eCommerce

Dallas -- Neiman Marcus Group reported Tuesday that earnings for the first quarter rose to $127.8 million, compared with $122.8 million in the year-ago period.

Sales rose to $1.07 billion for the quarter, from $1.00 billion last year. Same-store sales climbed 5.4%.

New York -- Cyber Monday continues its importance, driving a nearly 22% increase in year-over-year online sales, Chase reported Tuesday as part of its latest Holiday Pulse report. Monday sales beat Sunday, the next highest day, by a margin of 26.7%.

Not even a hurricane named Sandy could erode the economic upsurge experienced by the northeastern United States over the last year. What this region rebuilt after the Great Recession has managed to stay strong even in the face of Sandy’s 80-mph winds, record flooding and the damage inflicted by its nor’easter sister that arrived just days after the fall 2012 hurricane.

Each year, in December, Chain Store Age publishes a retail overview of the northeastern quadrant of the United States and, each year, there’s not a lot of bad news to report, even in recessionary times. This year is no exception; in fact, despite a superstorm that ravaged much of the region, the economic engine continues to chug along.

Uptown, downtown and all over town, New York had an influx of new stores during the past 12 months. While it was hard narrowing down the choices, here’s my annual 10 Best list:

• C. Wonder: The brand’s second Manhattan location is even more whimsical and colorful than the first. With decor that includes polka-dot horses, multicolored striped zebras and 6-ft. logo teddy bears, the 8,000-sq.-ft. store personifies C. Wonder’s fun, upbeat personality. (Shops at Columbus Circle, 18 Columbus Circle)

Armonk, N.Y. -- IBM reported Tuesday that online spending surged 30.3% year-over-year on Cyber Monday, an all-time high.

Mobile shopping rose 70% over the prior year.

As part of IBM’s Smarter Commerce initiative, the IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark revealed the following additional Cyber Monday key findings:

LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. — Peter Longo of Macy’s has been appointed to the GS1 U.S. board of governors, the information standards organization announced today. GS1 U.S. develops supply-chain standards, solutions and services for more than 200,000 businesses in 25 industries.

New York -- Cyber Monday appears to be well on its way to breaking all previous records.

By mid-day on Monday, e-commerce sales were up 25.6% for this same time period over Cyber Monday 2011, according to findings from the IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark. The company analyzes the shopping results of 500 retailers nationwide.

Current mobile shopping data for Cyber Monday includes the following:

Mobile Traffic: The number of consumers using a mobile device to visit a retailer's site is 21%.

Philadelphia -- Versa Capital Management, a Philadelphia-based private equity investment firm, has acquired Eastern Mountain Sports (EMS), effective immediately. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Mark Walsh, a Versa principal and chairman of Bob’s Stores, a northeastern apparel retailer that is part of the Versa portfolio, will serve as chairman of the board of EMS, which operates 69 stores in 12 Eastern states.

Evanston, Ill. -- Many consumers who visit a store but then buy online are not driven there by price alone, but rather by a less-than-satisfactory in-store experience, according to results from the annual holiday shopping report by the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.