News

Walmart reports busy Black Friday weekend
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."
Despite big bargains, total holiday weekend sales slide 11% according to NRF estimates
New York - Despite some of the most promotional activity and extended operating hours the retail industry has ever seen, total spending for the four-day Black Friday weekend came in below projections, down a surprising 11.3% from last year. According to the National Retail Federation's preliminary figures, weekend spending dropped to $50.9 billion from $57.4 billion last year.

Black Friday beats Thanksgiving on social media

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.
HSN names Fruit of the Loom exec Cornerstone president

St. Petersburg, Fla. - HSN Inc. has named Jeffrey Kuster as president of Cornerstone and executive officer of HSNi. Kuster, 48, has held various leadership positions in the apparel, fashion and retail industries, most recently as executive VP, chief marketing and strategy officer for Berkshire Hathaway's Fruit of the Loom.
Wal-Mart Canada adding more Grab and Go lockers

Mississauga, Canada - Walmart Canada is adding 33 Grab and Go lockers in the greater Toronto area. The lockers allow customers to buy online then pick up their items in stores. The retailer installed its first set of lockers at 10 locations in the Toronto area in August. The announcement follows a series of initiatives Walmart Canada has launched in the past year to accelerate its e-commerce program.
Commentary: From Singles Day to Cyber Monday - Branded Retail Events in a New Era of Consumerism

By Kosha Gada
Sales, traffic decline Thanksgiving weekend

Fewer Americans shopped and they spent less money during the Thanksgiving weekend, according to new estimates from the National Retail Federation.
Discount Tire taps OneView Commerce with hybris and SAP to enhance customer experience

BOSTON - Discount Tire has selected OneView Commerce to enhance the retailer’s “customer for life” brand experience in its more than 875 stores nationwide.
Black Friday tech purchases increases from 2013

Arlington, Va. - An estimated 51.2 million American adults (45% of all shoppers) bought or planned to buy consumer technology products during the 2014 Thanksgiving shopping weekend. According to a new survey released by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), while overall shopping traffic was down slightly this holiday weekend compared to the prior year, several areas saw notable growth, including reported spending per person and tech purchases.
Shoe Carnival on right path in Q3

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.