Coupons/ Rebates/ Pricing

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS/pharmacy's ExtraCare Rewards program now enables ExtraCare cardholders to send their quarterly ExtraBucks Rewards to their ExtraCare cards, eliminating the need for shoppers to carry paper rewards into their local CVS/pharmacy.

San Francisco -- Williams-Sonoma Inc. said Thursday it has cut its fiscal Q4 earnings outlook below Wall Street expectations due to heavy holiday promotions levels.

The company said it had to offer discounts to entice shoppers this holiday season. Although earnings guidance has been reduced to below expectations, Williams-Sonoma’s revenue outlook remains in line with Wall Street, trimmed to a range of $1.24 billion to $1.26 billion. The company had previously expected revenue as high as $1.27 billion.

Commerce, Calif. -- 99 Cents Only Stores reported Wednesday that total third-quarter revenue rose to $403.9 million, from $365.4 million.

Sales at its namesake stores grew to $393.3 million from $354.1 million a year ago, just missing Wall Street’s expected $393.6 million in revenue.

For the quarter, same-store sales rose 8.5% on higher traffic and per-visit tickets.

Atlanta -- Dollar volume growth on cards overall was a healthy 6.9%  in December, according to First Data Corporation’s First Data SpendTrend analysis for the full month of December 2011 compared to December 2010. SpendTrend tracks same-store consumer spending by credit, signature debit, PIN debit, EBT cards and checks at U.S. merchant locations.

However, strong auto sales, driven by low interest rates, likely diverted consumer spending to car sales from other retail areas, the report said. Auto sales are not captured in SpendTrend figures.

INDIANAPOLIS — Electronics retailer Hhgregg announced that it has lowered its third-quarter forecast, reflecting weakness in the video category.

The company said that fiscal third quarter comparable-store sales are estimated to have increased 3.9%, with the video category expected to have decreased 4.8%, the appliance category expected to have increased 6.8%, the home office category expected to have increased 91.4% and the other category expected to have decreased 7.1%. 

By Mike Romano, [email protected]

Following a wild ride during Black Friday, the last month of the year in 2011 saw most retailers maintaining similar levels of promotional activities when compared to 2010. The majority of advertisers either saw slight increases in circular and page counts or stayed flat. When looking at both page counts and circular drops overall there was not much change, with a 2% decrease in number of pages and a 1% drop in number of inserts per market. 

Seattle -- Nordstrom said Tuesday it has redesigned its Fashion Rewards loyalty program to include added benefits include complimentary services and other point incentives.

As part of an effort to build customer loyalty, the new program – which launched Jan. 1 – includes complimentary alterations up to $100 based on varying benefit levels, triple point days, and Nordstrom Rack point participation.