Omnichannel

Palo Alto, Calif. -- A survey released Thursday by Apigee found that three out of five – or 57% – of mobile app users would consider purchasing their holiday gifts this year on a mobile device.

The 2012 Holiday Shopping survey revealed that the top items that would potentially be purchased via mobile are books (32%), electronics (31%), gift cards (27%), DVDs/Blue-ray discs (26%), clothing (24%) and toys (20%).

Walmart.com still has a lot of ground to make up on Amazon.com, but July was a step in the right direction as the company added more unique visitors and grew at a faster pace than Amazon.com.

The number of unique visitors to Walmart.com increased 16.8% I to 45.2 million and placed the company 23 on a top 50 Web properties report compiled monthly by the online measurement firm comScore Media Metrix. During July of 2011, Walmart.com ranked 25^{th with 38.7 million unique visitors.}

New York -- Survey results unveiled Thursday by online coupon site RetailMeNot.com and Ipsos Public Affairs found that  an overwhelming number of consumers think the economy is in dire straits. As well, this pessimistic group is shoppers to adjust their holiday consumption behaviors and shop earlier this year.  

Specific findings of the report include:

PITTSBURGH — American Eagle Outfitters' income from continuing operations increased 62% to 21 cents per diluted share for the second quarter, compared with 13 cents per diluted share for the comparable quarter last year. Net income for the second quarter, which includes a loss from discontinued operations, was 9 cents per diluted share, compared with 10 cents per diluted share last year.

By Taqi Mohiuddin, [email protected]

The stakes are rising in retailing. 

SAN FRANCISCO — Williams-Sonoma is betting it can replicate its highly successful formula internationally, with the opening of new stores in Sydney, Australia.

Arlington, Va. -- The Retail Industry Leaders Association criticized the proposed swipe fee settlement and urged class plaintiffs to reject the proposal. Announced in July, the proposed settlement stems from lawsuits challenging the anticompetitive swipe fee practices of Visa and MasterCard.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Mattel's highly-anticipated Apptivity line, which the company introduced at the 2012 Toy Fair in February, is now available for the iPad.

At the Toy Fair, representatives for Mattel demonstrated how Apptivity allows kids to take a physical toy, such as a Hot Wheels car and play with it on the screen of an iPad. Other brands now available through the Apptivity line include Fisher-Price, Monster High and WWE.