Research Topic

An IPO from payment processor Square and the widespread reality of same day delivery are a few of the technology-oriented predictions, offered by Fortune’s San Francisco-based writer JP Mangalindan.

New York -- Zappos took the top spot in a ranking of fastest holiday shippers according to a study by Kurt Salmon and StellaService. The study analyzed shipping times for orders placed on Cyber Monday from more than 50 retailers across a broad range of retail sectors, from big boxes to online-only players. It found that retailers in the top-five delivered multi-unit orders in an average of 2.9 days.

The top five companies for holiday shipping are the following:

New York -- The Conference Board Leading Economic Index (LEI) for the U.S. increased 0.8% in November to 98.3 (2004 = 100), following a 0.1% increase in October, and a 1% increase in September.

Framingham, Mass. – 3-D printing technology is rapidly gaining traction and heading toward mainstream acceptance and usage. According to a new research study from International Data Corporation (IDC), the worldwide 3-D printer market will experience tremendous unit and revenue growth from 2012 to 2017, with compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) of 59% and 29%, respectively.

Reston, Va. -- Holiday season U.S. retail e-commerce spending from desktop computers for the first 52 days of the November-December 2013 holiday season totaled $42.8 billion, an increase of 10% from the same period one year ago. However, new comScore data shows that the final online shopping week saw considerably softer sales than anticipated, including zero billion dollar spending days.

Purchase, N.Y. – U.S. retail sales reportedly rose 3.5% between Nov. 1 and Dec. 24, 2013 compared to the same period in the prior year. According to data from MasterCard Advisors SpendingPulse, sales of holiday-related categories, such as clothing, electronics and luxury goods, rose 2.3%, after rising 0.7% in 2012.

New York -- Weekly sales rose by 1.4% for the week ending Dec. 21, 2013. According to figures from the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and the Goldman Sachs Weekly Chain Store Sales Index, on a year-over-year basis, the pace of sales also improved and grew by 2.7%.

For December, ICSC Research expects monthly sales will increase between 3% and 4% as the promotional environment continues to be intense.

Reston, Va. -- Several retail subcategories were among the top-gaining in November as Thanksgiving kicked off the holiday shopping season. According to comScore Media Metrix analysis of U.S., desktop activity in November 2013, the retail categories of toys, consumer electronics, jewelry/luxury goods/accessories, department stores, mall, and fragrances/cosmetics all were among the top 10 gaining desktop site categories in November.

New York – Eight of the 25 largest retailers (32%, or roughly one-in-three) failed to deliver at least one package ordered on the cutoff date to arrive before Christmas via standard shipping in a study performed by StellaService. The study involved placing three orders, one each in the East, West and Midwest regions, from each retailer.

Of 75 total orders, 12% missed the delivery estimate. All but one of these orders were shipped using UPS, which is the preferred carrier for most of the top 25 retailers. Some retailer-specific results include:

Razor USA said it set holiday sales records this year due to the surging popularity of a $399 ride-on product called the Crazy Cart that YouTube helped make a hit.