News

Fewer Americans shopped and they spent less money during the Thanksgiving weekend, according to new estimates from the National Retail Federation.

Online and mobile shopping on Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday reached record levels according to a real time analysis conducted by IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark.

Thanksgiving online sales increased 14.3 percent and mobile sales increased 25.4 percent. Black Friday online sales increased 9.5 percent while mobile sales increased 28.2 percent, according to IBM.
 

Buying tech products was the No. 1 priority on consumers’ shopping lists this past holiday weekend, according to a new survey from the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA).

All systems are go and the holiday season is clear for takeoff at Macy's Herald Square in New York City.

That’s because this year’s Macy’s Christmas window display, “Santa’s Journey to the Stars,” traces the adventures of Alex, a young boy who receives a magical and mystical telescope that allows him to experience the wonder of Christmas on other planets before landing back on Earth at the iconic Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

HSN Inc. has named Jeffrey Kuster president of Cornerstone and executive officer of HSNi. Kuster will report to HSNi CEO Mindy Grossman.

Kuster, 48, has held various leadership positions in the apparel, fashion and retail industries, most recently as EVP and chief marketing and strategy officer for Berkshire Hathaway's Fruit of the Loom.

Move over pumpkin pie: Black Friday fervor seemed to stir up more conversations on social media than the Thanksgiving holiday itself.

According to Salesforce.com, social media posts about Black Friday shopping numbered 2.7 million. Roughly 278,000 posts were stamped with the hashtag "#blackfriday" and another 8,000 were labeled "#deals," vs. just 85,000 with "#Thanksgiving."

There were also about 1.84 million holiday shopping posts on Thanksgiving Day, and about 719,000 posts the day before Thanksgiving.

Online sales are expected to reach $300 billion in 2014, $335 billion in 2015 and $512 billion by 2020.

According to business forecasting experts at FTI Consulting Inc., online sales will continue to grow at a double-digit rate for the next several years.

To celebrate the busiest monogramming season of the year, Lands’ End is launching #MonogramMonday.

The world's largest retailer reported a robust Black Friday weekend — including record online sales — as part of its kickoff to the 2014 holiday sales season.

“In a few short hours, we flipped from being the largest grocery store in town to the best gift shop on the block," said Laura Phillips, SVP of merchandising at Walmart. "Not only did we have millions of customers shopping our stores, but we’re confident Walmart was the first stop of the night for most of them."

Improved e-commerce and marketing strategies are among the reasons Shoe Carnival President and CEO Cliff Sifford cited for the company’s increase in same store sales.