Research Topic

Bentonville, Ark. -- As holiday shoppers prepared to battle crowds on Thanksgiving weekend, Wal-Mart workers and supports geared up to protest at stores nationwide, openly criticizing the retailers’ wages, benefits and treatment of employees.

Nine people were arrested in Paramount, Calif., including three Walmart employees, for blocking a busy street. About 1,000 people protested there.

Washington, D.C. -- The National Retail Federation reported that more than 35 million Americans visited retailers’ stores and websites on Thursday – up from 29 million last year – scoring deals on everything from hot electronic items to cashmere sweaters and toys.

According to an NRF survey conducted by BIGinsight over the weekend, traffic and spending grew over the entire weekend. More people than ever before also shopped online and in stores on Black Friday, as 89 million shoppers braved the crowds, up from 86 million last year.

Chicago -- A report released Saturday by ShopperTrak found that Black Friday proved to be a mixed bag for retailers, as retail foot traffic increased over last year, but retail sales decreased slightly.

ShopperTrak estimates that, when compared with Black Friday last year, retail foot traffic rose 3.5% to more than 307.67 million store visits. Retail sales decreased 1.8%, however, with shoppers spending an estimated total of $11.2 billion on Friday.

Washington, D.C. -- A survey released by Shop.org and conducted by BIGinsight found that 129.2 million shoppers say they’ll head to retailers’ websites on Cyber Monday, up from the 122.8 million who shopped last year, and the 106.9 million who shopped on Cyber Monday in 2010.
 
The majority (85%) of retailers will have a special promotion for Cyber Monday, according to a prior survey.

Reston, Va. -- Online retail spending for the November – December period will reach $43.4 billion, a 17% gain versus year ago, according to comScore. The increase represents an improvement compared with last season’s 15% rise, and is also far ahead of the retail industry’s expectation for a 4.1% increase in consumers’ overall spending this holiday season.

New York -- Houston claimed the top spot for the second year in a row, followed by Seattle and San Francisco, in a ranking of the most mobile shopping savvy cities in the United States. The survey was conducted by The Interactive Advertising Bureau and its Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence, in partnership with Prosper Mobile Insights.

New York -- On Wednesday, Nov. 28, Chainstoreage.com will unveil an exclusive and revealing look at how shoppers felt — what turned them on and off — on two of the busiest and most critical retail days of the year: Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The Holiday Shopper Sentiment Report: Black Friday and Cyber Monday Consumer Face-Off by SAP will explore real-time trends and insights that will inform the next generation of retail.

Retailers may as well start devising their 2013 Black Friday plans now based on the popularity of this year’s early openings on Thanksgiving.

The Thanksgiving evening openings by the likes of Walmart, Toys ‘R’ Us, Target, Sears and Kmart were denounced in some quarters as being anti-family, but a few vocal critics didn’t speak for the majority of shoppers who turned out in droves and spent with gusto.

Online shopping surged 26% on Black Friday to surpass $1 billion for the first time, according to the digital measurement firm comScore.

EMERYVILLE, Calif. — The LeapPad2 has received 20 awards from U.S. organizations that include Dr. Toy, Oppenheim Toy Portfolio, Parents' Choice Foundation and Time to Play, as well as key awards in the U.K. and Canada, according to LeapFrog Enterprises. It has been selected as a top toy by more children, parenting and industry experts and retailers than any other kid’s tablet, rendering it the most recognized kid's tablet of the year leading into the holiday season.