Coupons/ Rebates/ Pricing

Beloit, Wis. – Online coupon provider FatWallet predicts a larger selection and assortment of lower-priced Black Friday deals in 2013 as compared to the previous year. Notable predictions include:

New York – Retailers across a variety of verticals reported improved same-store sales during October 2013, compared to the same month in the previous year. Even embattled department store retailer J.C. Penney saw its same-store sales grow for the first time since December 2011, and specialty and apparel retail conglomerate L Brands and discount club retailer PriceSmart reported particularly impressive same-store sales results.

New York – The average consumer will spend $825 on holiday purchases in 2013, a 5% drop from last year. According to the new Brand Keys annual holiday survey, only 19% of shoppers surveyed indicated that they started shopping for the holidays in October, 5% fewer than 2012.

Bentonville, Ark. – A glitch on the U.S. website of Wal-Mart reportedly provided consumers with enormous discounts for a short time on the morning of Nov. 6. According to Reuters, treadmills that normally cost hundreds of dollars were selling for $33.16 and widescreen computer monitors were selling for $9.

Wal-Mart has not said how many discounted items were sold before the glitch was discovered. The retailer has also said it will not honor any sales resulting from the glitch, but will give those consumers a $10 gift card.

San Jose, Calif. -- Despite the shortest shopping season since 2002, online sales look strong for the upcoming holidays. A new survey from Adobe predicts record growth for online sales on Thanksgiving with $1.1 billion and Black Friday with $1.6 billion, increases of 21% and 17%, respectively.

Scotts Miracle-Gro has made up for lost time in the second half of the year, finishing with fiscal year sales essentially flat from the previous year.

The company's full year net sales were $2.82 billion, after a 9% increase in the second half, including a 10% increase in the fourth quarter.

A pricing glitch on Walmart.com this week generated enormous publicity and did more to promote the retailer’s e-commerce business in advance of the holiday season than any of its other marketing efforts.

San Jose, Calif. — Togo’s Eateries has announced signed development agreements with new and existing franchisees to open nine new restaurants in markets across California. The company will open two restaurants in downtown Los Angeles, two in midtown and downtown Sacramento, and single units in San Jose, Santa Cruz, Riverbank, El Centro and Petaluma.

Westborough, Mass. -- BJ's Wholesale Club is spreading its Black Friday deals across an entire week (Sunday, Nov. 24 through Sunday, Dec. 1), excluding Thanksgiving on Thursday, Nov. 28. The retailer says it is offering more than twice as many Black Friday deals this year as it did last year.

Framingham, Mass. – Holiday shoppers are seeking omni-channel solutions. According to a new national survey from Staples, two-thirds of consumers say they are equally as likely to purchase gifts online as they are to shop in-store.

The Staples study also reveals that 87% of gift shoppers admit they’ve had problems buying presents during the holiday season and 63% of gift givers report that nearly half of the people on their list are difficult to buy for, causing stress and frustration.

Other findings include: