Research Topic

NRF: Holiday weekend brings big in-store and online shoppers; online has edge
Huge numbers of shoppers feasted on deals over Thanksgiving weekend, but how and when Americans did so has forever changed, as online activity exceeded store visits.
Lessons retailers learned this Black Friday
Huge numbers of shoppers feasted on deals over Thanksgiving weekend, but how and when Americans did so has forever changed, as online activity exceeded store visits.

Retailers such as Walmart, Target, Best Buy and Macy’s spoke of well executed promotional strategies that leveraged their physical and digital presence and those insights were validated by data from the National Retail Federation’s Thanksgiving Weekend Survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics.

Jet.com secures more funding to build brand

Online retailer Jet.com has secured an additional $350 million in funding and joined the ranks of startup unicorns whose valuation exceeds $1 billion.
Want to sell more expensive items online?

Retailers looking to maximize online revenues should utilize one specific digital promotional solution to create a sense of pleasure.
Retailers fall short on omnichannel returns

While most large retailers now offer omnichannel return capabilities, the experience may leave something to be desired.

According to The Omni-Returns Experience Report, a new study of 25 major retailers including Target, Walmart, Best Buy, Apple, Gap, Sears, J.C.Penney and Macy's from StellaService, more than 75% of evaluated retailers offer buy online, return in store (BORIS).
Customers will make merry online

Online spending this holiday season is shaping up to be downright joyful for retailers.

According to comScore, total online retail spending for the November–December period will reach $70.1 billion, representing a 14% gain from $61.3 billion a year earlier. Total desktop spending is expected to reach $58.3 billion, up 9% from $53.3 million.
Warm weather didn’t hurt this retailer’s sales

The parent company of Zales and Jared is looking forward to a happy holiday after producing third quarter results that met the company’s growth targets.
Want to sell more expensive items online?

Retailers looking to maximize online revenues should utilize one specific digital promotional solution to create a sense of pleasure.
Now Trending: It’s NOT the Internet, Dummy!

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

The narrative is a familiar one: the scourge of online sales, encroaching ominously on brick-and-mortar market share, continues to siphon sales and transform the retail industry into an increasingly virtual landscape. Over the last few years, nearly every retail sales drop or unexpectedly poor performance has been laid at the feet of the Internet.
Finding success by serving others

Walmart’s foes are at it again this holiday season, looking to disparage the company with misinformation and publicity stunts that harm the workers the organization claims to help.
Ins and Outlets

Outlet malls are often associated with not only appealing deals on name-brand products, but also with driving long distances to get to the far-flung locations where outlets have traditionally been located.

But that is all changing — and changing fast.
Which retailer will dominate online holiday shopping?

A familiar name factors heavily into the online holiday shopping plans of consumers.