Budgets/Spending/Market Size

Chicago – One-in-two marketers report that fragmented technologies impede their ability to create a consistent experience for consumers across the Web, mobile and other channels. According to a survey of 281 marketers in 16 countries released by cross-channel technology provider Signal, 90% of marketers believe that connecting the disparate tools in their company's marketing technology stack would improve their ability to innovate, personalize consumer interactions, send timely messages, boost loyalty, evaluate campaigns, and increase return on marketing investments.

New York -- British supermarket retailer Tesco suspended four executives, including its U.K. managing director, after revealing that its half-year profit was overstated by $407 million, the BBC reported. The retailer has launched an investigation headed by Deloitte.

Tesco CEO Dave Lewis, who took over the struggling company in September, said the decision to ask employees to stand aside was not an indication of guilt or that disciplinary action was warranted. He declined to speculate on what the investigation might turn up.

New York -- Nearly three-quarters (74%) of U.S. households plan to spend money on Halloween-related items, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) Halloween Consumer Spending Survey. The total for Halloween-related spending is expected to be approximately $11.3 billion in 2014.

Hoffman Estates, Ill. – A $400 million loan Eddie Lampert, the CEO and largest shareholder of Sears Holdings Corp., is making to Sears this month reportedly is only enough to last the struggling retailer for three months. According to Bloomberg, global ratings agency Fitch Ratings is projecting that Sears will need $4 billion in capital to avoid running out of cash altogether in 2016.

Philadelphia -- Nearly one-quarter (24%) of retailers expect a significant increase (5% or more) in year-over-year sales during the 2014 holiday season, while another 70% are predicting sales will be on par with the 2013 season, according to a survey by global management consultancy Hay Group.

New York -- Seasonal hiring in the retail sector is expected to outpace 2013, according to a report by Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

Retailers are projected to hire more than 800,000 seasonal workers for the upcoming holiday season, the highest number since 1999. In 2013, the retail industry hired 786,200 seasonal workers.

Research Triangle Park, N.C. -- Forty-one percent of online retailers plan to offer free shipping and returns as a strategy to increase holiday sales this year, according to a new survey by Channel Advisors, and free shipping also ranked as the most successful service feature for generating a higher level of customer satisfaction. The Multichannel E-Commerce Study also reveals that 86% of surveyed retailers expect to increase their year-over-year online holiday sales in 2014.

New research from an organization called the Luxury Institute found that half the executives in a recent survey are spending at least 30% of their marketing budget on digital methods with an even larger percentage concerned it isn’t enough.