Coupons/ Rebates/ Pricing

New York - Despite some of the most promotional activity and extended operating hours the retail industry has ever seen, total spending for the four-day Black Friday weekend came in below projections, down a surprising 11.3% from last year.  According to the National Retail Federation's preliminary figures,  weekend spending dropped to  $50.9 billion from $57.4 billion last year.   

Move over pumpkin pie: Black Friday fervor seemed to stir up more conversations on social media than the Thanksgiving holiday itself.

According to Salesforce.com, social media posts about Black Friday shopping numbered 2.7 million. Roughly 278,000 posts were stamped with the hashtag "#blackfriday" and another 8,000 were labeled "#deals," vs. just 85,000 with "#Thanksgiving."

There were also about 1.84 million holiday shopping posts on Thanksgiving Day, and about 719,000 posts the day before Thanksgiving.

San Francisco - Compared to the 2012 and 2013 peak shopping seasons, paid search spending began to rise nine days prior to Thanksgiving in 2014, four days earlier than the years prior. According to data from predictive marketing technology provider Kenshoo, not only has the shopping season been extended in 2014, but retailers are investing more budget into their paid search campaigns this year than ever before. 

By Scot Wingo, CEO, ChannelAdvisor Happy Cyber Monday! Each year we at ChannelAdvisor track the five days from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday and call that the “Cyber Five.” This year, our Cyber Five Same Store Sales (SSS) data to date shows that Holiday ’14 is off to a very strong start.

Grand Rapids, Mich. — Meijer is offering a 20% coupon on Monday, Dec. 1, which it is calling “Digital Monday,” through its mPerks digital loyalty program. The mPerks Monday promotion includes a 20% coupon through mPerks that can be used on one electronics, apparel or general merchandise item.

Meijer credit card customers who have a 15% reward coupon can use it in addition to the mPerks Monday. The coupon will be available for mPerks subscribers to clip Nov. 30 through Dec. 1 and will only be available for use on Dec. 1.

Cyber Monday may just as well be an official holiday considering  findings of a new study that show how little work actually gets done.

Cambridge, Mass. — New customers whose first transaction involves a discount or special offer are 50% less likely to return to make a second purchase. According to a new study from loyalty technology provider Coherent Path Inc., customers who visit an e-commerce site for the first time and make a purchase at full-price are more than twice as likely to make a second visit.