Mass Merchant

All those flat screens televisions sticking out of shopping carts in the aisles of Target stores early Friday morning were no optical illusion.

MINNEAPOLIS — Target will donate $5 million to local schools nationwide as part of the company's commitment to give $1 billion for education by the end of 2015.

New York City -- E-commerce spending jumped 26% on Black Friday, according to comscore.

Black Friday web sales totaled $816 million, up from $648 million last year, comScore reported.

“With brick-and-mortar retail also reporting strong gains on Black Friday, it's clear that the heavy promotional activity had a positive impact on both channels," said Gian Fulgoni, chairman, comScore.

Beaumont, Texas -- Conn’s announced that it completed a $20 million expansion, to $450 million, of its revolving credit facility, which expires in July 2015. The company received a commitment from one new lender and received an increased commitment from one of the existing participants in the bank group.

Casey Carl is Target’s new president of multichannel with responsibility for the retailer’s website. In his new role, Carl will oversee Target’s digital platforms including mobile, social and Target.com and also will retain his prior responsibilities as SVP merchandising for entertainment, toys, sporting goods and electronics.

Target was among those retailers whose decision to open at midnight on Black Friday paid off handsomely this past weekend as record numbers of shoppers visited stores and set new sales records.

The combination of earlier than ever opening hours, favorable weather and deal conscious consumers receptive to heightened promotional activity produced record sales over Thanksgiving weekend.

The National Retail Federation said an estimated 226 million shoppers visited stores and websites over Thanksgiving weekend, compared with 212 million last year, and spent an average of $398 per person, compared with $365 last year. Those findings are based on an NRF survey of 3,826 shoppers conducted over the weekend by BIGresearch.

New York City -- Retail sales broke records during the Thanksgiving weekend, climbing 16%, according to a survey by BIGresearch for the National Retail Federation.  Shoppers spent $52.4 billion, up from $45 billion last year.

A record 225 million shoppers visited stores and malls over the Black Friday weekend, up from 212 million last year. Shoppers on average spent $398.62, up from $365.34 last year, the NRF said.