Seasonal

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.  

It still comes down to price.    Despite more modern approaches, 89% of consumers said that deep discounts (including coupons) are the key determinant of what stores they will visit for holiday shopping this year, according to a survey of millennial and Generation Z consumers conducted by HRC Retail Advisory.    In addition to finding that sales and coupons are more influential than any other tactic in motivating consumers to enter stores this holiday season, the survey also revealed: 

The power of digital Black Friday shoppers is officially a force to be reckoned with.   Of the 135.9 million U.S.-based consumers that shopped or plan to shop over the entire 2016 Black Friday Week, 57% shopped online. Almost four out of every 10 digital shoppers (37%) used a mobile device (such as a smart phone or tablet). Besides being an increase of seven percentage points, this customer segment is quickly approaching the number of desktop and laptop shoppers.  

Average spending per person over Thanksgiving weekend totaled $289.19, down from $299.60 last year, according to a survey conducted by National Retail Federation.  

Confession:  I’ve long been a self-proclaimed anti-Black Friday shopper. But when Target’s “Early Access Black Friday” email hit my inbox first thing Wednesday morning, Nov. 23, I went over to the dark side.  

Sales on Cyber Monday, Nov. 28, are on track to rise 9.4% to $3.36 billion, according to Adobe Digital Insights.      Industry experts noted that while Cyber Monday is traditionally the biggest online shopping day of the year, it may be losing some of its luster in the wake of the most sucessful online Black Friday to date.  This year, online sales totaled $3.3 billion the day after Thanksgiving.  

When it comes to holiday inventory, most retailers use their intuition and industry knowledge to make their sales projections, plan their promotional calendar, and schedule product reorders. This was fine when the season’s promotions were merely percentages off and customers purchased products in stores. But as the retail world becomes more complex, so too must retailers’ holiday plans. With an estimated 40% of retailers’ yearly profits on the line, intuition this holiday season just isn’t enough.