Seasonal

Chicago -- A report released Saturday by ShopperTrak found that Black Friday proved to be a mixed bag for retailers, as retail foot traffic increased over last year, but retail sales decreased slightly.

ShopperTrak estimates that, when compared with Black Friday last year, retail foot traffic rose 3.5% to more than 307.67 million store visits. Retail sales decreased 1.8%, however, with shoppers spending an estimated total of $11.2 billion on Friday.

Online and mobile fraud prevention needs to be part of every retailer’s brand’s holiday retail strategy. According to Cybersource’s 2011 survey of e-commerce fraud, $3.4 billion in online revenue was lost in 2011 as a result of fraud, and this number is only expected to increase. Although the holidays are just around the corner, there is still time to take action and reduce your exposure to fraudulent mobile channel activities.

GOODLETTSVILLE, Tenn. — Capitalizing on its Thanksgiving and Black Friday sales, Dollar General has tackled Cyber Monday with the launch of a new mobile app for iPhone and Android smartphones.

The mobile app will offer shoppers sales ads, store locations, coupons and, of course, exclusive Cyber Monday deals available online. Shoppers will also be able to use Dollar General’s free Quick Response scanner to access upcoming sales and unlock additional savings, as well as connect with the retailer on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.

Evanston, Ill. -- Many consumers who visit a store but then buy online are not driven there by price alone, but rather by a less-than-satisfactory in-store experience, according to results from the annual holiday shopping report by the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Reston, Va. -- Online retail spending for the November – December period will reach $43.4 billion, a 17% gain versus year ago, according to comScore. The increase represents an improvement compared with last season’s 15% rise, and is also far ahead of the retail industry’s expectation for a 4.1% increase in consumers’ overall spending this holiday season.

Bentonville, Ark. -- Walmart U.S. reported Saturday that its Black Friday events were its “best ever,” and followed on the heels of what U.S. president and CEO Bill Simon described as an “impressive Thursday,” on which 22 million customers shopped U.S. Walmart stores.
 

Bentonville, Ark. -- As holiday shoppers prepared to battle crowds on Thanksgiving weekend, Wal-Mart workers and supports geared up to protest at stores nationwide, openly criticizing the retailers’ wages, benefits and treatment of employees.

Nine people were arrested in Paramount, Calif., including three Walmart employees, for blocking a busy street. About 1,000 people protested there.

ARLINGTON, Va. — Retail Industry Leaders Association president Sandy Kennedy has responded to the White House report predicting the massive tax increases consumers could face if policymakers fail to avert the fiscal cliff.

The report was authored by the National Economic Council and the National Council of Economic Advisors.