Loyalty Marketing

Dallas -- Alliance Data Systems Corporation, provider of loyalty and marketing solutions derived from transaction-rich data, announced it has signed a multi-year renewal agreement with Arhaus Furniture -- a high-end retailer of quality, customizable home furnishings and accessories -- to continue providing turnkey private label credit-card services for Arhaus' retail locations.

New York City -- Retailers nearly across the board reported a strong start to the holiday season as their November sales were enhanced by aggressive discounting that started early in the month. Same-store sales rose 6% in November,  above the estimated growth of 3.6% and the year-ago gain of 0.6%, according to 27 retailers tracked by Thomson Reuters. 

Arlington, Va. -- After same-store sales reports on Thursday showed strengthened performance among most major retail chains, the Retail Industry Leaders Association said that November results may suggest that consumer activity is on the rise, and could indicate the strongest holiday shopping season retailers have experienced in recent years.

Purchase, N.Y. -- MasterCard Advisors SpendingPulse report, released Thursday, showed that sales in most retail categories continued to gain momentum over an already strong October showing.

Year-over-year total apparel sales in November saw a 9.6% increase, the largest year-over-year growth in 2010 for that sector following the previous record in October. Total apparel has recorded eight out of 11 months of year-over-year gains so far in 2010. In November, all of the sub-sectors posted year-over-year growth.

New York City - According to the Brand Keys Holiday Survey, released Tuesday, Amazon topped the marketing research consultancy’s list of the top 10 retailers based on customer visits.

Walmart and Apple tied for second, followed by Target, Zappos, Best Buy and Dell, Kohls, Overstock and QVC, Lands End and L.L. Bean, J.C. Penney, and Macy’s.

Chicago - According to accounting firm BDO USA, LLP, 63% of chief marketing officers at leading U.S. retailers said their 2010 holiday advertising and marketing budgets have remained flat, a continued trend from 2009 (55%) and 2008 (43%).

BDO’s survey found that 20% of CMOs cited a decrease in their holiday marketing and advertising budget, signaling some flexibility, compared with 2009 (26%) and 2008 (32%). Seventeen percent of CMOs cite an increase, only slightly less than 2009 (19%).