Winter Holidays

Los Angeles -- After a strong Black Friday and Cyber Monday, overall holiday spending is expected to increase 3.3% to $64.3 billion, according to the  industry research firm IBISWorld.

San Francisco -- The 15 cities with the most shopping activity on Black Friday 2011 were Manhattan, N.Y.; San Francisco; Los Angeles; Brooklyn, N.Y.; San Jose, Calif.; Seattle; Chicago; San Diego; Houston; Atlanta; Dallas; Saint Louis;  Portland, Ore.; Austin, Texas; and Minneapolis, according to mint.com, an online personal finance site.

Chicago -- Despite all of the hype surrounding mobile commerce, just 36% of chief marketing officers at retail companies have included mobile in their holiday marketing strategies this year, according to a recent BDO USA survey. And of the CMOs incorporating mobile, 84% say it accounts for less than 10% of their holiday marketing efforts. The findings are from the most recent edition of the BDO Retail Compass Survey of CMOs, which examined the opinions of 100 chief marketing officers at leading retailers located throughout the country.

Chestnut Hill, Mass. -- WS Development announced that chocolatier Lindt has increased its outlet presence by adding a seventh temporary store this holiday season at a WS shopping center. The Swiss chocolate manufacturer and retailer began its relationship with WS in the spring with temporary stores at six WS Development locations in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Connecticut. Lindt opened its seventh Lindt Factory Outlet within the WS Development portfolio last month at The Crossing at Smithfield. All seven stores will remain in place through the holidays.

Philadelphia -- Simon Property Group announced Tuesday plans to unify the two main shopping venues of King of Prussia Mall, in King of Prussia, Pa., expanding one of America's most productive and iconic retail destinations.

New York City -- comScore reported that Cyber Monday sales totaled $1.25 billion, up 22% from last year, making it the heaviest online spending day in history. Overall, 10 million people bought online on Cyber Monday, representing the first time on record that threshold has been reached in a single day. The average online buyer conducted 1.9 online transactions on Cyber Monday for a total of nearly $125 in spending.

CAMP HILL, Pa. — Rite Aid is offering two promotional programs to holiday shoppers, the company said Monday.

The first of these is Cyber Week, launched to mark Cyber Monday, an online shopping holiday that is one of the busiest of the year. The chain is offering limited-time details on items commonly purchased online like beauty and personal care items, personalized photo calendars and vitamins, as well as 20% off when customers spend $50 or more. Customers can sign up at RiteAidOnlineStore.com.

New York -- The retail industry experienced a weekend that was a roaring success in terms of customer traffic, sales and another key metric that was overlooked: No one died! At least not in the gruesome fashion of a few years ago when a Walmart employee was trampled by an unruly mob as he opened the doors at a Long Island, NY, store on Black Friday. There was an incident this year involving an older man who collapsed at a Target store in West Virginia and later died at a hospital, but it was determined he had a pre-existing heart condition.

NEW YORK — Heading into December, consumers are feeling more confident about the economy and that is good news for retailers who are hoping for a strong holiday shopping season. After declining in October, The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, improved to 56 in November from 40.9 in Ocober. The Present Situation Index increased to 38.3 from 27.1. The Expectations Index rose to 67.8 from 50.

Washington, D.C. -- A report released Tuesday by the Conference Board showed that consumer confidence experienced its biggest gain in more than eight years, jumping to 56 in November from a revised 40.9 reading in the month prior. The leap was the biggest since April 2003 and exceeded the most optimistic forecast by Bloomberg News.

The improvement in consumer attitude may help sustain household purchases, which account for about 70% of the economy, after sales climbed on both Black Friday and Cyber Monday.