Seasonal

Solon, Ohio -- Black Friday and Cyber Monday does not always mean lower prices, according to a study by ECRM Analytics that examines Black Friday and Cyber Monday promotions. The analysis exposes many common misconceptions around these two important shopping days.

ECRM found that when comparing Black Friday deals to other times throughout the year, it is apparent that holiday prices are not always the lowest, with leading retailers promoting higher prices than previously advertised on toys and consumer electronics.

Chicago -- Social media is now essential to marketing in the retail industry, according to a recent BDO USA survey, which found that 86% of retail CMOs have included social media in their holiday marketing strategy. The executives said social media accounts for 10% of their holiday advertising and marketing budgets this year.

By Tom Rittman, Theretailequation.com

The holiday season is often considered the most wonderful time of year, but as retail sales soar, so do returns. And don’t be fooled by a seemingly valid receipt. Savvy fraudsters know how to prey on holiday cheer costing retailers thousands of dollars in fraudulent returns and exchanges.
 

Through the first 30 days of the holiday season online sales have surpassed $20 billion with several days last week above the $1 billion mark.

Thorofare, N.J. -- Retailers in the United States are expected to lose $8.9 billion over the holiday season as a result of shoplifting, dishonest employees and vendor or distribution losses, according to a new study released by the Centre for Retail Research. In total, the losses could represent a 4% increase over the same period last year.

New York -- Early reports indicate that Target Corp.’s holiday promotion with Neiman Marcus is not off to the spectacular start that many industry experts had expected. The promotion includes some 50 gift items featuring works of 24 well-known designers from Marc Jacobs to Diane von Furstenberg to Judith Leiber.

Same store sales in November at Target plunged unexpectedly while apparel discounters and Costco kept humming and Kroger extended its string of consecutive comp increases to nine years.

The nations second largest grocer this week reported a third quarter profit, excluding some non-recurring items, of 46 cents that was three cents better than analysts forecast and its identical store sales increased by 3.2%. Total sales including fuel for the period increased 5.9% to $21.8 billion.

Nashville, Tenn. -- Genesco Inc. said Friday its third-quarter profit increased to $41 million, from $26.2 million in the year-ago period, better than Wall Street expected. The company also raised its fiscal 2013 outlook, even as it warned that November was off to a slow start.