  | December 28, 2010 | News for the retail industry |  |  | |
- Blizzard slows after-Christmas shopping
A severe blizzard that closed East Coast airports on Sunday also had a chilling effect on day-after-Christmas shopping. Some analysts say the snowstorm marked an earlier-than-expected end to seasonal spending. Spending in the week after Christmas typically accounts for 15% of merchants' overall holiday sales, according to NRF figures. Yahoo!/Reuters (12/27)       - Gift cards rise in popularity after 2 years of falling sales
Gift-card sales are projected to increase 5% this year after declining for the past two years, driven by consumers' growing confidence in the economy, according to research firm TowerGroup. Renewed faith that retailers will be around in the future and recently passed consumer-protection legislation also spurred the increase. The Washington Post (12/27) - Holiday sales hit pre-recession levels
Retail sales rose 5.5% in the 50 days before Christmas, beating many estimates and reaching levels not seen since before the recession, according to MasterCard Advisors SpendingPulse. Sales were up across the board, with apparel, jewelry and luxury merchandise leading the way. "For the past year or two, when I've seen growth in one area, it seems to come at the expense of another," said SpendingPulse VP Michael McNamara. "Here, things are actually all moving in the right direction." The New York Times (free registration) (12/27) , The Wall Street Journal (12/28)  | 32% will buy from a competitor when faced with an out-of-stock. Be a hero. Save the sale. Sterling Always In Stock gives you access to inventory everywhere, which means the sale is saved and the safety of future business is secured. Visit hero.sterlingcommerce.com to demo our "Do the Math" calculator and you will see the value of attacking out-of-stocks. | - Timberland hopes to double China stores
 Outdoor apparel seller Timberland operates 110 stores in China and could double that number in the next three years. In this interview, President Jeffrey Swartz talks about how Chinese and American consumers differ in their outdoor pursuits and the roles corporate responsibility and social media will play as the chain seeks to capture more of the highly competitive market. The Wall Street Journal (12/27) - Rent-A-Center buys The Rental Store for $75 million
Rent-to-own furniture and appliance chain Rent-A-Center has acquired The Rental Store, a chain of in-store consumer-finance kiosks, in a deal valued at $75.5 million. Rent-A-Center operates about 3,000 stores in North America, and said it plans to incorporate The Rental Store's 145 kiosks into its in-house financing division. The Arizona Republic (Phoenix) (12/27)  | |  | | | Multichannel Retailing 2010: Facts, Issues, and Opportunities for Growth.
Most retailers operate with a combination of stores, websites and other channels. But what is really being achieved with the extension of multichannel retailing, and which challenges and opportunities do you need to address now to stay competitive in 2011? Find out with this free, in-depth market research. | |  |  |  |
- Apparel chains face challenges in 2011
Apparel sales got a big boost over the holidays, but clothing makers and some retailers are bracing for challenges next year as higher production and commodity prices and anticipated uneven consumer demand make it tough to boost profits. The Wall Street Journal (12/27) - Small-business trends to watch in 2011
Surveys indicate that many small businesses plan to upgrade their websites in the new year, branching out from static, informational sites to include e-commerce and social-media integration. Among the other trends Erica Swallow foresees for 2011: increased mobile marketing, social shopping and migration to the cloud. Mashable (12/21)  | New 2010 Enterprise VoIP Buyer's Guide
This updated Buyer's Guide from Focus will help you fully understand both your business phone system needs as well as the purchase process. Compare features and read advice from other buyers.
Click Here to learn more. |
| NRF News |  | | | - Retail industry committed to job creation
While retail has been on the forefront of the economic recovery, NRF has been at the forefront of providing necessary resources to aid our industry. Visit NRF's newly created Retail Creates Jobs headquarters -- a place to view retail employment data, insights from top executives on retail as a career and government resources for small stores and big brands alike. Visit the HQ.
| Chain Restaurant News | | | |  | |  | | | | |  |  Director of eCommerce | South Moon Under | Berlin, MD | | Executive Vice President, Merchandising & Marketing | Total Wine & More | Potomac, MD | | Chief Merchant/General Merchandise Manager | Moosejaw Mountaineering | Madison Heights, MI | | Chief Financial Officer | Confidential | Sugar Land, TX | | Merchant, Regional Foods | Meijer | Chicago Region, IL | | Retail Assortment Planning Analyst | Headquarters Marine Corps/Marine Corps Exchanges | Quantico, VA | | Director of Marketing & Licensing | Spencer Gifts/Spirit Halloween/ToyZam! | Egg Harbor Township, NJ | | Buyer - Ladies Apparel - Special Sizes | Stein Mart | Jacksonville, FL | | Vice President of Strategic Planning | Rent-A-Center | Plano, TX | | Legal Counsel | Kohl's | Menomonee Falls, WI | | | |  | |  |
| SmartQuote | | | |  | All charming people have something to conceal, usually their total dependence on the appreciation of others."
--Cyril Connolly,
British intellectual, literary critic and writer  |
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- Wednesday, December 22, 2010
- Tuesday, December 21, 2010
- Monday, December 20, 2010
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The retail industry will lose an estimated $3.68 billion to return fraud this holiday season, up from $2.74 billion last year. Source: 
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