Winter Holidays

Cyber-criminals will be up to no good this holiday season, and they are using the Europay, Mastercard, Visa (EMV) shift as their way in.    The EMV mandate may be adding a layer of protection at store-level, however, it is increasing card-not-present (CNP) fraud for digital retailers. In fact, global retailers can expect 12% growth in online fraudulent activity in the upcoming holiday season, compared with the same period last year.  

With the Black Friday weekend nearly here, there are clear winners when it comes to social media engagement.   At the head of the class is Sephora, with 2.4 million consumer interactions (reactions, comments, shares, retweets, favorites) across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Sephora’s top status is being driven by its success on Instagram, a site that reveals high consumer enthusiasm for the retailer’s offerings of makeup box sets and key brands, such as Bite Beauty and Urban Decay, as well as its own collection.

Shoppers at select Calvin Klein stores may soon be able to charge their phones while also watching some promotional content.    The specialty apparel retailer is installing complementary in-store phone charging kiosks in approximately nine stores across the United States and Canada, including New York City and Las Vegas. The kiosks, from Veloxity, will be in place just in time for Black Friday.   

Walmart has fired the first shot in the Cyber Monday wars.   The discounter said it will launch its “Cyber Week” sales several days early this year, with the first round to be offered on Friday, Nov. 25, at 12:01 a.m. (EST).   In announcing the deals, Walmart noted it has nearly tripled its online assortment to more than 23 million products from 8 million last year, with the growth partially driven by the increase in the chain’s third-party sellers.     

Not everyone is feeling confident about retail sales.    U.S.-based importers and suppliers who sell goods to retailers are not entirely confident consumers are going to open their wallets, according to a new survey conducted by Capital Business Credit, a supply chain finance company.     

As Black Friday quickly approaches, it is anyone’s game on who will garner the most wallet share — clicks or bricks.    More than three-quarters (76%) of Americans plan to shop over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, and they plan to spend $400 between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday, a slight uptick from last year's intentions to spend $369.  

Mark Tritton, chief merchandising officer of Target, discusses the chain’s holiday strategy of emphasizing low prices as well as highlighting private-brand clothes and splurges for the season in an interview with the Associated Press.