Seasonal

New York City -- AnnTaylor Stores Corp.'s fiscal third-quarter profit rose, aided by better-than-expected sales growth. Net income surged to $24.2 million in the third quarter ended Oct. 30, compared with $2.1 million a year earlier.

Total sales rose 9.3% to $505.3 million, above analysts' expectations of $492.8 million.

Same-store sales increased 11.7% overall, with a 21.9% rise at the Ann Taylor brand and a 4.5% less expensive Loft chain.

Miami -- Haagen Dazs and Gelosia are slated to open at The Palms at Town & Country, in Miami, in mid-November. Haagen Dazs will open a 960-sq.-ft. ice cream store, and Gelosia will open a 1,040-sq.-ft. location.

The Palms at Town & Country, owned by TIAA-CREF, being redeveloped by Flagler Development Group and managed by Jones Lang LaSalle Retail, is home to retailers such as Nordstrom Rack, Loehmann's, New York & Co., Marshall's, Men's Wearhouse, Publix and Shaq's 24 Hour Fitness.

Washington, D.C. -- A survey released Thursday by the National Retail Federation and conducted by BIGresearch found that up to 138 million people plan to shop Black Friday weekend (Friday, Saturday and Sunday), surpassing the 134 million who planned to do so last year.

According to the NRF 2010 Holiday Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, which polled 8,778 consumers, approximately 60 million people say they will definitely hit the stores while another 78 million are waiting to see if the bargains are worth braving the cold and the crowds.

By Charles Nicholls, [email protected]

So what can you do during the crazy holiday season to reduce shopping cart abandonment? We thought we’d put together a holiday season checklist to help you keep your customers in the shopping cart this Christmas.

Before thinking about solutions to your shopping cart abandonment problem, it’s useful to look at the reasons why customers abandon. Based on this Forrester study, you can group the top five reasons into: