Data & Analytics

NEW YORK — Target's flat apparel and accessories for the month of November reflected a mixed sales environment across the department-store and specialty-apparel sectors as the economy continues to affect discretionary spending.

CHARLESTON, S.C. — Shoppers who were out in full force on Black Friday may not walk retail aisles again until just before Christmas — when retailers are expected to heavily discount merchandise — according to the latest America's Research Group/UBS "Christmas Forecast."

NEW YORK — While advances in smartphones and social media use has lead many consumers to shop online, those same technologies are being utilized by retailers to get customers back into the stores. New shopping apps, mobile technologies and social media rewards are moving buying decisions back into the stores, according to WSL/Strategic Retail's second annual Buzz to Buy 2.0 trend report.

Delinquency rates in Target’s credit card portfolio are still really good, but after several years of steady improvement, a slight deterioration has become evident the past few months.

In November, 3.3% of accounts were three or more payments past due, the same rate as the prior month but slightly higher than the low of 3% seen during September, August and July. Likewise, accounts with four or more payments past due stood at 2.2% in November, the same as in October, but higher than the 2.1% seen the prior four months.

Target may have been up against a difficult prior-year comparison when it reported a 1.8% November same-store sales increase, but that hardly seems like a good excuse for an anemic number to begin the fourth quarter.

New York City -- New shopping apps, mobile technologies and social media rewards are moving buying decisions back into the stores, according to WSL/Strategic Retail. The finding are part of the company’s Buzz to Buy 2.0 trend report, its second annual survey measuring how the power of Social Media and online information are impacting buying decisions.

San Francisco -- More than 40% of online conversations about mobile shopping with the top 35 mobile retailers reflected customer frustration during the Thanksgiving weekend, revealing missed opportunities for leading brands, according to a report from Tealeaf. Even for the most successful mobile retailers, 41% of all online conversations indicated frustration with the mobile shopping experience at the outset of the holiday shopping season.

Warrendale, Pa. -- Rue21 has begun to implement assortment planning software from Maple Lake Ltd. The technology has the potential to reduce markdowns and increase profitability by allowing the company to constantly monitor and assort the newest trends for girls and guys between its store locations, Maple Lake said.

Reston, Va. -- Retail e-commerce spending for the first 32 days of the November – December 2011 holiday season totaled $18.7 billion, a 15% increase versus the corresponding days last year, according to comScore.

Deerfield, Ill. -- Walgreens reported that for November same-store sales rose 1.8% while total sales climbed 4.2% to $6.09 billion, from $5.84 billion in the year-ago period.

Comparable pharmacy sales rose 1.2%, while total pharmacy sales rose 3.4%.

Total sales for the first quarter of fiscal 2012, which ended Nov. 30, were $18.16 billion, up 4.7% from $17.34 billion in the first quarter of fiscal 2011. Same-store sales increased 2.5%, while front-end comp-sales for the quarter also increased 2.5%.