Sales & Marketing

San Jose, Calif. –  Brick-and-mortar sales and traffic patterns during the five-day Thanksgiving weekend may have benefited customers who hate crowds, but were not good news for retailers. According to data from in-store analytics provider RetailNext, sales during the period fell 10.7% compared to the same five days in 2013, while traffic dropped 12.4%.

Looking to capitalize on the immense popularity of the PBS show Downton Abbey, Cost Plus World Market is having an online tea party and expanding its range of Downton Abbey products just in time for the holiday shopping season.

Reston, Va. - Cyber Monday reached $2.04 billion in desktop online spending, up 17% from a year ago and representing the heaviest online spending day in history and the only day ever to surpass $2 billion in sales. According to data from comScore, the weekend after Thanksgiving also reached a major milestone as it saw its first ever billion-dollar online shopping day on Saturday, while Sunday’s sales just fell short of the $1 billion mark.

CHELMSFORD, Mass. - Chicago-area Stratford Square Mall is relying on Axis Communications’ network cameras to protect public safety and minimize shoplifting during the holiday shopping season. Along with an increase in sales, the holiday season can also bring an increase in merchandise shrink, adding more incentive for mall managers to have eyes throughout the facility.

San Luis Obispo, Calif. - Omnichannel retailers that provide cross-channel offers to their customers are the big winners emerging from this year’s “Cyber Week.” Data from Shopatron shows that forcing customers into buying frenzies on specific days is losing favor, and that retailers who focus on meeting cross-channel consumer demand with ever increasing levels of service are realizing the benefits.

Boston - A new study shows just how diluted Black Friday has become to holiday shoppers: Twenty-eight percent of shoppers shopped in stores Nov. 22/Nov. 23 and 34% of shoppers chose to shop in stores the weekend after Black Friday (Nov. 29/Nov. 30), while 25% shopped on Black Friday, according to Kantar Retail.

In other results, 65%  of shoppers surveyed chose not to shop because of crowds while 42% stayed out of stores to avoid traffic.

The cool kid might still be cool, after all.

Abercrombie & Fitch reported net income of $18.2 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2014, compared to a net loss of $15.6 million in the same period the prior year and beating Wall Street forecasts.

However, not all of Abercrombie’s results were quite so positive.

By Bruce Schanzer and Jennifer Bitterman