Data & Analytics

Minneapolis -- Target will donate $5 million to local schools nationwide as part of the company's commitment to give $1 billion for education by the end of 2015.

Target has teamed up with "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" and its viewers to select 50 schools in need to receive a $100,000 grant. Viewers are encouraged to submit the name of a school that needs help, along with a compelling story that explains why the school should receive a grant, to "The Ellen DeGeneres Show.”

RESTON, Va. — Retailers who promoted their online presence as a way to avoid the crowds this past weekend were rewarded for their efforts with record sales on Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday.

New York City -- Retail sales broke records during the Thanksgiving weekend, climbing 16%, according to a survey by BIGresearch for the National Retail Federation.  Shoppers spent $52.4 billion, up from $45 billion last year.

A record 225 million shoppers visited stores and malls over the Black Friday weekend, up from 212 million last year. Shoppers on average spent $398.62, up from $365.34 last year, the NRF said.

Reston, Va. -- For the first 20 days of November, comScore reported that online spending rose 14% to $9.7 billion. The company forecast that online sales for the full November through December period would increase 15% to a total of $37.6 billion.

New York City -- Heading into the holiday season it was widely expected that online sales would enjoy another year of double-digit growth, and now new data from the online measurement firm comScore confirms those earlier expectations.

New York City -- Consumer spending rose less than forecast in October as Americans even as personal incomes showed the biggest gains in seven months.

The Commerce Department said Wednesday that spending increased 0.1% last month, the poorest gain in four months. But incomes increased 0.4%, the best showing since March, with private wages and salaries driving the income gain.

Most economists had forecast spending to rise by 0.3% and income by 0.2%.
 

New York City -- The Brookshire Grocery Co. announced that Trent Brookshire, SVP/DMM was elected to the company’s board. He is a fourth generation member of the company’s founding family.

By Todd Feinman, CEO of Identity Finder