Seasonal

New York City -- Retailers nearly across the board reported a strong start to the holiday season as their November sales were enhanced by aggressive discounting that started early in the month. Same-store sales rose 6% in November,  above the estimated growth of 3.6% and the year-ago gain of 0.6%, according to 27 retailers tracked by Thomson Reuters. 

New York City -- Department store retailers enjoyed a strong November, with nearly all the leading chains topping analysts  projections.

Macy’s reported Thursday that its same-store sales rose 6.1% in November, boosted by a strong Black Friday weekend. The company raised its earnings guidance.

Arlington, Va. -- After same-store sales reports on Thursday showed strengthened performance among most major retail chains, the Retail Industry Leaders Association said that November results may suggest that consumer activity is on the rise, and could indicate the strongest holiday shopping season retailers have experienced in recent years.

By Cynthia Cohen, twitter.com/StrategyDiva

Ann Arbor, Mich. -- Annual analysis released today from ForeSee Results suggests that retailers have reason to be cautiously optimistic about the upcoming holiday season. Customer satisfaction with online retailers on Cyber Monday was the same this year as last, 73.1 on the American Customer Satisfaction Index's 100-point scale. However, satisfaction throughout the 2010 Thanksgiving holiday week and weekend was higher this year than in 2009, which bodes well for retailers hoping to see increasing holiday revenues.