News

Good things come to Sears shoppers who wait
Hoffman Estates, Ill. – Consumers who haven’t started their holiday shopping yet have a friend in Sears. Sears, Roebuck & Co. will offer multiple sales events starting on Dec. 19, and announced Dec. 22 as the last day to order online and receive by Christmas.
Meijer gives 213 customers free merchandise for holidays
Grand Rapids, Mich. - Meijer made the holidays very merry for 213 unsuspecting customers recently when those shoppers received a big surprise upon checkout – their entire shopping cart filled with gifts and groceries given to them as a holiday gift.

During the “Very Merry Meijer” event, one customer at each of the retailer's 213 stores across the Midwest was randomly selected on Dec. 13 to receive their purchases free.

Kate Spade designs for West Elm

Home furnishings retailer West Elm announced it is teaming up with Kate Spade Saturday to launch an exclusive collection of furniture, bedding, rugs and home accessories.

The Kate Spade Saturday + West Elm collection is Kate Spade Saturday’s first home collaboration and will be available in West Elm stores in the United States and Canada and on westelm.com in early January.
Shoppers will be buying online right up until Christmas

Los Angeles - When it comes to making online selections, Christmas shoppers are better late than never. A survey released by Bizrate Insights, a division of Connexity, found that many shoppers are still making online holiday purchases, even though there are only a few days left before Christmas. In fact, only 17% of shoppers have finished their Christmas shopping.
Jo-Ann gets crafty with new TV show

Looking to capitalize on the crafting craze, Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores is partnering with the Craft Retail Group to launch TV programming dedicated specifically to crafting.

The “TV shopping experience” with daily featured shows is scheduled to launch Dec. 29.
Rite Aid boosts guidance after healthy Q3

Rite Aid is raising its guidance for 2015 after a big jump in same store sales lifted the company in the third quarter.

The company reported third-quarter revenues of $6.7 billion, an increase of 5.3%, driven primarily by same-store sales. Same-store sales for the quarter ended Nov. 29 were up 5.4% overall, including a 1.6% lift in front-end same store sales and a 7.2% increase in pharmacy same store sales.
Rite Aid beats Street with Q3 earnings

Camp Hill, Penn. – Rite Aid Corp. beat Wall Street expectations with net income of $104.8 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2015, a 46% increase from $71.5 million the same period a year earlier. The improvement in net income resulted primarily from an increase in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) and a lower last out, first in (LIFO) charge, partially offset by a higher loss on debt retirement.
Best Buy helps customers to holiday finish line

Minneapolis – Some customers are only midway through the race to finish their holiday shopping, some haven’t even left the starting line, but Best Buy is offering help to make sure they reach the finish line by Dec. 24. Best Buy Co Inc. is making thousands of products on BestBuy.com eligible for a free shipping upgrade.
‘Green Monday’ week sees revenue growth

Petaluma, Calif. - Retailers were seeing green the second week of December. For the week that included “Green Monday,” Dec. 8, retailers using the MarketLive e-commerce platform achieved a year-over-year revenue growth rate of 11.5%, while visits grew just 8.6%.
Survey: Many retailers fail to target new customers

Every retailer wants to acquire new customers, but apparently not every retailer knows how to draw them in. New data from loyalty intelligence provider Colloquy and sponsored by Chase Merchant Services show that a whopping 60% of retailers admitted they don't have a good process in place for effectively targeting new customers.

In addition, 85% of retailers are in search of ways to add value to their retail offering outside of discounts, promotions and /or loyalty programs.