Winter Holidays

Didn’t get your Christmas gifts delivered on time? Don’t blame the major carriers this year, according to a new study from Kurt Salmon.

UPS, FedEx and the U.S. Postal Service held up their end of the bargain this year when it came to delivering packages in time for Christmas, according to an analysis by the consulting firm. However, a troubling 13 percent of last minute e-commerce orders did not reach recipients in time for Christmas versus a 15 percent failure rate last year.

San Jose, Calif. – “Super Saturday,” the Saturday before Christmas (Dec. 20), was not quite super for retailers expecting a sales bonanza. According to data from in-store analytics provider RetailNext, compared to the equivalent date in 2013, net sales were down 9%, store traffic was down 10.6%, total transactions fell 8% and average transaction value was 0.9% lower.   However, there were a couple of bright spots. Conversion rate rose 0.4 percentage points and sales per shopper increased 1.8%.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Spend on prepaid gift cards is on the rise this holiday season, as a significant majority (70%) of shoppers plan to purchase gift cards this season, according to an interim holiday spending report released by Stored Value Solutions, a provider of gift cards and stored value services.   According to the report, 92% of shoppers plan to spend either the same amount or more on gift cards than they spent last year. And for the eighth straight year, gift cards have been the most desired holiday gift.

Chain Store Age wishes everyone a safe and happy holiday!  Our offices will be closed Wednesday, December 24th,  Thursday, December 25th and Friday, December, December 26th.  We will return to normal business hours on Monday, December 29th.  We wish you and your family a joyous and peaceful holiday season!

By: Sunil Oberoi, Symphony Teleca Corp.   With the holiday shopping season officially in full swing, many retailers are facing the challenge of reaching consumers during this traditionally noisy time of year.  And since today’s consumer is more connected than ever, they expect retailers to meet the demands  of their omnichannel lifestyle, meaning they want  their shopping experience to be personalized to their interests and needs.    

New York - Macy’s knows the holiday spirit doesn’t suddenly fade on Dec. 26. The retailer is offering “Week of Wonderful,” a seven-day shopping event from Sunday, Dec. 28 through Saturday, Jan. 3.  During Macy’s ‘Week of Wonderful,’ customers will find a wide assortment of fresh products at affordable prices to usher in the New Year.   

New York – The weekend of Dec. 20-21, which included “Super Saturday” (the last Saturday before Christmas) saw the highest daily back-to-back Internet traffic from online consumer retail shopping activity since tracking began before the Thanksgiving weekend. According to the Verizon Retail Index, average daily traffic was 119 on Saturday and 122 on Sunday.  

Retailing Today will be closed for Christmas, Dec. 24 through Dec. 26, and will publish again on Monday, Dec. 29. The editor and publisher of Retailing Today would like to wish you and your families very best wishes for a happy, healthy and joyous holiday.

Cheers, Mike Troy Editor, Retailing Today

By Molly Glover Gallatin, Gigwalk   According to Forrester Research, U.S. e-retail sales are expected to grow from $263 billion in 2013 to $414 billion in 2018, a compound annual growth rate of 9.5%. While a fuss has been made about the increase in online spending, statistics show that more than three quarters of retail transactions are still made in-store.    

By Fabrizio Brasca, JDA Software