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Winter Holidays

  • ARG: Holiday credit-card debt to drive down January and February sales

    Charleston, S.C. -- January post-holiday sales will plunge to some of the lowest levels in years thanks to a surge in credit card spending over the Christmas season, according to consumer research firm America’s Research Group (ARG).

    "Now that those credit card bills are hitting mailboxes, shoppers will cut back in a very significant way relative to January and February of the last few years," said Britt Beemer, chairman, ARG.

  • Report: December same-store sales expected to rise 4.3%

    New York City -- Wall Street analysts expect retailers to report a healthy end to the holiday season, fueled by discounts, improved consumer sentiment and such tactics as extended hours and layaways, Reuters reported.

    Twenty-two major chains, from Macy's Inc. to Costco Wholesale Corp, are likely to post an aggregate 4.3% increase in December same-store sales according to Thomson Reuters.

  • There’s always next year for online opportunity

    The difficulties Target experienced with the relaunch of its website early last fall and subsequent fall off in traffic couldn’t have come at a worse time, as total retail online sales hit new highs during the holiday season.

    Online sales increased 15% to $35.3 billion From Nov. 1 through Dec. 25 compared with the same time period the prior year, according to the online measurement firm comScore.

  • Report: Consumers spent $44 billion on holiday 2011

    Chicago -- Thanks to a last-minute shopping rush, Christmas 2011 will likely outpace its prior-year counterpart. According to a report released Wednesday by ShopperTrak, consumers spent approximately $44 billion in GAFO retail sales for the week ending Dec. 24, a 37.8% increase over the previous week and a 14.8% gain over the same week last year.

    Foot traffic was also high, increasing 32.4% from the previous week.

  • Consumer Confidence rose more than forecast in December

    Washington, D.C. -- The Conference Board report, released Tuesday, found that confidence among consumers rose to an eight-month high in December, increasing to 64.5 from a revised 55.2 reading in November.

    The index reading exceeded all estimates in a Bloomberg News survey and was the highest since April.

  • Best Buy issues statement regarding online order cancellations

    Minneapolis -- After a slew of online orders were cancelled in November and December when Best Buy couldn’t keep up with demand, the company issued the following statement on Tuesday:

    “What was wrong is that there was an unacceptable delay between order confirmations and cancellations, and for that we are very sorry,” said Susan Busch, senior director of Best Buy’s public relations. “It’s important to note that this was a rare situation based on a high volume of orders over a short period of time.”

  • ICSC: Last-minute holiday shopping gives 4.5% year-over-year lift

    New York City -- A report released Wednesday by the International Council of Shopping Centers found that a last-minute shopping surge gave merchants a solid lift during the final week before Christmas.

    According to the ICSC-Goldman Sachs Weekly Chain Store Sales Index, same-store sales rose 0.9% for the week ended Saturday compared with the previous week. That is also up 3.4% from the week before and up 4.5% over the same period a year ago.

  • IBM: December online shopping remains strong through the holiday

    New York City -- The IBM Benchmark Report, released Tuesday, showed continued strength for online retailers.

    According to the report, which provided a snapshot of online retail data for December 25 and December 26 as of 12 pm PST, Christmas Day online sales grew by 16.4% year-over-year. And 18.3% of all online sessions on a retailer’s site were initiated from a mobile device, up from 8.4% on Christmas Day 2010 — an increase of 117.8%.

    Other report highlights included:

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