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Halloween retail sales, which had grown to an $8 billion industry by 2012, is expected to fall 7 percent this year, to $6.9 billion. According to the National Retail Federation, this is the lowest total since 2011. Experts blame the weak Halloween forecast on a shift in consumer spending to experiences rather than must-have items.... Read more »

Walmart recently announced cuts of 450 positions at its headquarters. Dollar Tree announced the elimination of 370 positions (115 of those unfilled currently) at its headquarters. JC Penney followed suit, announcing plans to cut 300 of its 3,400 home office positions. All are stating cuts are to reduce expenses. JC Penney still plans to hire... Read more »

Amazon.com Inc. announced plans to increase hiring by 25% over last year’s holiday season, to 100,000 workers. Workers will be in Amazon’s 50 warehouses and 20 package sorting centers around the US. This is higher than United Parcel Service (UPS) plans to hire this holiday season. Amazon is responding to US Census Bureau reports that... Read more »

An NRF survey of over 7,300 customers indicated that the average spending per person this year will be almost flat with last year, increasing to $806 this year versus $802 last year. This is the highest amount of spending in the survey’s 14 year history, but is still disappointing to retailers. “We continue to see... Read more »

Macy’s announced it would be closing 35-40 underperforming brick and mortar retail stores in the 2016 calendar year, making room to open its discount stores. Other retailers also announced plans to close doors in 2016, including Office Depot, Walgreens, The Gap and Barnes & Noble. While retailers are usually reluctant to announce store closures because... Read more »

Atlanta-based United Parcel Service announced rate increases to take effect on November 2, in time for holiday shopping. UPS will increase its fuel surcharges and will double its rates to deliver oversize items. Both UPS and FedEx are increasing rates and other charges about 5%. Separately, the US Postal Service is also asking regulators to... Read more »

The US Spending Monitor decreased 3.8 points in September, reaching its lowest point in 2015 and the lowest point since August 2014. Retail spending index decreased to 3 points under the 12-month average. The decrease comes with increased negative views on the economy, spending and personal finances. Over 60% of respondents rated their personal finances... Read more »

Vera Bradley enjoyed its best quarterly results in nearly five years, beating analysts’ expectations in Q2 2015.  Analysts predicted an 11-cent share profit, which Vera Bradley exceeded with a 15-cent share profit, and saw its sales increase 1.5 percent to $120.7 million. The company expects profits this year to land between 72 and 78 cents... Read more »

The Home Depot is officially opening a third facility to support its online business. The new 1.6 million facility in Ohio will employ 500 employees and will support its online operations that currently account for 5% of its business and continues to grow. Home Depot also announced plans in October to open its Marietta Technology... Read more »