Discount Store

Competition was fierce during Cyber Week, however, the clear winners were those retailers that stayed in-stock and offered assortments at the best price points.    That’s according to the third annual “Holiday Season Report” from Ugam. The managed analytics firm collected and analyzed detailed assortment and pricing information among Amazon, Best Buy, Jet.com, Target, Toys "R" Us and Walmart during Thanksgiving week, from Nov. 24-28, 2016.   

VEREIT has purchased a 10.5-acre Sam’s Club property in Timonium, Maryland—just north of Baltimore — for $18.3 million in cash.   “The seller was able to secure an early lease extension prior to the sale, which created a well-positioned, long-term passive investment for the new ownership,” said Jon Busse, Senior VP at Colliers International, which handled the deal on behalf of the seller, Diamond Timonium LLC.  

Reductions in food-stamp benefits and falling grocery prices took a toll on Dollar General Corp.’s third-quarter performance which came in below expectations and included an unexpected drop in same-store sales.   The company reported a profit of $235 million, or $0.84 per diluted share, in the quarter, compared to net income of $253 million, or $0.86 per diluted share, in the year ago period. Its profit included a charge of about 5 cents per share for store relocation costs and disaster-related expenses.  

A new billion dollar merger is reported about to rock the supermarket industry.   Albertsons Companies Inc. is in advanced talks to acquire Price Chopper, a privately held, New York-based regional grocery store operator, for around $1 billion, Reuters reported. Price Chopper operates some 130 stores in the Northeast, including New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts.   

Cyber Monday has made history — again.   With shoppers spending $3.45 billion online on Cyber Monday, Nov. 28, a 12.1% jump year-over-year, sales not only surpassed predictions, but made this the largest Cyber Monday shopping event to date, according to Adobe Digital Insights, which aggregated data from 23 billion visits to retail websites.  

In a new post on Target's A Bullseye View blog, Target CIO Mike McNamara explains the reasoning behind the retailer's decision to offer an extensive Cyber Monday promotion: 15% off site-wide and store-wide from Nov. 27 to Nov. 28.   McNamara says the retailer's move to combine stores and online for a more seamless holiday shopping experience marks a new chapter in Cyber Monday history.  

Average spending per person over Thanksgiving weekend totaled $289.19, down from $299.60 last year, according to a survey conducted by National Retail Federation.  

  The Fung Global Retail & Technology team visited 35 stores throughout the Greater New York City area and Las Vegas on Black Friday for a first-hand view on traffic and sales.  Here are their top five takeaways from their store visits:  Cyber Monday Starts Early for Walmart:  Walmart kicked off its Cyber Monday deals at 12:01am EST on Friday for the first time ever, as it aims to grab customers ahead of its competitors. Last year, the company posted its Cyber Monday deals on the Sunday evening following Thanksgiving.