Seasonal

It’s a rough time for many teen apparel retailers and the holiday season may not bring much relief.   American Eagle Outfitters Inc. on Wednesday issued a weaker than expected forecast for the fourth quarter as its CEO cited a “tough” retail environment. Its warnings issues similar statements from the likes of Abercrombie & Fitch and Gap.    

Wayfair not only dominated during Cyber Week — it hit a company high.    The pure play home furnishings retailer reported a 52% increase year-over-year in direct retail gross sales (defined as dollars of order intake) for the five-day peak shopping period of Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday. The growth rate of total company gross sales was 46% YOY during the same period.   

Tiffany & Co.’s sterling jewel — its flagship on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue — is feeling the impact of beefed up security and protests at Trump Tower, which is located next door to the store.     Since the election, Tiffany said its flagship, the retailer’s largest location and a tourist magnet, has seen an “adverse effect” and sales softness” compared with the year before and relative to the company’s other U.S. stores. And it sees no quick fix of the problem. 

Wallets are definitely getting lighter this holiday season, especially as more shoppers use mobile wallets.   Nearly one quarter of consumers (24.2%) currently use mobile wallets, and 48.5% plan to make a gift purchase with their digital wallet this holiday season. Further, more than two thirds (69.6%) of wallet users indicated they would use their mobile wallets even more if more merchants allowed them to pay that way.  

Cyber Monday has made history — again.   With shoppers spending $3.45 billion online on Cyber Monday, Nov. 28, a 12.1% jump year-over-year, sales not only surpassed predictions, but made this the largest Cyber Monday shopping event to date, according to Adobe Digital Insights, which aggregated data from 23 billion visits to retail websites.  

A full-service event design company is extending its brand.   White Lilac has opened its first retail location, a home décor store, at South Coast Plaza, Costa Mesa, Calif. The company specializes in large-scale parties, exclusive weddings, corporate functions, and private parties.     The boutique showcases a whimsical collection of gifts, housewares, accessories, furniture, décor and more inspired by White Lilac event designs for celebrity clients, dignitaries and iconic venues.

Not many companies can follow up its own record-breaking Thanksgiving online sales -- but Kohl’s did.   The chain’s president and CEO Kevin Mansell said that the chain hit double-digit, record-breaking online sales and solid brick-and-mortar traffic to stores on Thursday, Nov. 24 and early Friday, Nov. 25, reported Milwaukee Business Journal.  

It seems that cybercriminals never sleep no matter where you are in the world. The Information Commissioners Office released data showing that cyberattacks and breaches nearly doubled from 2015 to 2016 in the U.K.