Seasonal

San Francisco -- The 15 cities with the most shopping activity on Black Friday 2011 were Manhattan, N.Y.; San Francisco; Los Angeles; Brooklyn, N.Y.; San Jose, Calif.; Seattle; Chicago; San Diego; Houston; Atlanta; Dallas; Saint Louis;  Portland, Ore.; Austin, Texas; and Minneapolis, according to mint.com, an online personal finance site.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Sears announced that it is offering free delivery of fresh cut Christmas trees to customers when they order them via Sears.com. Through Dec. 15, customers can go to Sears.com to order their own Fraser fir from the North Carolina Blue Ridge Mountains and have it delivered for free directly to their home, apartment or office. 

Hampstead, Md. -- JoS. A. Bank Clothiers said that net income for the third quarter of fiscal year 2011, ended Oct. 29, 2011, increased 19.3% to $15.0 million verses $12.6 million in the year-ago period. However, the chain warned that its forth quarter has started out more slowly than expected, and that it has adjusted its December merchandising and marketing plans for the stores.

Total sales increased 21.0% to $209.6 million, from $173.3 million. Same-store sales rose 14.6% and direct marketing sales increased 28.6%.

Chicago -- Despite all of the hype surrounding mobile commerce, just 36% of chief marketing officers at retail companies have included mobile in their holiday marketing strategies this year, according to a recent BDO USA survey. And of the CMOs incorporating mobile, 84% say it accounts for less than 10% of their holiday marketing efforts. The findings are from the most recent edition of the BDO Retail Compass Survey of CMOs, which examined the opinions of 100 chief marketing officers at leading retailers located throughout the country.

The strong customer traffic and sales trends retailers’ experienced Thanksgiving weekend extended into Cyber Monday when shoppers maintained their record pace of spending and propelled online sales to new heights.

New York City -- comScore reported that Cyber Monday sales totaled $1.25 billion, up 22% from last year, making it the heaviest online spending day in history. Overall, 10 million people bought online on Cyber Monday, representing the first time on record that threshold has been reached in a single day. The average online buyer conducted 1.9 online transactions on Cyber Monday for a total of nearly $125 in spending.

Chestnut Hill, Mass. -- WS Development announced that chocolatier Lindt has increased its outlet presence by adding a seventh temporary store this holiday season at a WS shopping center. The Swiss chocolate manufacturer and retailer began its relationship with WS in the spring with temporary stores at six WS Development locations in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Connecticut. Lindt opened its seventh Lindt Factory Outlet within the WS Development portfolio last month at The Crossing at Smithfield. All seven stores will remain in place through the holidays.

Los Angeles -- After a strong Black Friday and Cyber Monday, overall holiday spending is expected to increase 3.3% to $64.3 billion, according to the  industry research firm IBISWorld.