Winter Holidays

Washington, D.C. -- Total holiday sales, which include November and December sales, increased 4% to $616.1 billion, the highest since 2011, according to the National Retail Federation. The total was in line with NRF’s projected forecast of 4.1%. In addition, non-store holiday sales grew 6.8% to $101.9 billion.

Grapevine, Texas - GameStop Corp. reported declining total and same-store sales for the nine-week holiday 2014 period, despite solid growth in new software sales. Total global sales for the holiday period were $2.94 billion, a 6.7% decline compared to the 2013 holiday sales period.

Shoppers are ready to spend this spring thanks to a precipitous decline in gas prices and an expectation that prices will stay low.

A new study suggests that most Americans are optimistic about the economy, thanks to the continuing slide in gas prices. A survey of gas consumers found that 57% of Americans are optimistic, including nearly two-thirds (65%) of those ages 18-34.

Retailers looking to replenish inventories depleted by solid holiday sales are facing a new impediment at West Coast ports.

Reuters is reporting that unions are orchestrating work slowdowns to exacerbate an already gridlocked situation at the busy port.

The Pacific Maritime Association said the region's five largest ports, including Los Angeles and Long Beach, had seen backups "approaching complete gridlock," as contentious contract talks with the dockworkers union have stalled.

The strength of the U.S. dollar and a decline in hardware sales are among the reasons GameStop cited for its decline in holiday sales. But that's not the whole story.

Sales of new software, a key category for the video game retailer, were strong. New software sales increased 5.8%, or 8.9% in constant currency. The growth was driven by a 94.4% increase in PS4 and Xbox One software, led by titles such as Activision’s Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto V and Ubisoft’s Far Cry 4. 

New York -- E-commerce in the United States in 2015 will top the $300 billion mark for the first-time ever, according to Forrester Research’s principal analyst Sucharita Mulpuru.

“This is big news,” Mulpuru said during a presentation at the National Retail Federation’s annual “Big Show” conference.  

With two Pixar movies hitting theaters this year — Inside Out (June 19) and The Good Dinosaur (November 25) — Disney Consumer Products has a slate of innovative new toys in the works for retailers.

Both movies will have robust toy lines from Japaneses licensee TOMY, whose innovative approach, strength in international markets and ability to reflect Pixar’s unique storytelling in its product lines made them the ideal choice for Pixar Animation Studios’ most exciting year yet, the company said.

Strong e-commerce growth and omnichannel contributed to a healthy holiday shopping sales season at Belk.

The nation’s largest family owned and operated fashion department store company reported a 5.2% increase in sales for the nine-week period ending Jan. 3. Same store sales for the same period increased by 4.8%.