Holiday Bells Ring in the Union Season
Bryance Metheny
The holiday season is busy enough. Even nonpublic-facing American workplaces see spikes in stress levels and operational challenges around the holidays. For retail executives and managers, the holiday season sits in that space between welcome revenue surges and relentless headaches. Long hours, extended shifts, and …
Target Unveils New Concept Store in SoHo
Kristina Stidham
Target has given its store in New York City’s SoHo neighborhood a new look, reports CNBC. The one-of-a-kind concept store, which opened Tuesday, will have rotating merchandise, curated displays chosen by celebrities and influencers, and other kinds of special programming, Chief Guest Experience Officer Cara …
Safeguarding Operations Ahead of the Holiday Fraud Surge: How Retailers Can Stay Ahead
Matt DeLauro
Black Friday and Cyber Monday are not only the year’s busiest shopping days, they operate as live stress tests for retailers’ fraud prevention strategies. Last year’s data show exactly how holiday fraud rates surged, with fraudulent transactions jumping nearly fivefold on Black Friday and quadrupling …
The Holiday Stress Test: Why Customer Intelligence Matters More Than Ever
Derek Slager
The holiday season has always been retail’s pressure test. Black Friday and Cyber Monday aren’t just high-volume days. They expose the strengths and weaknesses of every system a retailer relies on. When traffic spikes and customer behavior shifts hour by hour, you see very quickly …
Cyber Monday Sales Top $14B, Beating Projections
U.S. consumers spent a total of $14.25 billion online for Cyber Monday, up 7.1 percent year-over-year (YoY), and above Adobe’s initial projection of $14.2 billion (up 6.3 percent YoY). In the peak hours of 8 p.m. to 10 p.m., consumers spent $16 million every minute. Cyber Monday ranks as the biggest online …
From Prompts to Presents: How the 2025 Holiday Season is the ‘Smartest’ Time of the Year
Marcel Hollerbach
The 2025 holiday season, spanning Halloween, Black Friday, and Christmas, will mark the first true test of generative artificial intelligence’s influence on shopping. Up until now, consumers have largely used AI tools for vague inspiration or validation. But in 2025, we’ve seen the dynamics shift. …
Black Friday Forecast to Be Biggest E-Commerce Day of the Year
Joe Keenan
Salesforce’s latest holiday findings, based on the global shopping data from more than 1.5 billion consumers across Agentforce Commerce, Marketing and Service, forecasts that Black Friday will remain the biggest day of the year for online shopping: Today is expected to drive $78 billion in …
Consumers Spend Record $6.4B Online on Thanksgiving
Consumers spent a record $6.4 billion online on Thanksgiving, up 5.3 percent year-over-year (YoY) as shoppers took advantage of Cyber Week deals that came in stronger than expected. The spend is above Adobe’s initial forecast of $6.37 billion for the day (up 4.9 percent YoY). Online sales peaked between 10 a.m. …
Dick’s Sporting Goods to Shutter Some Foot Locker Stores
Dick’s Sporting Goods is planning to close a number of Foot Locker stores now that its acquisition of the sneaker company is complete, the company said Tuesday when announcing fiscal third-quarter earnings, reports CNBC. The company declined to say how many Foot Locker stores would …
Slow Tempo Promos: ‘Prime’ Lessons for Holiday Shopping 2025
Jack OLeary
More days for consumers to save on purchases means more sales to gain for retailers. As large retailers ramp up their sales events, including for 2025 holiday shopping trends, they’re increasingly discovering that extending promotional windows can unlock incremental sales growth. Most recently, Amazon.com’s four-day …
