Data & Analytics

New York — BJ's Wholesale Club’s Mastercard program ups the ante in the wholesale club credit card category. The new My BJ's Perks MasterCard will offer members 10 cents off per gallon of BJ's gas, up to 5% back on purchases in-club and at BJs.com, 2% back on eating out and non-BJ's gas purchases, and 1% back on purchases made everywhere else MasterCard is accepted.    

Framingham, Mass. - Staples Inc. on Wednesday reported that its third quarter net income rose 60% to $216.8, in line with Wall Street expectations, amid signs that its reinvention strategy is starting to take hold.  

Amid an ongoing exploration of strategic alternatives, PetSmart said third quarter sales grew 2.6% thanks to the addition of 36 new stores as same store sales were flat.

MENOMONEE FALLS, Wisconsin - Kohl’s Department Stores has once again been recognized with a 2014 Sustained Excellence in Green Power Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 

Lowe’s said its third quarter same store sales spiked 5.1% a day after Home Depot reported an even stronger increase.

Total company sales increased 5.6% to $13.7 billion driven by increased productivity of existing stores as evidenced by a 5.1% comp increase. Home Depot said its third quarter same store sales increased 5.8%. Lowe’s profits increased 17.3% to $585 million while earnings per share increased 25.5% to 59 cents and were aided by $900 million in share repurchase activity.

Minneapolis — Target Corp. gained some momentum going into the holiday season with a third quarter that beat both Wall Street and internal expectations as sales as its U.S. stores exceeded estimates and its troubled Canadian division showed signs of improvement. Its results were also driven by increased promotional activity. This was Target’s first quarter under the leadership of CEO Brian Cornell, who replaced Gregg Steinhafel in August.   

New York — Most Americans won’t shop on either Black Friday or Cyber Monday this year. According to a new Bankrate.com survey of 1,000 consumers, only 28% of Americans plan to shop in a store on Black Friday.   

New York - Total retail sales in the United States  will rise 5% to reach $862 billion during November and December this year, according to the latest forecast from eMarketer.  Among the biggest trends to watch will be the acceleration in online sales, which are expected to grow at  16.6% year over year to reach $72.41 billion, or 8.4% of all retail purchases this holiday season. It’s a considerable uptick from 2013, when online sales totaled 7.6% of all holiday retail purchases.