Budgets/Spending/Market Size

Early and optimistic are two words that sum up retailers’ attitudes toward the 2015 holiday season, according to new retailer survey conducted by ChannelAdvisor.

ChannelAdvisor surveyed more than 200 e-commerce decision-makers at U.S. and U.K retailers to gain insight into holiday promotional activities and the outlook for sales. One key finding is that retailers are an optimistic lot with 80% expecting sales to be higher this year that last year.

Research Triangle, N.C. -- Christmas keeps getting earlier with each passing year, but the main challenge for online merchants stays the same.

Nearly 60% of online retailers plan to start their holiday promotions in September or sooner, and 34% of the retailers said fulfilling orders on time is their biggest challenge during the holidays, followed by adjusting to competitor activity (27%) and converting mobile traffic (19%).

Gap Inc.’s sales slump continued in August across all its brands with one notable exception.

San Jose, Calif. -- The back-to-school season traditionally gives retailers a much-needed boost, bringing traffic into stores in August. How did things turn out this year?

Not so great it turns out, according to RetailNext Inc., which provides retail analytics for brick-and-mortar stores. The firm’s, monthly Retail Performance Pulse revealed a 7.3% year-over-year decrease in sales on a 9.9% decline in traffic at physical stores for the retail month of August (Aug. 2 through Aug. 29 on the retail 4-5-4 calendar).

Austin, Texas – Labor Day is supposed to be a day of rest, but consumers are planning to work at shopping for the upcoming Labor Day holiday Sept. 7.

According to a recent RetailMeNot-Kelton survey, two in three (67%) people planning to spend money this Labor Day will spend an average of $144.

In addition, 13% anticipate their Labor Day spend will exceed $200. While 67% of consumers do actually plan to relax at home, one in three intend to visit the mall.

“Now Trending” is an exclusive online series to chainstoreage.com, featuring trending topics that impact the retail real estate landscape.

Scottsdale, Ariz. – Shoppers keep getting smarter about using their mobile devices.

According to a new study from OneStop Marketing, 83% of mobile users now engage in shopping activities on their phone immediately before, during or after a trip to the store.

In addition, 45% of online traffic during the 2014 holiday season came from mobile but only 20% of sales came from mobile devices, indicating a substantial opportunity to increase mobile conversion rates.

Washington, D.C. -- The Labor Department is not extending the comment period on the Obama administration’s proposal to expand overtime pay. Its decision drew a no-holds barred response from the nation’s largest retail organization.