Retailer Campaigns

New York City -- comScore reported that Cyber Monday sales totaled $1.25 billion, up 22% from last year, making it the heaviest online spending day in history. Overall, 10 million people bought online on Cyber Monday, representing the first time on record that threshold has been reached in a single day. The average online buyer conducted 1.9 online transactions on Cyber Monday for a total of nearly $125 in spending.

PITTSBURGH — Electric vehicle charging stations recently opened at three Pittsburgh-area Giant Eagle stores, the retailer said.

The EV charging stations, made possible by a collaborative effort through a Pennsylvania Department of Energy grant, now are in operation at the chain's Robinson Township, Township of Pine and Monroeville supermarkets.

New York -- The retail industry experienced a weekend that was a roaring success in terms of customer traffic, sales and another key metric that was overlooked: No one died! At least not in the gruesome fashion of a few years ago when a Walmart employee was trampled by an unruly mob as he opened the doors at a Long Island, NY, store on Black Friday. There was an incident this year involving an older man who collapsed at a Target store in West Virginia and later died at a hospital, but it was determined he had a pre-existing heart condition.

NEW YORK — Heading into December, consumers are feeling more confident about the economy and that is good news for retailers who are hoping for a strong holiday shopping season. After declining in October, The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, improved to 56 in November from 40.9 in Ocober. The Present Situation Index increased to 38.3 from 27.1. The Expectations Index rose to 67.8 from 50.

RESTON, Va. — Retailers who promoted their online presence as a way to avoid the crowds this past weekend were rewarded for their efforts with record sales on Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday.

Minneapolis -- Target will donate $5 million to local schools nationwide as part of the company's commitment to give $1 billion for education by the end of 2015.

Target has teamed up with "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" and its viewers to select 50 schools in need to receive a $100,000 grant. Viewers are encouraged to submit the name of a school that needs help, along with a compelling story that explains why the school should receive a grant, to "The Ellen DeGeneres Show.”

New York City -- E-commerce spending jumped 26% on Black Friday, according to comscore.

Black Friday web sales totaled $816 million, up from $648 million last year, comScore reported.

“With brick-and-mortar retail also reporting strong gains on Black Friday, it's clear that the heavy promotional activity had a positive impact on both channels," said Gian Fulgoni, chairman, comScore.

New York City -- The third annual Retail Finance Outlook released Tuesday by CIT Group found that 80% of retail executives expect their holiday sales to increase or remain the same as last year. And they are eying social media as a means to drive sales.

Among the notable shopping days this holiday season, more than one-third of executives expect Black Friday sales to increase this year; more than a quarter expect Cyber Monday sales to be up and nearly a quarter expect Super Saturday sales to increase.

Chicago -- Up to 60% more shoppers will enter stores on Dec. 26 than on the same day last year, according to ShopperTrak, the world's largest provider of retail and mall foot traffic counting services. The reason for the increase is due to the calendar: Shoppers will come out in full force on the day after Christmas because it falls on a Monday for the first time in six years. That day will rank third in foot traffic for the holiday shopping season, surpassed only by Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, and Super Saturday, the Saturday one week before Christmas.

San Francisco -- Walmart has the most engaged users across its social media platforms as the days count down to the holiday shopping season, according to a study by the social media and digital analytics company Socialbakers.

Walmart has the most number of fans topping the list at over 10 million fans, with over 7,500 fan posts last month, Socialbakers said. The engagement rate represents fan interactions and although Target ties with an average monthly engagement rate, Walmart has nearly double the number of fans who are actively posting.