Retail

Washington, D.C. -- A survey released Thursday by the National Retail Federation and conducted by BIGresearch found that up to 138 million people plan to shop Black Friday weekend (Friday, Saturday and Sunday), surpassing the 134 million who planned to do so last year.

According to the NRF 2010 Holiday Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, which polled 8,778 consumers, approximately 60 million people say they will definitely hit the stores while another 78 million are waiting to see if the bargains are worth braving the cold and the crowds.

Charlotte, N.C. -- The Cato Corp. reported Thursday that profit for the quarter ended Oct. 30 surged 123% to $6.7 million, compared with net income of $3 million for the third quarter ended October 31, 2009.

Sales increased 4% to $198 million, compared with $191 million for the year-ago period.

Same-store sales for the quarter increased 2%.

The retailer operated 1,281 stores in 31 states, compared with 1,291 stores in 31 states as of October 31, 2009.

Framingham, Mass. -- Staples reported Thursday that profit for the third quarter rose 7% as the office supply retailer clamped down on expenses. Net income increased to $288.7 million, from $269.4 million.

Revenue edged up to $6.54 billion from $6.52 billion. Analysts expected $6.53 billion.

Canton, Mass. -- Casual Male Retail Group said Thursday it swung to a profit of $0.3 million in the third quarter, compared with a loss of $1.4 million a year earlier.

Total sales edged up 1.4% to $89.9 million, and same-store sales increased 3%.

ROGERS, Ark. -- Former Walmart executive Jack Shewmaker passed away Wednesday evening. He was 72.

Shewmaker began his career at Walmart in 1970 and rose steadily through the ranks of the company, serving in numerous capacities, including district manager; VP security (now known as loss prevention); VP store operations; EVP store operations, personnel and merchandise; CFO; and president and COO. Shewmaker retired from the company in1988, but continued as a member of Walmart’s board of directors.

By Charles Nicholls, [email protected]

So what can you do during the crazy holiday season to reduce shopping cart abandonment? We thought we’d put together a holiday season checklist to help you keep your customers in the shopping cart this Christmas.

Before thinking about solutions to your shopping cart abandonment problem, it’s useful to look at the reasons why customers abandon. Based on this Forrester study, you can group the top five reasons into: