Budgets/Spending/Market Size

Port Washington, N.Y. -- In the week following Thanksgiving 2013 (Dec. 1 – Dec. 7, 2013), sales of mailing and shipping products were up 13% to $13.3 million, compared the previous year (Nov. 25 – Dec. 1, 2012). In addition, new analysis from The NPD Group indicates that within shipping and mailing categories, wrapping sales were up 52%, mailer sales rose 17% and packing tape sales grew 14%.

By channel, mailing and shipping product sales rose 14% in the brick-and-mortar channel compared to the same period a year earlier and 3% online.

Reston, Va. -- U.S. retail e-commerce spending from desktop computers for the first 45 days of the November-December 2013 holiday season totaled $37.8 billion, according to comScore. For the first time ever, the most recent workweek saw five individual days eclipse $1 billion in spending, led by Green Monday with $1.4 billion.

Pleasanton, Calif. – Nine-in-10 (89%) Millennnials want gift cards for the holidays, while 73% prefer receiving a gift card from a favorite store as opposed to receiving a specific gift. A new survey of more than 400 Millennials ages 18-28 from global prepaid card network Blackhawk Network also shows that 90% use gift cards to treat themselves to something they wouldn't normally buy or use it in part to buy a more expensive item and 90% use gift cards to treat themselves to something they wouldn't normally buy or use it in part to buy a more expensive item.

U.S. retail e-commerce spending from desktop computers for the first 45 days of the November-December 2013 holiday season totaled $37.8 billion, according to comScore. For the first time ever, the most recent workweek saw five individual days eclipse $1 billion in spending, led by Green Monday with $1.4 billion.

Washington, D.C. – The Washington, D.C., city council has reportedly unanimously approved an increase in the city’s minimum wage to $11.50 per hour in 2016, up from the current hourly rate of $8.25. According to Reuters, after being raised to $11.50 the minimum wage would then be indexed to inflation.

Seattle – Starbucks anticipates record purchases and activations of Starbucks cards on Thursday, Dec. 19. Last year, more than 2 million Starbucks cards were purchased in the U.S. and Canada on the Thursday before Christmas, representing nearly 1,500 cards purchased per minute in the U.S. and Canada.

3M wowed investors on Tuesday by sharing aggressive organic growth plans, doubling a share repurchase program, raising the prospect of billion dollar acquisitions and increasing its dividend by 35%.

The $30 billion company offered the details during a meeting with investors to update a five-year growth plan that extends through 2017. The plan envisions 9% to 11% growth in earnings per share, 4% to 6% organic revenue growth and approximately a 20% return on invested capital.