News

New York -- Consumer confidence fell sharply in October, according to The Conference Board, whose monthly consumer confidence measure dropped to 71.2 in October, down from 80.2 in September. Economists had expected a reading of 75.0 in October.

The Present Situation Index decreased to 70.7 from 73.5.The Expectations Index fell to 71.5 from 84.7 last month.

First Data Corporation, a leading global e-commerce and payment processing provider, has acquired Perka, a smart loyalty platform.

Perka became a First Data subsidiary on Oct. 4, and continues to operate autonomously as an innovative entrepreneurial company led by its current management and product development team. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
 

Hoffman Estates, Ill. -- Kmart announced it is extending its integrated retail shopping strategy, which connects online and in-store shopping channels to provide more flexible ways to shop, to customers in Puerto Rico. For the first time this holiday season, Puerto Rico-based Kmart customers and Shop Your Way members will have access to online layaway, store-to-home shipping, free Anyone, Anywhere pickup and free store pickup.

OurPet's Company, a leading proprietary pet supply company, saw sales in its grocery, mass retail and pet specialty channels grow substantially in the third quarter ended Sept. 30, compared to the same period last year.

The company’s sales were also complemented by higher international sales, which were up more than 42% from the same quarter a year ago.

Procter & Gamble, a Worldwide Olympic Partner, kicked off the company’s Thank You Mom campaign with its Raising an Olympian series featuring Olay athlete Lindsey Vonn (United States), Gillette athletes Felix Neureuther (Germany) and Sven Kramer (Netherlands) and Pantene athlete Elena Ilinykh (Russia).

The launch of the Thank You Mom campaign marks 100 days to go until the start of the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games and is supported by more than 15 P&G brands around the globe such as Pampers, Head & Shoulders and Covergirl.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas at Walmart, as the company prepares to promote more than 160,000 employees — including 25,000 promotions during its fourth quarter — ahead of the competitive holiday shopping season.

Chicago -- Four of the 10 busiest holiday shopping days will occur between Dec. 20 and Dec. 24, and retailers should prepare accordingly, according to ShopperTrak, a leading provider of shopper analytics. Additionally, with a shortened shopping season and only four weekends between Thanksgiving and Christmas – down from five last year – retailers must be ready to capture holiday spending during a narrower window of time.

Sears Holdings is considering spinning off its Lands’ End and Sears Auto Center brands as part of a wide-ranging strategic review of its business. The company’s Sears Canada subsidiary has also sold five Canadian store leases to Cadillac Fairview Corporation Limited for about $383.4 million.