Seasonal

Specialty retailer Express said its same store sales for the third quarter ended October 27, declined 5% and profits declined to $17.4 million, or 20 cents a share, compared to $32.7 million, or 37 cents a share.

Total sales for the period declined 4% to $468.5 million and gross margins contracted to 32.3% of sales from 36.2% of sales the prior year. Expenses increased to 25.1% of sales form 23.6% of sales.

BOSTON — Gillette and its brand ambassador and Green Bay Packers Pro Bowl linebacker Clay Matthews have kicked off an online debate forum on Gillette’s Facebook page.

With the NFL playoffs just around the corner, NFL fans are invited to show their passion and knowledge of the game for a chance to win weekly prizes and a grand prize trip to Super Bowl XLVII.

NEW YORK — Barnes & Noble will offer teachers a special holiday shopping event Saturday, Dec. 1.

Educators who shop at their local Barnes & Noble store or at www.bn.com and present a valid Barnes & Noble Educators Discount Card will receive special discounts on select merchandise.

Stevens, Pa. -- Luxury consumers picked up their pace of shopping in the third quarter, with luxury spending up 25.8% over last quarter, according to Unity Marketing's Luxury Tracking Survey. "The first half of 2012 showed affluent consumers restrained in spending on luxury goods and services, but spending rebounded strongly in the third quarter survey with signs pointing to rising demand during the critical fourth quarter," said Pam Danziger, president of Unity Marketing.

New York -- The sales figures are in for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but the numbers don’t tell the whole story. Using a sophisticated social media analytics platform, SAP tracked consumer sentiment on these critical shopping days via Facebook, Twitter and 165 million other sites across the social web to identify patterns and uncover revealing shopper insights.

View SAP’s sentiment-tracking infographic here.

Where did the idea for the Black Friday and Cyber Monday Consumer Face-Off originate?

Reston, Va. -- Spending on Cyber Monday reached $1.46 billion, up 17% versus a year ago, making it the heaviest online spending day in history, according to comScore.

Retail e-commerce spending for the first 26 days of the November-December 2012 holiday season rose to $16.4 billion, up 16% versus the corresponding days last year.

Pittsburgh -- American Eagle Outfitters Inc. on Wednesday reported a higher-than-expected third-quarter profit, helped by strong same-store sales. The chain also raised its full-year earnings prompting it to raise its full-year forecast for the second time this year.

Net income for the quarter ended Oct. 27 rose to $78.6 million, from $52.4 million a year ago.

Sales rose 11% to $910 million. Same-store sales jumped 10%.

Issaquah, Wash. -- Costco Wholesale Corp. on Wednesday said it will pay a special dividend worth some $3.0 billion to investors, sending cash to its shareholders ahead of a likely increase in the dividend tax. The chain also posted monthly same-store sales that beat analysts' expectations.

“Our strong balance sheet and favorable access to the credit markets allow us to provide shareholders with this dividend,” Costco CFO Richard Galanti said in a statement.

Abysmal sales at J.C. Penney haven’t deterred the company from pursuing a series of unique cause marketing activities around a potential new holiday tradition focused on giving back.