Holiday Shopping news and archive

US retail sales up 3.8% this holiday season according to Mastercard SpendingPulse

This Christmas season proved to be a merry one for US retailers, with retail sales increasing 3.8 percent year on year from November 1 to December 24, according to insights from Mastercard SpendingPulse. "The holiday shopping season revealed a consumer who is willing and able to spend but driven by a search for value as can be seen by...

Retail

Target offers holiday countdown sale, Christmas Eve delivery

Discount retailer Target Corp. announced its Holiday Countdown Sale from December 12 through 14, and exclusive deals of up to 40% off through December 24. Further, Christmas Eve same-day delivery for orders are available for the last-minute holiday shoppers. The company is offering incredible same-day fulfillment options including straight to...

Featured

Fashion

Why gift guides have lost their gloss

Holiday commerce has gotten more tedious with the onslaught of the gift guide, which has devolved into a ubiquitous marketing mechanism that has consumers rolling their eyes and scrolling past. What was once a curated selection of thoughtful recommendations has become a relentless affiliate marketing machine, driven more by commission potential...

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Retail|Study

Negative in-store experiences costing retailers $262 billion in sales

American retailers are struggling to maintain customer satisfaction, with negative in-store experiences costing the retail sector up to 262 billion dollars in lost revenue, according to a recent study from customer experience (CX) expert Forsta. After analyzing 50,000 online reviews from US and UK physical retailers, Forsta found that 48 percent...

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Business

Spain: Fashion sales in fall for the first time in November since 2020

Madrid – A cold and unflattering Christmas for the Spanish retail fashion industry is what we are heading towards in 2024, based on the -2.8 percent drop in sales for the sector as a whole during this already surpassed month of November. A period in which, with the arrival of “Black Friday”, the unofficial start of this strategic holiday...

Retail

UK retailers feed off public affection for festive ads

They come with big budgets, are wrapped in sentimentality and boost company revenues -- Britain's latest instalment of eagerly awaited Christmas television advertisements has a nation tuned in. Known for talking about the weather 12 months a year, Britons will begin sharing thoughts on the latest festive commercials as soon as they hit screens,...

Retail

Number of shoppers drop despite growth on Black Friday

An estimated 197 million people shopped during the five-day holiday weekend from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday in the United States, but lower than last year's record of 200.4 million, an annual survey by the National Retail Federation or NRF shows. However, Black Friday shoppers grew from last year, and remained the most popular day for...

Retail

Amazon reports record-breaking Black Friday Week & Cyber Monday 2024

Online giant Amazon has reported a new record-breaking Black Friday Week and Cyber Monday. This Thanksgiving holiday seasonal sale event was the company’s largest to date, compared to the same 12-day period ending on Cyber Monday in prior years. Running from November 21 to December 2, Amazon offered some of the biggest deals of the season across...

Retail

US Black Friday retail sales grow 3.4 percent this year

Black Friday is far from being over in the United States, as shoppers across the nation continue to indulge in the annual discount day. According to preliminary insights from Mastercard SpendingPulse, retail sales (excluding automotive) grew 3.4 percent year on year on November 29, compared to Black Friday in 2023. As more retailers spread out...

Retail

Retailers brace for boom in Black Friday spending

With just weeks to go until the start of the crucial Christmas shopping period, retailers are preparing for a Black Friday bonanza as consumers look to get ahead on their seasonal purchases. New data from industry analysts GlobalData and Vouchercodes.co.uk forecasts that UK shoppers will spend 9.14bn pounds over the four-day Black Friday weekend...

Fashion

Amazon dominates holiday gift search

Amazon has emerged as the dominant online platform for UK holiday shoppers, with over half (52 percent) turning to it for festive gift inspiration, surpassing Google, which attracted only 31 percent of shoppers, according to recent research by Nosto. Generative AI tools like ChatGPT are quickly gaining relevance, with 8 percent of UK consumers...

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Retail

US holiday spending expected to be up 3.2% year-on-year this season

US shoppers are expected to spend 3.2 percent more this holiday season than last year, as retailers nationwide kick off the seasonal period earlier each year. According to Mastercard’s latest SpendingPulse Insights data, which tracks in-store and online retail sales across all payment types, US holiday shoppers will likely concentrate most of...