. Some of these personal wildlife sites are being certified by local governments as well. Maybe gardeners have had it wrong with their backyards. The deer have been misunderstood. They should be embraced.

It may not be much of a negative hit to main stream retailers, but shoppers are increasingly opting to go to resellers and thrift shops for back-to-school clothing. In many cases, it is not a question of being unable to afford department store prices, but kids and their parents simply shopping for fun - and designer - clothing that has often been barely worn. Click here for the full article.

This recent research estimates that there may be 25,000 thrift and retail store locations in the United States. Sales at Goodwill Industries have grown almost 70% in the past five years. It may be hardly a dent in the total back-to-school sales figures, but consumers may be looking to cut costs in a lot of areas these days. An indicator for the fall selling season?

The eco-friendly green movement is now moving into personal care. Green makeup may hit $20 Billion in revenue by 2011 according to recent industry research from Datamonitor. Click here for the full article.

The consumer shift away from chemicals and additives is clearly moving into the personal care space as it has already done in food and beverages. Researchers see this trend towards organic ingredients growing and see strong revenues ahead for organic based products.

Recycled packaging along with recyclable eye-liner?