Mass Merchant

New York - Despite some of the most promotional activity and extended operating hours the retail industry has ever seen, total spending for the four-day Black Friday weekend came in below projections, down a surprising 11.3% from last year.  According to the National Retail Federation's preliminary figures,  weekend spending dropped to  $50.9 billion from $57.4 billion last year.   

Buying tech products was the No. 1 priority on consumers’ shopping lists this past holiday weekend, according to a new survey from the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA).

Mississauga, Canada -  Walmart Canada is adding 33 Grab and Go lockers in the greater Toronto area.  The lockers allow customers to buy online then pick up their items in stores.   The retailer installed its first set of lockers at 10 locations in the Toronto area in August. The announcement follows a series of initiatives Walmart Canada has launched in the past year to accelerate its e-commerce program.  

Grand Rapids, Mich. — Meijer is offering a 20% coupon on Monday, Dec. 1, which it is calling “Digital Monday,” through its mPerks digital loyalty program. The mPerks Monday promotion includes a 20% coupon through mPerks that can be used on one electronics, apparel or general merchandise item.

Meijer credit card customers who have a 15% reward coupon can use it in addition to the mPerks Monday. The coupon will be available for mPerks subscribers to clip Nov. 30 through Dec. 1 and will only be available for use on Dec. 1.

Meijer is taking a different approach to Cyber Monday this year.

Instead of online sales, the retailer says it will focus on offering discounts through its digital couponing site: mPerks. For Cyber Monday, the retailer is offering a coupon for 20% off a single item through mPerks on in-store purchases today only.

New York has unseated Hong Kong for the dubious distinction as the world’s most expensive shopping destination, according to a fascinating new report examining 330 markets worldwide.

After nearly a decade of stalled growth in the shopping center industry, 2014 finally saw progress being made on the new development front. While it’s true that much of the ground-up construction was of the outlet center ilk, the value sector wasn’t the only new-build push. Mixed-use properties and open-air destinations continue to come out of the ground, albeit stingily, as do hybrid centers that defy current standard definitions.

New York — More than half of consumers are either unsure or not confident at all in the security of their personal information when shopping both in-store (58%) and online (63%), which could impact holiday shopping, according to a new survey by KPMG.  Twenty-seven percent of of respondents indicate they will only shop at a store that previously experienced a cyberattack if they cannot find the product elsewhere, with 8% refusing to shop at these stores all together.