Consumer Analytics

Ann Arbor, Mich. -- Annual analysis released today from ForeSee Results suggests that retailers have reason to be cautiously optimistic about the upcoming holiday season. Customer satisfaction with online retailers on Cyber Monday was the same this year as last, 73.1 on the American Customer Satisfaction Index's 100-point scale. However, satisfaction throughout the 2010 Thanksgiving holiday week and weekend was higher this year than in 2009, which bodes well for retailers hoping to see increasing holiday revenues.

Reston, Va. -- Online spending on Cyber Monday reached $1.028 billion, up 16% versus a year ago, representing the heaviest online spending day in history and the first to surpass the billion-dollar threshold, according to comScore.

By Andrew Macey

Philadelphia - Monetate, which tests, targets, and personalizes websites, has renewed its contract with Canton, Mass.-based Casual Male Retail Group.
"Monetate continues to drive incremental revenue for us because of the exceptional testing and targeting features that it provides,” said Ric Della Bernarda, chief marketing officer and senior VP, Casual Male Retail Group. “With Monetate on our websites, we have the ability to deliver relevant and personalized content to all of our visitors, throughout their online shopping experience."

By Michael Haydock

The retail industry might just be the last bastion of the gut instinct.

In my 20 years working with apparel merchants, department stores and big box companies, I've seen bosses make bet-the-company decisions on little more than a "feeling." Retailing is that kind of a business - it's filled with wonderful visionaries who have an uncanny sixth sense for the nascent trend - or, the moment when a powerful trend is about to falter.

New York - Optimism about the U.S. economy grew in November, pushing the latest reading on consumer sentiment to the highest level since June. The Consumer Confidence Index rose to 54.1 in November, up from a negatively revised 49.9 in October, the Conference Board, a New York-based research group that compiles the index, said Tuesday. Economists were expecting the index to increase to 52.

New York - Online sales on Cyber Monday surged nearly 20% from last year, according to IBM Coremetrics, which tracks shopper behavior on more than 500 e-commerce sites. Many analysts expected Monday's online shopping will tally more than $1 billion for the first time.