According to the U.S. Census Bureau, retail and foodservices sales rose 0.8 percent in March 2012 from February 2012 and 6.5 percent from March of 2011, which is good news for small to medium businesses as retail and food services makes up at least 70 percent of the economy. Furthermore, another report has shown that companies were "restocked" at a consistent clip in February, suggesting that businesses expect consumer bases to grow in the spring and summer.

According to Bloomberg, the improving job market has given households spending confidence despite rising gasoline prices and a declining housing market. Sales in major consumer product chains such as Gap and Target soared. Even the automotive industry has seen record sales for fuel efficient vehicles in March 2012.

"The industry and consumers have been very resilient in the face of higher pump prices," said Don Johnson, vice president of U.S. sales at General Motors. "The steadily improving economy is playing a role and so is pent-up demand and an improved credit market."

Furthermore, a healing job market is helping increase annual incomes. The job market has increased by 635,000 positions since December 2011 and unemployment fell from 8.5 percent to 8.2 percent. This is also compounded by data showing March of 2012 as the warmest it has been in the past 117 years.

With the weather improving and the job market slowly increasing, many experts believe that the increase in sales will continue. If companies wish to take advantage of the progressing economy they may want to invest a database software to help keep track of inventories and sales may want to consider seeking a FileMaker consultant to implement the increasingly popular business software.