eCommerce

Amazon and Netflix are the top scorers in terms on online customer satisfaction, according to the sixth annual ForeSee Results E-Retail Satisfaction Index (U.S. Holiday Edition). Both had a score of 86 on the study’s 100-point scale, with 80 generally considered the threshold for excellence. Here are the study’s top performers:

U.S. consumers spent an estimated $36.4 billion in online purchases during the period Oct. 31 to Dec. 24, according to MasterCard Advisors' SpendingPulse, registering a 15.4% year-over-year increase over the 2009 holiday season.

SpendingPulse reports on national retail and services sales and is based on aggregate sales activity in the MasterCard payments network, coupled with survey-based estimates for all other payment forms, including cash and check.

New York City -- Borders Group is delaying payments to some of its vendors, a company spokeswoman said on Thursday. The news came just weeks after the company said it was trying to obtain new financing to avoid violating the terms of its credit agreements early next year.

"As part of this potential refinancing, Borders has determined that it is necessary to restructure its vendor financing arrangements and is delaying payments to certain of its vendors," Borders spokeswoman Mary Davis said by phone, in a Reuters report.

New York City -- J. Crew is seeking $1.85 billion of debt to help fund its $3 billion buyout by TPG Capital and Leonard Green & Partners LP.

Bank of America Corp. and Goldman Sachs Group are arranging a $1 billion seven-year term loan, $600 million in senior unsecured notes and a $250 million five-year asset-based revolving line of credit, according to a commitment letter attached to a regulatory filing, Bloomberg reported.

Goodlettsville, Tenn. -- Building on its plans to open 625 new stores in fiscal 2011, Dollar General Corp. announced that it will create 6,000 new jobs. The new stores and jobs will be spread among Dollar General’s existing 35-state operating area, as well as three new states: Connecticut, Nevada and New Hampshire.

In addition to 625 new stores, the company plans to remodel or relocate 550 stores.

By Craig R. Johnson

Reston, Va. -- A record $30.81 billion was spent online for the first 56 days of the November/December 2010 holiday season, marking a 13% increase versus the corresponding days last year, according to comScore. The most recent week (ending Dec. 26) witnessed $2.45 billion in spending, an increase of 17% versus the corresponding week last year.

New York City -- BJ’s Wholesale Club is in the sights of private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners, which may pursue a hostile bid for the chain, according to The New York Post.

The Los Angeles-based buyout firm may make a bid if no auction occurs in coming weeks, the report said, citing an unidentified person close to the situation. BJ’s planned an auction to sell itself after an earlier bid from Leonard Green, according to the newspaper.

Holiday shoppers continued to unleash three years of pent-up demand as the season winds up, on their way to setting a new record of over $521B, blasting through 2007’s pre-recession record of $508 billion, according to Customer Growth Partners. Based on CGP’s proprietary mall surveys and government retail data -- and despite Sunday’s Northeast blizzard -- the sales growth confirmed CGP’s +5% holiday sales forecast. [CGP’s data include e-commerce, unlike NRF, which excludes the same.]

Due to the blizzard in New York City and resulting travel delays, the deadline for entries in Chain Store Age’s 29th annual Retail Store of the Year design competition has been extended until Tuesday, January 4, 2011.

For more information/entry form, go to chainstoreage.com/retail-store-year-0 or e-mail [email protected].