Continue reading August Retail Data Shows Caution

August Retail Data Shows Caution originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 01 Sep 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

There might be something extra in your paycheck this month. A survey of 100 human resource executives, conducted by Challenger, Gray & Christmas, found that 64% of companies are planning to pay holiday bonuses this year, even though they're still worried about expenses in a market that remains difficult. We've clearly come a long way over the past 12 months. Hiring may not have resumed yet, but at least employers are showing that they appreciate their employees ... and are worried about losing them. At this time last year, only 54% were planning to toss a little extra to the staff for the holidays.

And, the bonus checks are getting bigger, at least for a few people. Eight percent of respondents indicated that they are amping up bonus pay, compared to none a year ago. But, 16% say they aren't paying bonuses this year, up from 13% in December 2008. Another 4% are cutting bonus check sizes.

Continue reading Christmas bonuses are back!

Christmas bonuses are back! originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 11 Dec 2009 09:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Wal-Mart (WMT) won't close Thanksgiving weekend -- not at all. The world's largest retailer is going to keep its stores open 24 hours in an attempt to manage demand for entry during the busiest shopping days of the year. The company has announced it will also implement other crowd-control measures. The festivities start at 5 AM on November 27, 2009. Of course, this doesn't involve any change fro the Wal-Mart Supercenters which already remain open 24 hours a day, but it does address the 800 stores that aren't.

The 24-hour access alone won't do much to alleviate the pressure from thrill-seekers and the bargain-crazed who will want to push through immediately. To help with this problem, Wal-Mart is allowing people to gather in different parts of the store when waiting for the deals to kick off. According to Wal-Mart spokesman David Tovar, "If you've got a 200,000-square-foot store, people will be dispersed throughout the store instead of lined up outside the store." Yeah, that makes a lot of sense.

As the old infomercial guys love to say ... "But wait, there's more!"

Continue reading Wal-Mart amps up hours, crowd control for Black Friday

Wal-Mart amps up hours, crowd control for Black Friday originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Retail hiring for the holiday shopping season was expected to be slow, and now we have the data to confirm it. According to data from Bureau of Labor Statistics (supplied to BloggingStocks by Challenger, Gray & Christmas), the retail sector added only 63,500 jobs in October -- in data that appropriately was not seasonally adjusted.

This is only slightly better than the 59,100 retail jobs added in October 2008. In the fourth quarter of last year, retail employment increased by a mere 384,300 jobs, with the retail industry turning in its worst holiday shopping season employment stats since 1989 (when it added 380,500 workers).

Continue reading Holiday hiring slow for retailers

Holiday hiring slow for retailers originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

If Amazon (AMZN) was comfortable with its spot atop the e-reader market, it just got a wakeup call from Barnes & Noble (BKS). The brick-and-mortar book retailer's e-reader, the Nook, which hasn't even hit stores yet, is in pre-order nirvana right now. The first run for the Nook occurred at the end of October (the product was introduced on October 20). These buyers were told the reader would ship on November 30. High demand resulted in backorders, so the next wave of pre-orders was scheduled to ship on December 7. Now, a third group will have to wait until December 11.

This product is on fire, and it still isn't even on shelves yet.

Mary Ellen Keating, a spokeswoman for Barnes & Noble wouldn't reveal how many of these devices have been pre-ordered, but she did say, "Demand for the product in our stores and online has surpassed our expectations." She also noted, "We are working hard to meet demand for the holidays."

Continue reading Barnes & Noble's Nook already makes a splash

Barnes & Noble's Nook already makes a splash originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

For retailers, the crucial season is on its way. Blow the Christmas rush, and next year starts off on a miserable foot. Success, of course, also delivers a healthy dose of momentum -- and a little bit of wiggle room, important in what will continue to be a tough economy through at least the first half of next year. For booksellers, now contending with a new variable in the form of digital readers, e-readers will play a major role in defining the winners and losers. So far, it looks like Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) is off to a great start, and it will take some genuine innovation for the competition to chip away at its market share.

Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS), once the leading names in literary retail, is expected to release its own e-reader this week. It will look a bit like Amazon's Kindle, according to Reuters, but with a touch screen intended to make the reader's experience easier. The price hasn't been disclosed yet, but rumor has it that it'll be higher than the Kindle's $259. BKS is staying mum on its plans in this space. There are others in the space, as well, including IREX Technologies, which is a spinoff of Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG), Asutek (tk: tk) and a project called FirstPaper that has Hearst behind it.

Continue reading Amazon in the lead, but Kindle competition is coming

Amazon in the lead, but Kindle competition is coming originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 19 Oct 2009 08:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The new Neiman Marcus Christmas Book looks a bit different this year. Yes, it's still geared toward the typical Neiman clientele, but it reflects the fact that the usual customers may not be doing as well -- or spending as much -- this year as they did last year. The retailer is facing the fact that it will have to sell lower-priced items this Christmas, because that's what the public will have to buy (even the wealthy corner of the public).

Close to half the gifts listed in the 83rd edition of the Neiman Christmas catalog cost less than $250, and some of them are actually practical (though a bit pricey for most people). In the past, the number of gifts at this price-point would be in the 30% to 40% range.

Continue reading Neiman's Christmas Book reflects economic reality

Neiman's Christmas Book reflects economic reality originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 07 Oct 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

We are all living the Charlie Brown Christmas this year, and making due with less. Most people are cutting back on their holiday shopping as they adjust to the slowing economy and higher unemployment.

Frankly, it is a nice change of pace. That said, our reduced spending is, in a sad way, making matters worse.

Companies are retreating en masse, with many reducing or eliminating guidance. It's brutal out there.

The latest victim is video game maker Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS).

Although there is no must-have buy this season, video games were thought to be attractive for those looking for cheap entertainment. Apparently, that's not the case.

Yesterday, ERTS issued a warning to investors. The company said it now expects to miss already reduced guidance for the fiscal year ending in March. Things have gotten so bad that ERTS is not offering any specifics.

Continue reading The latest victim of the 'Charlie Brown Christmas'

The latest victim of the 'Charlie Brown Christmas' originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 11 Dec 2008 09:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Even the children who have been very good may get coal in their stockings this year. There may not be enough money around to buy them toys, PCs, or game consoles.

According to The Wall Street Journal, "As the financial crisis spread last month, some U.S. retailers hit the panic button, offering more generous discounts than they did at this time last year." It looks like the tactic has not been working. People are not showing up in stores no matter how cheap things are.

But are tough holidays such a bad things for kids? Maybe not. It may prepare them for a few years of tough sledding. It may get them ready for a period where their parents may be out of work or their college funds don't get funded. It may force them to get jobs when they are 16 to help the family out.

There is a good chance that this recession may be long and deep. That means no one is likely to be untouched whether it be man, woman, or child. Why try to trick the youngsters into thinking things are OK by overspending for bight holidays? Next year, they may not be able to buy school books or that new set of Air Jordans.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Coal in the stockings for the holidays: Teaching kids about recession originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 06 Oct 2008 13:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Wal-Mart brings back Santa Claus originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 10 Dec 2007 11:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading What a tech investor wants for the holidays

What a tech investor wants for the holidays originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 29 Nov 2007 17:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The usual strategy for increasing holiday sales can lead to Pyrrhic victories for retailers: slashing prices and spending million in advertising has a way of crushing margins in the name of increasing sales. But it's been the modus operandi of stores like Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) for years.

Target (NYSE: TGT) wants to try something different. According to USA Today, "Bucking the trend toward price cutting, Target plans a limited-time-only holiday promotion the week after Thanksgiving to lure customers into stores."

Sounds like a plan -- offering limited-time only merchandise will build excitement and get customers into the stores, without the debilitating effects of huge markdowns.

Target is beating Wal-Mart lately for one reason: They've found a way to compete as a big box retailer on something other than price. Wal-Mart's continued reliance on huge price cuts and Target's transition toward a more innovative marketing campaign is confirmation of a trend that's been establishing itself for awhile: Target is on the way in, and Wal-Mart's relevance is in decline.

Target wants to compete for holiday shopping -- without slashing prices originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 11 Nov 2007 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The head of Walmart.com says that Halloween sales were particularly strong. And, he thinks the upcoming holiday season will do just as well. "Customers are still spending for the holidays. Halloween was very good for us, so I suspect that Christmas is going to be great," said Raul Vazquez in a talk with Reuters.

The website may be benefiting from the fact that parent Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) cut holiday prices early this year, about a month ahead of the normal Thanksgiving weekend time frame.

But there could be other explanations. Wal-Mart has been especially good at tying its website to its stores. Customers can order items on the internet and pick them up at the local retail outlet, saving shipping charges. This combination of convenience and low price may be increasing use of the website.

The other reason the site may be doing well is the rotation away from buying goods in stores and toward buying online. While same-store sales at many big retailers are relatively flat, e-commerce revenue is expected to rise over 20% in the last two months of the year.

Or, there is one other explanation. Wal-Mart may be doing better than most investors think.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Happy holidays for Walmart.com originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 07 Nov 2007 09:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Tired of seeing your expensive and carefully chosen gifts end up months later as the flotsam and jetsam of post-holiday shores?

It's fun to buy stuff. But remember last year's failures -- that robotic pet that broke two weeks after Christmas and the pricey pale pink cashmere sweater your husband will never wear. And now he wants another iPod, like the one that went missing a few months ago?

This year choose gifts that will keep on giving. For your immediate family -- especially your kids -- make finding a gift that will actually appreciate in value a priority. Even if you end up buying them some cheap junk to fill up all the space under the Christmas tree, be sure to choose at least one gem that will last and hopefully grow in value.

The following is a range of gift ideas could apply to spouses, kids, mom, dad and even grandma and grandpa. They may not be worth more next year, but you can bet that in 20, 40 or 60 years time, they will all be worth more than that HDTV you're contemplating buying now.

1. Jewelry. Think gold, silver platinum. You can't go wrong.

2. Gold or silver coins. Put one or two in a nice velvet bag. They are pretty and fun as well as excellent stores of value.

3. Savings bonds. It's hard to jazz these up. But get your kids or nieces and nephews some to sock away. They may not squeal with delight when they open the envelope, but they will appreciate them later on.

Continue reading Gifts that keep on giving: These 10 will appreciate in value

Gifts that keep on giving: These 10 will appreciate in value originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 23 Nov 2006 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Today in Money & Finance - 11/14 - Black Friday deals, year-end tax tips, rise of inflatables originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 14 Nov 2006 08:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.