Winter Holidays

Online holiday season sales grew 14% to $42.3 billion, a little short of comScore’s pre-season forecast.

The online measurement firm originally projected that online sales during the November and December period would increase 16% to $43.4 billion. However, after a strong start online sales fizzled a bit in early December and never quite regained enough momentum to achieve the firm’s earlier target.

New York -- An apparel last-minute surge in holiday shopping helped many key retailers report better-than-expected sales in December. Twenty retailers reported sales in December rose an average of 4.5%, compared with the year-ago period, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers. Costco, Gap, Nordstrom and TJX Cos. were among the best performers.
 

Weaker than expected December sales at Target will cause fourth quarter profits to come in at the low end of an earlier forecast, the company said.

Sales at Target for the five week period ended December 31, increased 0.8% to $10.2 billion while same store sales were essentially flat, below the company’s guidance which called for an increase in the low single digits. The performance was driven by a low single digit decrease in comparable store transactions, offset by an increase in average transaction size.

Matthews, N.C. -- Family Dollar Stores Inc. reported Thursday a profit of $80.3 million for the quarter ended Nov. 24, compared with $80.4 million in the year-ago period.

The company said that higher sales on everyday items like cigarettes and soft drinks put pressure on margins.
    
Net sales increased 12.7% to $2.42 billion in the period, and same-store sales grew 6.6%.

An annual holiday e-retail satisfaction report produced by analytic's firm ForeSee showed a slight deterioration in Walmart’s satisfaction score during the holidays.

Amazon.com, LLBean.com and QVC.com were the top three retailers on ForeSee’s Annual Holiday E-Retail Satisfaction survey while Walmart.com fell in the middle of the pack.

New York -- Target Corp. turned in a less than stellar performance in December, recording flat same-store sales. But Costco Wholesale Corp. and TJX shone, exemplifying an up-and-down season in which consumers backed off buying amid concerns about a “fiscal cliff” and the uncertain economic climate.

Purchase, N.Y. -- Spending in key categories experienced a slight year-over-year gain of 0.7% during the 2012 holiday period, with the season slowed down by a combination of factors, according to a SpendingPulse report released by MasterCard Advisors, the professional services arm of MasterCard. Sub-sectors measured in the SpendingPulse Holiday Index report are apparel, electronics, online, luxury, jewelry and furnishings. (SpendingPulse data estimates retail sales across all payment forms.)
 

After year of record online sales it’s not surprising that returns are also forecast to hit new highs, especially this week.