Winter 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.

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.

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.

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 City -- Online sales on Cyber Monday were up 33% over 2010, with shopping peaks occurring at 2:05 p.m. EST, according to IBM’s fourth annual Cyber Monday Benchmark study. The average ticket increased 2.6% to $198.26, compared with $193.24 last year.

Among other key Cyber Monday Benchmark findings:

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.

By Jackie Sloane

Earlier than ever opening hours over the holiday weekend placed unprecedented demands on store associates. Whether full time workers or among the hundreds of thousands of seasonal employees whose services are required to cope with the peak demands of the holidays, one thing is clear. Energy and attitude can amount to retailers’ “engagement advantage,” arguably the most crucial differentiating factor when it comes to influencing purchase decisions, sales and long-term loyalty.