Quarterly sales were 9% above the levels that were seen during its first quarter last year at $1.69 billion, in comparison to $1.56 billion during the same period last year. The year over year increase is very impressive, and was above the $1.66 billion that analysts had forecast for the quarter.

On the heels of its strong first quarter results, the company raised its guidance for the full year to a range of $2.62 and $2.72 per share, up from its previous forecast of $2.25 to $2.45.

In a statement, Chief Executive Michael Balmuth stated that "The turmoil in the retail world today will remain an opportunity for us", and Wall Street agrees. Shares of the company have traded up 7.3% to $38,43 with an hour left in trading.

I know I personally do a fair amount of shopping in Ross Stores. We can typically find just about anything we are looking for in the stores, and the prices really are a lot less than you can expect to find anywhere else. A couple of years ago, Ross Stores would probably not have been the first place I went to look for clothes, but these days it definitely ranks high on our list of stores for clothes, and all sorts of other things too for around the house.

What about your shopping habits these days? Have you started venturing more into the discount retailers, or do you still prefer to hit the big name stores when you are out shopping? Let us hear about your favorite stores for shopping these days.