News

Customers and Shop Your Way members can shop Black Friday deals at most Sears stores starting as early as 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving. Sears’ subsidiary Kmart, continuing a 23-year tradition as a destination for early-bird shopping, will open for 42 hours straight, from 6 a.m. on Thanksgiving to midnight on Black Friday.

Retail buyers are no longer bound by the constraints of their desk top work station thanks to new mobile capabilities resulting from TradeStone Software’s acquisition of Leap Ahead Solutions.

Technology leader Samsung Electronics has introduced a new line of small interactive digital displays to replace printed posters and help brands and retailers  drive sales.

The new 22 inch and 10 inch displays Samsung introduced to its Smart Signage product lineup are designed to drive increased interactivity thanks to Wi-Fi connectivity and touchscreen technology.

In the rapidly changing landscape for payments, market leader Vantiv is changing more rapidly than most as evidenced by dramatic growth in its transaction volume, revenues and profits.

Each of those measures surged during the company’s third quarter ended September 30. Thanks in large part to acquisitions, transaction volume in the merchant service group increased 31% which caused net revenue to increase 42% to $297.7 million. The company’s total revenue increased 31% to $697.1 million while adjusted net income increased 21% to $96.9 million, or 49 cents a share.

By John Bible, Oracle   

Dallas –- Tuesday Morning Corp. cut its net loss almost in half to $6.23 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2015 from $12 million in the same period the prior fiscal year. Net sales increased 10% to $202.2 million, compared to $183.7 million.    Same-store sales increased 11%. The retailer credited the turnaround phase of its ongoing transformation program for creating the generally encouraging results.  

Seattle –- Amazon.com will start offering daily Black Friday deals on Saturday, Nov. 1. Amazon will also start offering two Deals of the Day every day through Monday, Dec. 22.  

San Francisco –- Compared to non-users, Twitter users start holiday shopping earlier, spend more and are more prone to impulse purchases. According to a new study conducted by brand research firm DB5 for Twitter, more than a third (34%) of Twitter users have already begun thinking about holiday shopping, and 81% say they love holiday shopping, compared to 56% of non-users.  

Sunbury, Penn. –- Weis Markets Inc. reported net income of $13.7 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2014, a 17% increase from $11.7 million in the same period a year earlier. The elimination of a one-time severance charge and impairment charge from the loss of four properties helped boost net income for the quarter.   Net sales increased 3% to $683.9 million from $661.4 million, while its same-store sales increased 2.6%.   

Waterbury, Conn. –- Likely spurred by back-to-school needs, consumers increased their spending on books 13% in the third quarter of 2014 compared to the same quarter the prior year. According to the quarterly Chase Freedom Lifestyle Index quarterly barometer of consumer trends based on aggregated Chase Freedom cardholder spending data, spending at craft stores (up 7%) also rose significantly in the quarter.