Retailer Campaigns

New York City -- A report released Monday by Advisor One said that while it’s still too early to know the final outcome of the Christmas shopping season, it’s already clear that it’s been a record season for online retail.

Forget looking under the tree Christmas morning. Grab the smartphone and check the inbox for an e-gift card. Walmart this week promoted an offering of 19 customizable e-gift cards as a gift-giving solution that is sure to have appeal to those who wait until Santa is halfway down the chimney. The entire transaction is handled online, from the ordering of the card, to delivery in the recipient’s inbox through redemption, which is only valid for online purchases. 

Connecting Northwest Arkansas earlier this month published the results of a survey of Walmart suppliers that revealed some interesting insights and this week spawned a few inaccurate headlines from various news organizations. The most notable was a headline on a Bloomberg story, which said Walmart suppliers lacked confidence in company CEO Mike Duke and that senior managers were explaining the company’s strategy. That’s a powerful statement and would be quite an indictment of the company’s chief executive and senior leadership team, if it were true.

Minneapolis -- Christopher & Banks Corp. reported Wednesday a net loss of $9.2 million for the third quarter, compared with a profit of $7 million in the year-ago period.

Sales dropped to $120.9 million from $132 million in the prior year. Same-store sales decreased 7%.

Walmart, Target and Best Buy attracted record levels of customers to their websites during November, according to data released this week by the online measurement firm comScore. Retailers have come to expect a surge in traffic to their sites as the holiday approach and during November that proved to be the case and then some.

MOORESVILLE, N.C.  - Lowe’s announced that it is the first national retailer to offer consumers the industry’s first and only Energy Star-rated LED A-Line bulb. 

The GE Energy Smart 9-watt LED light bulb is rated to last more than 22 years, according to Lowe's, and is priced at $34.98.

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.  - Raymour & Flanigan announced the arrival of the Kathy Ireland Home brand to its collection of furniture products. The line will be available in the first quarter of 2011.

QUINCY, Mass. - Stop & Shop Supermarket announced that it set a new record in 2010 with its annual Food for Friends campaign. More than $2 million -- a 40% increase from 2009 -- will be donated to more than 300 local food pantries and regional food banks throughout Stop & Shop's operating areas this year, the company reported.

New York - Macy’s Inc. said Monday that 14 of its stores, including Herald Square and Queens Center in New York, will remain open 24-hours-a-day until Christmas.

The extended hours begin on Tuesday, Dec. 21.

The stores, which are located in New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Virginia, Michigan and Minnesota, will be joined by another slate of nine stores that will stay open until 2 a.m., located in New York, New Jersey, California and Massachusetts.