Winter Holidays

Fort Worth, Texas -- Pier 1 Imports said on Thursday that its same-store sales rose 10.2% for the quarter ended Nov. 27, a little better than it had expected when it made a prediction last month.

Third-quarter total revenue rose 8.3% to $354 million.

President and CEO Alex W. Smith said strong results in September and October carried into November and the Thanksgiving weekend. Pier 1 stores got more visitors who spent more money, compared with the same period last year, Smith said.

Reston, Va. -- Online spending on Cyber Monday reached $1.028 billion, up 16% versus a year ago, representing the heaviest online spending day in history and the first to surpass the billion-dollar threshold, according to comScore.

Chicago - According to accounting firm BDO USA, LLP, 63% of chief marketing officers at leading U.S. retailers said their 2010 holiday advertising and marketing budgets have remained flat, a continued trend from 2009 (55%) and 2008 (43%).

BDO’s survey found that 20% of CMOs cited a decrease in their holiday marketing and advertising budget, signaling some flexibility, compared with 2009 (26%) and 2008 (32%). Seventeen percent of CMOs cite an increase, only slightly less than 2009 (19%).

New York City - According to the Brand Keys Holiday Survey, released Tuesday, Amazon topped the marketing research consultancy’s list of the top 10 retailers based on customer visits.

Walmart and Apple tied for second, followed by Target, Zappos, Best Buy and Dell, Kohls, Overstock and QVC, Lands End and L.L. Bean, J.C. Penney, and Macy’s.