News

It’s no wonder so many shoppers were not impressed with some of the big holiday deals being offered by big retailers this past week.

Amazon, Walmart, Target, and Jet did not heavily discount most popular products and prices actually increased in key categories after Black Friday, cementing a perception that the two celebrated shopping days are waning in importance, according to research from Boomerang Commerce, which aggregated and analyzed online price discounts and price perception for 1,000 popular products sold by Walmart, Target, Amazon and Jet.

Despite a few hiccups with site availability, Cyber Week 2015 on the whole was a huge success for the retail industry and bodes well for the remainder of the holiday season.

According to data from Adobe, from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday, consumers spent $11 billion online. This marked a 15% increase from Cyber Week in 2014 and represented 30% of a total $39.5 billion in November online sales. Adobe predicts consumers will spend $1 billion a day online every day from Dec. 1- Dec. 18.

The Home Depot Inc. has reached a contingent settlement with MasterCard International Inc. over the home improvement giant's massive 2014 data breach, according to a new report. The Atlanta Business Journal says that while a contingent deal with MasterCard International appears to have been reached, other financial institutions suing the retailer say they want more information. [Atlanta Business Journal]

Cabela's has confirmed that it is in the process of reviewing strategic alternatives weeks after speculation surfaced that Bass Pro Shops is looking to acquire the retailer.

Cabela's announced Wednesday that its board of directors is initiating a process to explore and evaluate a wide range of strategic alternatives to further enhance shareholder value.

Despite significant investments by many retailers, U.S. consumers are unsatisfied with the levels of customer service offered this holiday season.

According to the new 2015 Retail Holiday Customer Experience study from customer engagement solutions provider Eptica, 35% of consumers are unhappy with the online experience. This figure rises to 40% in store.

Wisconsin-based, 21-store grocery retailer Festival Foods takes food safety so seriously that it no longer thinks about it.

That’s because Festival Foods has chosen the food safety platform from ReposiTrak to automatically manage regulatory and business documentation compliance within its supply chain.

Strong sales at Maurices and Lane Bryant weren’t enough to lift Ascena in the first quarter, as the company reported a decrease in comps.

For the period ended Oct. 24, the company reported a net loss of 10 cents per diluted share compared to net income of 32 cents per diluted share in the same period of fiscal 2015. The company blamed the decrease on transaction costs related to the acquisition of Ann Inc., which closed during the first quarter fof fiscal 2016. Comps dropped 3% in the first quarter.

Supervalu on Wednesday announced Eric Claus has been named the CEO of Save-A-Lot, the company’s hard-discount grocery segment. Claus, 59, joins the company after spending the past two-plus years as the chairman, president and CEO of Red Apple Stores, a chain of value retail stores in Canada. 

It’s no wonder so many shoppers were not impressed with some of the big holiday deals being offered by big retailers this past week.

Retailers are paying more and offering more incentives to secure experienced in-store help to increase sales.