Mass Merchant

Beachwood, Ohio -- DDR Corp announced the launch of ValuText, a location-based, mobile marketing service specifically designed to drive sales and productivity at the company's prime assets. ValuText couples physical retail assets with state-of-the-art, location-based mobile marketing. The program allows shoppers to connect with desired retailers as they enter the shopping center to avail themselves of real-time sales and promotions.

RESTON, Va. — Online retail spending has seen a big jump this holiday season to date, according to a new report from ComScore.

According to the research firm, retail e-commerce spending for the first 32 days of the November-December 2011 holiday season saw a 15% spike to $18.7 billion, compared with the corresponding days last year. The overall spending was driven by billion-dollar spending days, including Cyber Monday, Nov. 28 ($1.25 billion), followed by Nov. 29 ($1.12 billion) and Nov. 30 ($1.03 billion).

As retailers assess what worked and what didn’t in terms of Black Friday promotions and Thanksgiving weekend sales, overall there are a few things that stand out.

NEW YORK — Target's flat apparel and accessories for the month of November reflected a mixed sales environment across the department-store and specialty-apparel sectors as the economy continues to affect discretionary spending.

CHARLESTON, S.C. — Shoppers who were out in full force on Black Friday may not walk retail aisles again until just before Christmas — when retailers are expected to heavily discount merchandise — according to the latest America's Research Group/UBS "Christmas Forecast."

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Caremark has confirmed that Jim Trappani, VP merchandising for health care and multicultural, has decided to leave the company.

Grant Pill has assumed the role of VP merchandising for over-the-counter healthcare and store brands.

In addition, Mike McEnany has been promoted to VP merchandising, consumables and multicultural. His most recent role was divisional merchandising manager for consumables.

A new experiment underway at Target could eventually see the retailer making greater use of environmentally-sustainable fibers in such products as sheets, shower curtains, window treatments, table linens, decorative pillows and towels.

The company entered into an exclusive two-year development and supply agreement with Naturally Advanced Technologies Inc. to evaluate the use of something called “CRAIiLAR Flax” fibers in products. 

Delinquency rates in Target’s credit card portfolio are still really good, but after several years of steady improvement, a slight deterioration has become evident the past few months.

In November, 3.3% of accounts were three or more payments past due, the same rate as the prior month but slightly higher than the low of 3% seen during September, August and July. Likewise, accounts with four or more payments past due stood at 2.2% in November, the same as in October, but higher than the 2.1% seen the prior four months.

Target may have been up against a difficult prior-year comparison when it reported a 1.8% November same-store sales increase, but that hardly seems like a good excuse for an anemic number to begin the fourth quarter.

Pam Kohn and Cameron Geiger are the headliners at this year’s annual luncheon for the Northwest Arkansas chapter of the Retail Link Users Group also known as the nwaRLUG.

Organizers of the event expect upward of 800 people will attend the 13th annual affair, which couldn’t take place at a more opportune time considering the heightened emphasis Walmart has placed on store level execution and on-shelf availability as the only metric that matters when it comes to assessing in-stock.