Research Topic

New York -- New York & Co. reported a loss of $3.4 million for the quarter ended Nov. 2, compared with a loss of $3.8 million in the same period last year.

Sales fell to $217.6 million, from $219.3 million, and same-store sales increased 3%.

Robert Adler was named acting chairman of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to fill a position vacated by former chairman Inez Tenenbaum.

Adler joined the CPSC, an agency that exerts tremendous influence over the consumer packaged goods and retail industries, in 2009 when he was appointed by president Barack Obama. Prior to his appointment Adler served on the Obama Transition Team and and co-authored a report on the CPSC for the administration.

MasterCard Spending Pulse reported that U.S. electronics retailers hit the jackpot with their early Thanksgiving openings, recording triple-digit growth on Thanksgiving Day this year compared to 2012.

According to the November report, which tracks retail sales across all forms of payment, including credit cards, cash and check, sales for the electronics category shot up on Thanksgiving; however, sales in that sector declined slightly on Black Friday.

Given the origins of Cyber Monday, it should have become irrelevant in the grand scheme of online holiday sales. That’s far from the case though as evidenced by the latest insights from digital measurement firm comScore.

The leading digital measurement firm released data late Tuesday showing Cyber Monday sales increased 18% to more than $1.7 billion to establish a new record for the heaviest online shopping day in history. It was also the second day this season in which online sales surpassed $1 billion which was the case on Black Friday.

Portland, Ore. -- Research conducted by InComm found that 67% of consumers surveyed have previously bought a gift card from an online website or mobile website/app, while 33% have not.

Respondents answered questions about their purchasing habits and their intentions for purchasing gift cards from websites and mobile devices – as well as digital cards specifically – this holiday season and beyond.

Highlights of the survey include:

New York  -- MasterCard Spending Pulse reported that U.S. electronics retailers hit the jackpot with their early Thanksgiving openings, recording triple- digit growth on Thanksgiving Day this year compared to 2012.

According to the November report, which tracks retail sales across all forms of payment (including credit cards, cash and check), sales for the Electronics category shot up on Thanksgiving; however, sales in that sector declined slightly on Black Friday.

Matthews, N.C. -- Despite the growth in e-commerce, Americans still prefer to make most holiday gift purchases in stores close to home, according to a recent national survey conducted for Family Dollar.

Seven-in-10 consumers say they describe themselves as in-person shoppers, while only 30% say they would be best characterized as online shoppers. Also, more than half of surveyed consumers say they expect to travel 10 miles or less when looking for the majority of their gifts this season.

UPS is trying to capitalize on this year’s shorter holiday shopping season, which is six days fewer than last year’s, by touting the shipping services its UPS Store offers.

The UPS Store has a network of 4,300 employees at locally owned and operated centers ready to pack and ship everything from fragile glass ornaments to surfboards and golf clubs. The store also offers customers a Pack and Ship Guarantee.

Consumers who prefer packing their own gifts themselves can obviously still ship them via the UPS Store, but are asked to do the following: