eCommerce

New York City -- The IBM Benchmark Report, released Tuesday, showed continued strength for online retailers.

According to the report, which provided a snapshot of online retail data for December 25 and December 26 as of 12 pm PST, Christmas Day online sales grew by 16.4% year-over-year. And 18.3% of all online sessions on a retailer’s site were initiated from a mobile device, up from 8.4% on Christmas Day 2010 — an increase of 117.8%.

Other report highlights included:

Lompoc, Calif. -- Brixmor Property Group announced a 24,050-sq.-ft. lease has been executed with Marshalls at Lompoc Shopping Center, located in Lompoc, Calif. 

Marshalls will join other national retailers including Vons, Michael’s, Pier 1, Petco and Staples. 

Brixmor, based in New York City, is the owner of Lompoc Shopping Center.

Philadelphia -- Forever 21 recently relocated and expanded to a two-story location in the newly developed wing at Willow Grove Park, located in eastern Montgomery County just north of Philadelphia. The mall is owned and operated by Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust.

MINNEAPOLIS — While many retailers are scrambling to attract last minute Christmas shoppers, some, including Target, are already looking ahead to Dec. 26.

Target announced that beginning next Monday, customers can save up to 50% off on such items as women’s and kids’ apparel, as well as home and holiday decor, in stores and online at Target.com. Doors will open at Target stores nationwide at 7 a.m. on Monday.

C’mon people. Christmas comes the same time every year and every year there are those scrambling to make last-minute purchases. Walmart is looking to appeal to this shopper segment with some interesting solutions that leverage its multichannel capabilities and give new meaning to the phrase “last minute shopping.”

The company’s Pick Up Today service was being aggressively promoted with email marketing and social media efforts to remind gift-givers products ordered online by noon on Christmas Eve would be available for pick up in store by 6 p.m.

San Luis Obispo, Calif. -- An e-commerce solution for branded manufacturers on Friday released a new forecast on how retail shopping will be influenced by the Internet, in addition to mobile and social networking.

There were no new surprises during November regarding prices at Walmart, but then that is to be expected. The everyday low price strategy to which Walmart has a newfound adherence is boring and that’s the way the company and presumably its customers like it.

I’m feeling pretty good about our industry after attending the ICSC New York Deal Making Conference earlier this month. In a marked change from recent years, the mood at the annual convention was noticeably upbeat. And, surprisingly — in a good way — there was an obvious buzz in the air about expansion plans. There are some intriguing new retail concepts in the pipeline and the recent influx of international brands making their brick-and-mortar entry into the U.S. market gives us what I think are genuine reasons for optimism in the New Year.