Sales & Marketing

San Francisco -- The 15 cities with the most shopping activity on Black Friday 2011 were Manhattan, N.Y.; San Francisco; Los Angeles; Brooklyn, N.Y.; San Jose, Calif.; Seattle; Chicago; San Diego; Houston; Atlanta; Dallas; Saint Louis;  Portland, Ore.; Austin, Texas; and Minneapolis, according to mint.com, an online personal finance site.

Pearl River, N.Y. -- POS software provider pcAmerica said Tuesday that popcorn franchise Doc Popcorn selected its Restaurant Pro Express POS package to replace its outdated electronic cash registers, adding ongoing flexibility to customize software, as well as pcAmerica recommended and certified designed-to-fit peripherals.

The chain plans to expand the rollout throughout the franchise organization.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Frederik Meijer, the founder of the supercenter retail chain of the same name, died Nov. 25. He was 91.

Canton, Mass. -- Dunkin' Brands Group said Tuesday it has signed agreements to develop 25 new Dunkin' Donuts and two Baskin-Robbins in Louisiana over the next several years.

Cities targeted for development include Baton Rouge, Shreveport and New Orleans.

"The state of Louisiana has been a priority growth market for Dunkin' Brands in 2011 and we're excited to expand our footprint in Baton Rouge, Shreveport and New Orleans," said Grant Benson, VP franchising and market planning, Dunkin' Brands.

PITTSBURGH — Electric vehicle charging stations recently opened at three Pittsburgh-area Giant Eagle stores, the retailer said.

The EV charging stations, made possible by a collaborative effort through a Pennsylvania Department of Energy grant, now are in operation at the chain's Robinson Township, Township of Pine and Monroeville supermarkets.

Redwood City, Calif. -- Actian Corp. said Tuesday that c-store chain Sheetz has selected its Vectorwise data analytics engine to optimize costs, maintain high quality and ensure a positive customer experience.

“Data growth is occurring at record rates,” said Jarrid Magalich, technical services manager at Sheetz. “It’s important for Sheetz to have a plan to manage this growth, maintain and improve current service levels – even with a growing user base – and reduce infrastructure costs wherever possible.”

New York City -- Online sales on Cyber Monday were up 33% over 2010, with shopping peaks occurring at 2:05 p.m. EST, according to IBM’s fourth annual Cyber Monday Benchmark study. The average ticket increased 2.6% to $198.26, compared with $193.24 last year.

Among other key Cyber Monday Benchmark findings:

Coppell, Texas -- CiCi's Pizza said Tuesday it has partnered with strategic site modeling company Birchwood Resultants to add another 500 restaurants in the next eight to 10 years.