Data & Analytics

Belmont, Calif. -- SunEdison, a leading worldwide solar energy services provider and Staples announced a production milestone of more than 30 million kilowatt-hours of energy produced through solar installations on Staples' properties.

NEW YORK — While consumers remain concerned about the economy, it is not enough to damper their holiday shopping spirit. According to a recent Deloitte survey, while two-thirds (67%) of consumers expect the economy to stay the same or weaken next year, nearly 3-out-of-5 people (59%) will put aside economic worries and spend the same or more this holiday season. This is a slight decline from 2010 but an eight percentage point increase from 2009. 

Palo Alto, Calif. -- HP on Thursday announced the company’s first mobile point-of-sale solution for retailers, intended to help them to deliver a more personalized shopping experience to their customers. The HP Retail Mobile Point-of-Sale Case attaches to the newly announced HP Slate 2 Tablet PC adding an integrated magnetic stripe reader (MSR) and a barcode scanner.

NEW YORK — Consumer spending slowed in October, sending a note of caution as retailers head into the holiday season. Eleven retailers missed expectations for same-store sales, while three chains beat estimates, according to a preliminary tally by Thomson Reuters. However, while the October results were not as promising as some retailers had hoped, sales for the most part rose and most chains reported results that were only slightly off from analysts’ estimates. Some analysts blamed Wall Street for underestimating how much caution is still out there.

NAPERVILLE, Ill. — OfficeMax announced that it has appointed Jim Barr as EVP and chief digital officer, effective Nov. 14. Barr will report to Ravi Saligram, president and CEO of OfficeMax, and will be responsible for all aspects of the company's e-commerce business and for driving its multi-channel digital strategy.  

Barr has been working with the OfficeMax e-commerce business in an advisory capacity since July 2011 to assess the opportunities for the business and develop a strategy to maximize its potential.  

Chelmsford, Mass. -- The Kronos Retail Labor Index edged down to 3.8% in October 2011, following an upwardly revised 4.2% for September, which was the first reading above 4% since October 2008. Even with the small decline in October, the Retail labor Index remains well above the series low of 2.8% in January 2011.

By Jay Samit, [email protected]

NEW YORK — With fewer retailers following in Walmart's footsteps in not disclosing monthly sales, it has become harder to gauge the overall health of the industry. Still, enough of them reported this monht to show that consumer spending slowed in October, sending a note of caution as retailers head into the holiday season. Eleven retailers missed expectations for same-store sales, while three chains beat estimates, according to a preliminary tally by Thomson Reuters.