Winter Holidays

Months after announcing a major upgrade in its e-commerce capabilities, Belk reported that its online sales grew 46% in the third quarter.

The Charlotte, N.C.-based operator of 300 department stores in 16 states attributed the increase in Internet sales to the company’s “Yes! We Have It” item locator program and store fulfillment of digital sales initiatives.

Washington, D.C. - Import cargo volume at the nation’s major retail container ports is expected to continue to slow down in December. According to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates, import volume at U.S. ports covered by the Global Port Tracker report is expected to total 1.37 million containers this month as the holiday shipping cycle winds down.   

So the retail industry made it through another five-day Thanksgiving weekend, stretching from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday. As the dust begins to settle and the pundits make their pronouncements, let’s look at a few technology lessons retailers can learn from this year’s kickoff to the all-important holiday sales season.   Little Mobile is All Grown Up

Eighties sensation Weird Al Yankovic is offering RadioShack a new hope for the holidays.

Yankovic is appearing in the chain's holiday ad campaign called "Gift Smart.” In the ad, he sings his own unique take on the holiday song “Toyland.”

"He's tech-savvy, smart and a social media guru," said RadioShack chief marketing officer Jennifer Warren. Yankovich has more than 3.5 million Twitter followers and 1.6 million Facebook fans. "I don't think there could be a better fit for our brand right now."

Year-over-year (YOY) retail dollar volume from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday grew 5.3%, a decrease from last year’s growth of 7.4%, according to First Data 2014 SpendTrend Holiday Shopping Spend Analysis, which examined consumer spending from more than one million merchant locations over the five-day period.Similarly, retail transaction growth was 5.0% compared to 6.0% in 2013.  

A new report looking at consumer shopping habits on mobile phones shows that Sunday is the best day of the week when it comes to sales from mobile shoppers.

"Online shopping has become a major force in global markets. And, with the holiday shopping season upon us in the United States, we see mobile's share of that market accelerating," said Larry Moores, vice president for consumer mobile reporting and analytics at Opera Software, a leading mobile internet and advertising company.

Social media is front and center at Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores this holiday season with the retailer tapping into customers’ desire to share with the introduction of the Holiday Hub.

As holiday shoppers hunted for online deals Thanksgiving weekend the Overstock.com Web site provided fertile hunting grounds.

The retailer said its sales between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday increased 23 percent compared to the same period the prior year. In addition to new customers, the increase was driven by an 8 percent increase in average individual order size. Cyber Monday sales increased 24 percent while Thanksgiving day saw the largest gain, up 38 percent off of a smaller initial base than Cyber Monday.