Winter Holidays

Bentonville, Ark. -- On Tuesday, the second day of its "12 Days of Giving" Facebook campaign, Walmart is awarding $125,000 to 17 nonprofits that are dedicated to building a brighter future for children across the country.

Over 12 consecutive days, the company will award a total of $1.5 million to 145 organizations in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.

New York City -- Macy’s said Monday it has brought back its “24-hour” stores for three all-nighters beginning Dec. 21. Starting at 7 a.m., 14 Macy’s stores will stay open for 83 hours straight for non-stop shopping until Christmas Eve on Dec. 24 at 6 p.m.

Another 27 Macy’s stores will stay open until 2 a.m. on those same three nights.

Reston, Va. -- E-commerce spending for November-December holiday season to date totaled $24.6 billion, 15% up over the year-ago period, according to comScore. The most recent week (week ending Dec. 9) reached $5.9 billion in spending, an increase of 15% versus the corresponding week last year, with three days surpassing $1 billion.
 

The Holiday Shopping Season got off to a fast start with sales numbers increasing by 6.6% compared with last year, according to Shopper Trak. Promotional activity started earlier than usual and helped shoppers stay in the know as to where they could find the best deals. Leading up to Black Friday, increases were seen in print for both page counts and circular drops in many instances. In digital there were increases in volume and frequency of online, email and social promotions.  

By Greg Hammermaster, Sage Payment Solutions

Los Angeles -- Survey data from PriceGrabber, an Experian company, said that many consumers will continue to hit the stores through the final days leading up to Christmas.

Results from PriceGrabber's fourth winter holiday shopping survey found that 41% of consumers plan to shop between Dec. 21 and Dec. 24 for holiday gifts.

RESTON, Va. — The holiday season-to-date has garnered $24.6 billion in online sales, a 15% increase above corresponding days last year, ComScore reported.

In addition to the 15% increase in spending recorded for the first 39 days of the holiday season, ComScore also noted that the most recent week (week ended Dec. 9) reached $5.9 billion in spending, an increase of 15% versus the corresponding week last year.

Bentonville, Ark. -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Monday that it has kicked off its "12 Days of Giving" campaign, awarding over $1.5 million to nonprofits that were nominated by Facebook users. By the end of the campaign, 145 grant recipients in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, will be honored. Twenty-five nonprofits that have stepped up to fight hunger are receiving a total of $130,000 on the first day of giving.