Earlier Black Friday openings paid off

Reading this on a mobile device? Try our optimized mobile version here: http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/doanCaiGapCbtAhxCidawJCicNuRAE

November 28, 2011 News for the retail industry   Top Story    Strong holiday weekend sales spark higher hopes Retail sales during the Thanksgiving weekend rose 16.4%, shoppers spent 9.1% more per person than last year, and sales hit $52 billion compared to $45 billion last year, according to NRF data. "American consumers have been taking a deep breath and making a decision that it's O.K. to go shopping again," said NRF Vice President Ellen Davis. The Wall Street Journal (11/28), USA TODAY (11/27), The New York Times (tiered subscription model) (11/27)      69% of U.S. consumers shopped a brick-and-mortar retailer last week – click here! Introducing Shopping Activity Services from The NPD Group. Understand shopping conversion, online shopping, marketing effectiveness, consumer behavior, retail trends, and much more. Download a free report to see the real holiday trends.   Industry Watch    Filene's Basement experiences crowds for final Black Friday Filene's Basement drew crowds at the store in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood on Black Friday, as fans of the store mourned its imminent passing. The bankrupt 102-year-old chain will close its 21 stores for good early next year, after the inventory is liquidated through seasonal sales. Boston Herald (11/26)      Wal-Mart gives employees more control over product choices As local Wal-Mart Stores managers are given more power to choose and promote products, the retailer is revamping its Walmart World magazine, which provides a venue for brand marketers to reach Wal-Mart decision makers. The magazine will be published by Pace Communications, which is also involved in updating MyWalmart.com, a social network and internal information provider. Advertising Age (tiered subscription model) (11/28)      CEO: Macy's momentum should continue through the season About 10,000 shoppers waited outside Macy's Herald Square flagship for the midnight Black Friday opening, and the retailer expects the crowds to continue throughout the holiday season, says CEO Terry Lundgren. Opening at midnight instead of 4 a.m. drew younger crowds, spurring sales of Justin Bieber perfume and Rampage boots priced at $19.99. "We knew the younger crowds would stay up all night while the Baby Boomers went for a nap," Lundgren said. The Wall Street Journal (11/26), CNBC (11/25)      Best Buy, Macy's and Wal-Mart are off to a strong start Best Buy drew crowds when it opened at midnight on Black Friday and throughout the holiday weekend, reversing last year's slowdown by cutting prices on big-screen TVs and other popular items. Macy's and Wal-Mart Stores also saw a strong start to the season. The weekend saw 226 million consumers shopping in store and online, up from 212 million last year, according to the National Retail Federation. Reuters (11/28)      Retail Analytics in the Cloud at The Yankee Candle Company Discovering and distributing accurate and timely information across the enterprise to identify and support emerging retail opportunities is the objective of every retail supplier. Register for this free webinar to learn how The Yankee Candle Company was able to successfully develop and execute collaborative retail intelligence strategies.   Retail trends    Inside the mind of a holiday shopper NRF CEO Matthew Shay and Vice President Ellen Davis were up with the Black Friday early birds, offering insights on CNBC and CBS into the ways consumers are approaching their gift-buying this year. Shoppers are using cash, debit cards and checks this year rather than incurring credit-card debt, Davis says. They're using the Internet increasingly to research and buy, but the majority of sales are still likely come at brick-and-mortar stores. Retail's BIG Blog (11/25)        Black Friday kicks off part-time job season Retailers are expected to hire about 500,000 temporary part-time workers for the holiday season, with earlier opening hours spurring a greater need for seasonal staffers. While seasonal part-time work is a longstanding tradition, this year it also reflects a larger trend of more U.S. jobs shifting from full-time to part-time as companies seek greater efficiencies. USA TODAY (11/25)      Earlier Black Friday openings paid off Some may have been critical of stores that opened at the stroke of midnight or earlier Thanksgiving night, but the retailers saw success with bargain-hunting throngs. "Early morning openings appear to have been well worth it for both retailers and holiday shoppers, with many Americans believing that deals were too good to pass up," said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay. ABC News (11/26)      Consumer Insights Your Brand Needs to Know: Latest Trends in Behavioral Advertising Learn what brand managers, advertisers, as well as networks, agencies, and publishers need to know about consumer survey insights into behavioral ad serving, also known as interest-based advertising. Learn more today!   Retail Technology    Merchants speed shopping with more in-store mobile devices A growing number of retailers have plans to add iPads and iPod Touches coupled with scanning devices to help shoppers avoid long checkout lines and speed in-store service. While mobile checkout is in its infancy, some retail executives say the technology could eventually make cash registers obsolete. The Wall Street Journal (11/28)      Maintaining accurate inventory is at the heart of retailing. Perpetual inventory solutions are one means to that end. Download our white paper, Inventory Is the Store: How Mobility Maximizes Return on Investment, to learn how Zebra mobile inventory solutions improve inventory management by meeting your inventory where it lives on the shelves.   Hot Topics  Top five news stories selected by NRF SmartBrief readers in the past week. Penney's e-commerce chief resigns (InternetRetailer.com) Behind the scenes at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade (Forbes) Target, McDonald's quit egg vendor over undercover video (The Sun Herald (Biloxi-Gulfport, Miss.)) Gift-card sales are on the rise this season (Chicago Tribune) Stings net more than 50 pro shoplifters in Illinois (Chicago Tribune) Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.   Sponsored Content    Bought By Yahoo: What It's Like On The Other End Mark Henricks Finally: A Reason To Feel Good About Overeating Suzanne Sataline How To Be A Master Of Productivity: A Small-Business Guide Laurel Donaldson Retain Employees By Making Work Matter Penelope Trunk The 6 Biggest Office Distractions Mike Michalowicz Most Popular Headlines from Last Week Would You Fire Someone For Refusing To Wear A "666" Sticker? Courtney Rubin 8 Tips: How To Make Your Company And Career More Dynamic Shira Levine Niche Marketing: 3 Tools That Will Help You Reach Targeted Customers Heather Whaling (Mashable) Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.   NRF News  Black Friday weekend spending reaches record $52 billion This year was one for the books as a record 226 million shoppers visited stores and websites over Black Friday weekend, up from 212 million last year. Digging deep into their holiday budgets, the average holiday shopper spent $398.62 this weekend, up from $365.34 last year with total spending estimated at $52.4 billion. Additionally, shoppers also checked out retailers' deals online, spending an average of $150.53 on the Web -- 37.8% of their total weekend spending. Read more.      How a "touchless touchscreen" reinvigorated Bally Total Fitness To modernize their brand and connect with their customers' needs, Bally Total Fitness took a creative approach to store design. At Retail's BIG Show, Jan. 15 to 18 in New York City, the company will share how members can keep track of their results and more using interactive, gesture-based technology with a huge video screen in their fitness centers. Learn more.      More than 122 million expected to shop on Cyber Monday Online shopping continues to win over millions of Americans this holiday season, with a record number planning to hit retailers' websites today to take advantage of one-day only deals, percentages off websites, and free shipping offers. According to a survey conducted for Shop.org by BIGresearch, 122.9 million Americans plan to shop on Cyber Monday this year, up from the 106.9 million who shopped on Cyber Monday in 2010. Eager to meet consumers' demands, nearly eight in ten retailers will have a special promotion for Cyber Monday, according to a survey released last week. Read more.      Learn more about NRF -> Join NRF  |  Govt Relations  |  NRF Events  |  STORES  |  NRF Foundation   Chain Restaurant News  Restaurant franchising is on the rise Chains including Popeyes, KFC, Applebee's and Firehouse Subs are seeing a steady rise in their franchisee programs, with some offering new incentives to attract franchisees. More than half of franchise restaurants fail within three years, and longtime franchisees caution prospective operators that even the success stories took time. Los Angeles Times (11/26)      Position Title Company Name Location Sales Associate - Contemporary, Women's Designer, Jewelry Saks Fifth Avenue Naples, FL Director, Marketing Analytics Saks Fifth Avenue New York, NY Coordinator, Communications and Public Affairs National Retail Federation Washington, DC Director of Store Operations Francesca's Collections Houston, TX Director of Learning and Development Burlington Coat Factory Burlington, NJ Sr. Corporate Internal Auditor PetSmart, Inc. Phoenix, AZ VP DMM Boys Burlington Coat Factory Burlington, NJ Fifth Avenue Club Director Saks Fifth Avenue Bal Harbour, FL Fashion Buyer Target Minneapolis, MN Category Manager - Copy & Print Staples Framingham, MA Manager, Retail Communications/Training L.L. Bean Freeport, ME Director, International Government Affair The Clorox Company Oakland, CA Paralegal III The Clorox Company Oakland, CA Click here to view more job listings.   SmartQuote  Any idiot can face a crisis -- it's the day-to-day living that wears you out." --Anton Chekhov, Russian author and playwright        This SmartBrief was created for cpgbrokers.data@blogger.com   Subscriber Tools       Update account information | Change e-mail address | Unsubscribe | Print friendly format | Web version | Search past news | Archive | Privacy policy Grab our News Widget Publish your Press Release   Advertise Associate Publisher:  Dena Malouf (202) 407-7838 Download Media Kit Job Board:  Jackie Basso (202) 407-7871       Recent NRF SmartBrief Issues: Wednesday, November 23, 2011 Tuesday, November 22, 2011 Monday, November 21, 2011 Friday, November 18, 2011 Thursday, November 17, 2011     Lead Editor:  Megan Conniff Contributing Editor:  Faye Rapoport     Mailing Address: SmartBrief, Inc.®, 555 11th ST NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20004     © 1999-2011 SmartBrief, Inc.® Legal Information