Data & Analytics

New York -- Zappos took the top spot in a ranking of fastest holiday shippers according to a study by Kurt Salmon and StellaService. The study analyzed shipping times for orders placed on Cyber Monday from more than 50 retailers across a broad range of retail sectors, from big boxes to online-only players. It found that retailers in the top-five delivered multi-unit orders in an average of 2.9 days.

The top five companies for holiday shipping are the following:

Deerfield Park, Ill. – Walgreens received a perfect score of 100% on the 2014 Corporate Equality Index (CEI). This marks the ninth year Walgreens earned 100% on the CEI, a national benchmarking survey and report on corporate policies and practices related to LGBT workplace equality, administered by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation.

New York -- The Conference Board Leading Economic Index (LEI) for the U.S. increased 0.8% in November to 98.3 (2004 = 100), following a 0.1% increase in October, and a 1% increase in September.

Framingham, Mass. – 3-D printing technology is rapidly gaining traction and heading toward mainstream acceptance and usage. According to a new research study from International Data Corporation (IDC), the worldwide 3-D printer market will experience tremendous unit and revenue growth from 2012 to 2017, with compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) of 59% and 29%, respectively.

San Diego – Mobile messaging provider Bulletin has released DealSiftr, a mobile dealfinder app for iOS devices. With DealSiftr, users fill out a personal profile to tell the app exactly what they're looking for, and then DealSiftr will serve up the most relevant daily deals straight to the user's mobile device.

Reston, Va. -- Holiday season U.S. retail e-commerce spending from desktop computers for the first 52 days of the November-December 2013 holiday season totaled $42.8 billion, an increase of 10% from the same period one year ago. However, new comScore data shows that the final online shopping week saw considerably softer sales than anticipated, including zero billion dollar spending days.

Purchase, N.Y. – U.S. retail sales reportedly rose 3.5% between Nov. 1 and Dec. 24, 2013 compared to the same period in the prior year. According to data from MasterCard Advisors SpendingPulse, sales of holiday-related categories, such as clothing, electronics and luxury goods, rose 2.3%, after rising 0.7% in 2012.

New York -- Weekly sales rose by 1.4% for the week ending Dec. 21, 2013. According to figures from the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and the Goldman Sachs Weekly Chain Store Sales Index, on a year-over-year basis, the pace of sales also improved and grew by 2.7%.

For December, ICSC Research expects monthly sales will increase between 3% and 4% as the promotional environment continues to be intense.

Washington, D.C. -- Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) reportedly may seek federal hearings on the recent data breach at Target. According to the Associated Press, Menendez said in a press conference held outside a Jersey City, N.J. Target store that he has also requested the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate whether it can levy fines against Target and whether laws protecting sensitive consumer data need to be strengthened.

Reston, Va. -- Several retail subcategories were among the top-gaining in November as Thanksgiving kicked off the holiday shopping season. According to comScore Media Metrix analysis of U.S., desktop activity in November 2013, the retail categories of toys, consumer electronics, jewelry/luxury goods/accessories, department stores, mall, and fragrances/cosmetics all were among the top 10 gaining desktop site categories in November.