News

Cincinnati – Ever wonder what to do with all those unused loyalty points you probably have floating around? According to a survey of 1,000 U.S. consumers by loyalty intelligence provider Colloquy, six out of 10 shoppers intend to use points they’ve earned through customer-loyalty programs to save money on holiday gift-buying this year.

That represents a 22% increase in the number of shoppers who are planning to cash in reward points on gift purchases, compared to the 2013 holiday season.

Reston, Va. - Cyber Monday reached $2.04 billion in desktop online spending, up 17% from a year ago and representing the heaviest online spending day in history and the only day ever to surpass $2 billion in sales. According to data from comScore, the weekend after Thanksgiving also reached a major milestone as it saw its first ever billion-dollar online shopping day on Saturday, while Sunday’s sales just fell short of the $1 billion mark.

Bentonville, Ark.– While some retailers worry about mobile “showrooming” damaging in-store sales, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. welcomes brick-and-mortar shoppers with mobile devices. In an interview with CNBC, Wal-Mart CEO Doug McMillon said 10% of Wal-Mart’s mobile orders come from customers inside its stores.

New Albany, Ohio – The cool kid might still be cool, after all. Abercrombie & Fitch reported net income of $18.2 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2014, compared to a net loss of $15.6 million in the same period the prior year and beating Wall Street forecasts.

San Jose, Calif. –  Brick-and-mortar sales and traffic patterns during the five-day Thanksgiving weekend may have benefited customers who hate crowds, but were not good news for retailers. According to data from in-store analytics provider RetailNext, sales during the period fell 10.7% compared to the same five days in 2013, while traffic dropped 12.4%.

Miami – Google Glass has some competition on its hands. Luxottica Group S.pA. is launching a multiyear R&D collaboration with Intel Corp. to create eyewear infused with smart technology.

The ultimate goal is to deliver smart, fashion-forward products that are meaningful and desirable to consumers. The first product from Intel and Luxottica is expected to launch in 2015.

Miami – Google Glass has some competition on its hands. Luxottica Group S.pA. is launching a multiyear R&D collaboration with Intel Corp. to create eyewear infused with smart technology.

The ultimate goal is to deliver smart, fashion-forward products that are meaningful and desirable to consumers. The first product from Intel and Luxottica is expected to launch in 2015.

Minneapolis – Target Corp. has reportedly failed in its attempt to dismiss a lawsuit filed by banks in federal court in Minneapolis. According to Reuters, the banks are seeking compensation in the millions of dollars for reimbursing consumers for fraudulent charges and issuing new payment cards in connection with the November 2013 security breach at Target.

Chicago – Claire’s Stores Inc. had a disappointing third quarter, slightly increasing its net loss to $26.82 million from $25.47 million. A variety of expenses continued to outweigh Claire’s gross profit.