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Seasonal

  • Mastercard holiday wrap-up report: Holiday sales up 5.5%, strongest increase in five years

    Purchase, N.Y. -- A report released Tuesday by MasterCard Advisors said that increased spending in most categories produced a strong holiday season for retailers, with e-commerce and apparel faring the best. Retail sales from Nov. 5 through Dec. 24 rose 5.5% to $584.3 billion over the same period last year, according to MasterCard Advisors' SpendingPulse. The figures, which exclude auto sales, are ahead of industrywide projections for a 3.3% to 4% rise for the holiday selling season.

  • Online retail sales reach Christmas season record

    New York City -- A report released Monday by Advisor One said that while it’s still too early to know the final outcome of the Christmas shopping season, it’s already clear that it’s been a record season for online retail.

  • Birth of a new Christmas tradition

    Forget looking under the tree Christmas morning. Grab the smartphone and check the inbox for an e-gift card. Walmart this week promoted an offering of 19 customizable e-gift cards as a gift-giving solution that is sure to have appeal to those who wait until Santa is halfway down the chimney. The entire transaction is handled online, from the ordering of the card, to delivery in the recipient’s inbox through redemption, which is only valid for online purchases. 

  • Online traffic surged in November

    As holiday promotions heated up in November and shoppers hit the Internet, there was a 44% surge in traffic to Walmart.com when compared with October, according to the online measurement firm comScore. The growth propelled Walmart to the 20th spot on comScore’ November ranking of the top 50 U.S. Web properties. The nearly 52 million unique visitors Walmart.com attracted in November 2010 was 5% more than in November 2009, according to comScore’s data.

  • Bed Bath & Beyond Q3 profit climbs 28%, beats Street

    Union, N.J. -- Bed Bath & Beyond said Wednesday that profit for the quarter ended Nov. 27 rose 28% to $188.6 million, compared with $151.3 million in the year-ago period.

    Results topped analyst expectations.

    Revenue rose 11% to $2.2 billion, edging Wall Street expectations of $2.11 billion in revenue. Same-store sales increased 7%.

  • Online sales keep rolling

    An accurate view of whether Walmart is capturing a fair share of this holiday season’s anticipated sales growth is hard to come by given the lack of monthly results from the company, but a somewhat clearer picture emerges online based on traffic and sales estimates from third parties.

  • National Hardware Show to shine brighter light on seasonal

    The Seasonal area of the National Hardware Show is in for a boost, according to the show organizers, who point to a growing emphasis on holiday décor and lawn-and-garden-related merchandise around the industry.

    The Seasonal area will be expanded to include hundreds of the industry's most innovative products during the May 10 to 12 event in Las Vegas, according to organizers. 

  • Planalytics issues post-Christmas weather outlook

    Berwyn, Pa. -- Planalytics has issued its weather outlook for the all-important days after Christmas when many consumers head to the stores to redeem gift cards and exchange presents. Here’s how the firm sees the forecast shaping up for the Northeast and South:

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