Target, Inc.

I’ll hold off on talking about the holiday shopping season in detail until all the numbers are in, but it’s clear that we’ve already learned quite a lot from 2013. In fact, the more I think about this past year the more I think that the holiday numbers aren’t even the most important takeaway. What’s far more interesting to me is what 2013 has to tell us about where we go next. With that in mind, here’s my early take on what 2014 might have in store (and in stores!) for us:

Slow, steady and sustainable growth

Minneapolis – Media reports indicate that Target may have been victimized by hackers based overseas and also has agreed to a credit monitoring deal for New York shoppers and is suffering declining traffic. According to Reuters, sources involved in the current investigation of the Target security breach said investigators are focusing on unidentified hackers from an unidentified foreign location.

Charleston, S.C. -- Only two-thirds of Americans are all or almost finished with their holiday shopping as of Dec. 23. Of the 24 retailers surveyed by America’s Research Group and Inmar, only three retained 70% or more of their customer base, with Wal-Mart topping the list at 88.1%, followed closely by Dollar Tree at 80.4%, and Target at 72.1%.

Minneapolis – Target confirmed that it suffered a major data breach that may have affected as many as 40 million credit and debit card transactions at Target stores between Nov. 27 and Dec. 15. Target said the information included customer name, credit or debit card number, and the card’s expiration date and CVV (the three-digit security code).

Target early Thursday confirmed widespread media reports that it suffered a major data breach that affected as many as 40 million credit and debit card transactions during a period that began the day before Thanksgiving through December 15.

Target’s online traffic continues to grow at double-digit rates, with mobile sales growing more than 100% for the holiday period.

Minneapolis – Target says that online traffic continues to grow at double-digit rates, with mobile sales growing more than 100% for the holiday period. Target.com experienced two of the strongest days of sales in its history on Thanksgiving Day and Cyber Monday.

In addition, Target was recently ranked as the most-browsed retailer on mobile over the past six months, according to a new report from Mobiquity.

Ridgefield, Connecticut -- Schimenti Construction Company completed ground up construction of two Target department stores, in Huntington and Staten Island, N.Y. — overcoming unique challenges exacerbated by Super Storm Sandy along the way.

While the hurricane did not cause major damage at either project, it did destroy fencing, displace materials and flood excavations. Both projects experienced fuel shortages, suffered delays in material supply, and required subcontractors to set up carpools to reach the worksites.