Jan. 10 at 3:00 p.m.
Filed under:
Retail
By Sandra M. Jones
Retail sales rose a solid 4 percent for the 2010 holiday shopping season, marking the first uptick in two years, according to a report released Monday from ShopperTrak.
The sales gain for the combined months of November and December 2010, compared to the same period in 2009, occurred even as customer traffic remained flat, the firm said. The results suggest that consumers are making fewer visits to malls and individual stores, but spending more once they get there, said Bill Martin, co-founder of the Chicago-based customer research firm.
While overall shopping levels haven’t returned to a pre-recession pace, the 2010 holiday season “should be seen as a relatively encouraging sign for retailers heading into 2011,” Martin said. Get the full story »
Jan. 6 at 10:11 a.m.
Filed under:
Retail
By Associated Press
Shoppers’ holiday-season splurge was likely a preview of what’s to come in 2011, and economists say it should embolden companies to expand and hire.
Americans spent more in the 50 days before Christmas than analysts had expected — the sharpest annual increase since 2006. It’s the surest sign yet they’re becoming less frugal as the economy rebounds.
Dec. 23, 2010 at 8:11 a.m.
Filed under:
Airports,
Travel
By Associated Press
Nearly 1.8 million passengers are expected to travel through Chicago’s airports during the Christmas holiday week.
Airlines are projecting that Thursday will be the busiest travel day at both O’Hare and Midway international airports, with nearly 190,000 passengers are expected at O’Hare and nearly 63,000 passengers at Midway.
Both airports are featuring live blues and jazz performances from 2 to 5 p.m. Get the full story »
Dec. 8, 2010 at 11:23 a.m.
Filed under:
Retail
By Reuters
U.S. online holiday sales are up 12 percent to more than $17.5 billion till date this year, with more than half of that making use of free shipping, according to research firm comScore Inc. Get the full story »
Nov. 16, 2010 at 10:44 a.m.
Filed under:
Retail,
Stock activity
By Reuters
A Wal-Mart employee stocks the shelves in Pompano Beach, Fla. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Wal-Mart Stores expects U.S. same-store sales to rise during the holiday shopping season, when it hopes to lure its low- to middle-income customers with discounts on toys and electronics and free shipping for online orders.
The world’s largest retailer also posted higher quarterly profit Tuesday, buoyed by cost cuts and growth in international sales, and raised its full-year forecast. Get the full story »
Nov. 15, 2010 at 5:47 p.m.
Filed under:
Internet,
Retail,
Stock activity
By Reuters
Amazon.com shares tumbled as much as 4 percent Monday on concerns that offers of free shipping by Wal-Mart Stores Inc and other retailers could challenge the online company’s results. Get the full story »
Nov. 9, 2010 at 2:27 p.m.
Filed under:
Consumer electronics,
Retail
By Reuters
Consumers will spend more this holiday on electronics than they have in each of the last 17 years, with laptops and Apple’s iPad topping wish lists, a leading industry trade group said Tuesday.
The average consumer will spend $232 on electronics gifts from TVs and MP3 players to cameras this year, up 5 percent from last year, according to a holiday phone survey of 1,003 U.S. adults conducted by the Consumer Electronics Association. Get the full story »
