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is there good news for holiday shopping?

"The nation’s stores appear to have fared better this holiday shopping season than last year, according to early figures reported on Sunday. Major retailing categories had modest sales increases, while others fell slightly but still showed improvement."

However.....

"Despite that promising news, some consumers interviewed in stores over the weekend said they were exchanging their Christmas presents for everyday necessities and were continuing to curb their spending — suggesting that America’s retailers were still recovering from the deep economic recession.

Over all, retail sales from November through Dec. 24 rose 3.6 percent from last year, according to SpendingPulse, an information service of MasterCard Advisors that estimates sales for all forms of payment, including cash, checks and credit cards.

That number — which does not include sales of automobiles and gasoline — was helped this year by an extra shopping day between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Adjusting the results for that extra day cuts the retailing industry’s sales increase to about 1 percent, in line with what many retailing professionals expected.

While the numbers do not suggest a turnaround for the industry, they signal an improvement over last year’s 2.3 percent sales decline."

merry xmas everyone!

and happy merry!!

a fight to the finish.

"Many Americans have put off shopping for gifts and are taking a pragmatic approach to the holidays, according to a Consumer Reports holiday shopping poll.

As of Dec. 6, 40% of adults said that they have yet to hit the stores for gifts. Only 12% said they have finished their holiday shopping and nearly one-third (30%) do not anticipate finishing until Dec. 23 or later. About 13% shoppers indicate they will not finish until Dec. 24.

On average, people say they will be spending $699 on holiday gifts, $41 less than last year. Over the past three holiday shopping seasons, the average amount shoppers plan to spend on gifts has declined steadily, according to the poll. In 2008, shoppers anticipated spending $740, on average, down from $763 in 2007.

'Consumers are spending a bit less, focusing on more practical gifts, and vowing to take on less debt and pay it off sooner,' said Tod Marks, senior editor and shopping expert for Consumer Reports, in a statement."

consumer electronics ride again.

According to AdAge, "consumer electronics are tried-and-true annual holiday-sales drivers. But this holiday, thanks to a long year of price drops and the influence of the one super-retailer's aggressive marketing plans, consumer electronics have become the main draw of the season."

the ultimate tool of 2009: mobile.

It's no shock that mobile devices are fast becoming the key tool for people around the world. This holiday season, though, online retailers are taking full advantage of its power...

"Online retailers are revamping the mobile versions of their sites so consumers can make purchases without tedious typing. And offline retailers, battling for every last dollar, are sending cellphone users electronic coupons to lure them away from competitors.

One in five shoppers said they intended to use their cellphones to shop this holiday season, according to an annual survey by Deloitte, the accounting and consulting firm. Of those, 45 percent said they would use their phone to research prices, 32 percent said they would use it to find coupons or read reviews and 25 percent said they would make purchases from their phones.

'We are at the cusp of this technology really driving a lot of activity during the shopping season,' said Stacy Janiak, United States retail practice leader at Deloitte. 'It is both an opportunity and a challenge for a retailer, because you can have a consumer who can cross-shop your store with other bricks-and-mortar stores or online, all from the convenience of your aisle.'

a new year worth celebrating.

After a year of doom and gloom, people are ready to put it behind them and move forward (for a night, at least).

"A new survey from American Express reports that many people will reward themselves for paring back on gifts with what it calls 'party driven' spending. Some 69% plan to celebrate with friends or family, and 45% plan to attend parties. And 90% plan to make purchases for the occasion.

Affluent people will spend $750, for example, and young professionals $470, on food, spirits and other festivities. Some 44% of young professionals plan to buy a new outfit to wear to a holiday party, and 24% of affluents and 31% of young professionals say they plan to get either their nails or hair done. Among partygoers, 68% say they will spring for a hostess present, spending an average of $35.

The American Express survey, which included just over 2,000 adults, also finds that people are somewhat more behind on their shopping than usual, with 66% saying they haven't finished yet, and 21% planning to continue their shopping right through the week before Christmas.

Of those, 31% are doing so in order to find better deals, 19% are still saving, 18% are just time-strapped, 11% are planning to use their last paycheck before Christmas, and an impressive 10% are waiting for Christmas to pass by entirely, so they can make out on post-holiday sales."

ads may not be the way to win during the holidays.

"A new survey has found that half of consumers say they're not inspired to shop at the retailer whose holiday TV commercial or online promotion they liked best.

'It goes along with the old adage that I know half my marketing dollars are wasted, I just don't know what half,' said Mike Gatti, executive director at the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association survey, which was conducted by Big Research. '[Consumers] probably still get a kick out of the commercials, but there are a lot of brand loyalties out there. ... [But it] does position [retailers] in the minds of people whether they shop there or not.'

When asked to choose their favorite holiday TV commercial, 26% of consumers chose one from Walmart, upsetting Target's holiday-ad dominance. Target had taken the top slot on the survey for the past three years, but this year it only garnered 16% of the vote. Perhaps that's not surprising, considering that consumers took to Facebook to complain about one commercial that seemed to cast doubt on the existence of Santa Claus and another that put a damper on Christmas morning with talk of finances."

what's topping your holiday list this year?

According to AdAge, this year's hot products may be the result of a lack of innovation, not just consumer funds...

"It might not just be the economy that's holding back sales this holiday season -- it's also the lack of breakout products. Industry analysts and even retailers are hard-pressed to identify any must-have items beyond an $8 toy hamster.

'There's no killer item this year. There is no XBox or item that's out of stock that everyone has to have, and typically we benefit when that happens,' John Donahoe, eBay's CEO, said at an investors' conference this week. 'There just simply ... isn't one this year. [There's] no breakout consumer electronic other than the Zhu Zhu.'

While manufacturers can shoulder some of the blame for cutting back on innovation, retailers are choosing to play it safe with items that have a proven sales track record. That means a decided lack of new fashions, electronics and toys to stir up consumer interest.

'A lot of [retailers] are more interested in living another day than knocking it out of the park,' said Patricia Edwards, a retail analyst and founder of Storehouse Partners. "'This year is about survival. Some risk-taking is OK. ... But there just isn't room for error this year.'"

what can make or break online shopping.

"A new comScore report shows that during the week of Nov. 22, transactions offering free shipping accounted for 50% of all online sales -- 11% higher than the same week a year ago.

More broadly, online transactions with free shipping as an incentive have been higher than the same period a year ago during each week going back to Nov. 8.

Somewhat surprisingly, however, for the week that included Cyber Monday, the increase was a relatively modest 4%. Data showed that 44% of e-commerce business that week included free shipping deals, versus 40% in 2008.

It's possible that with so many people shopping on Cyber Monday, marketers dropped the free shipping option, figuring it would not deter customers. With $887 million in online spending on Cyber Monday, the day equaled the most lucrative for e-commerce ever.

ComScore says the most recent data for holiday season spending shows that 'the average order value' for purchases with free shipping has been 'about 15% higher' than when the customer was on the hook."

black friday breaks (minimal) records.

"The final sales tally for Black Friday weekend may not be what retailers hoped for, butparts of it set new records. Overall, ShopperTrak is reporting that weekend retail sales increased 1.6%, while shopper traffic actually declined 1.1% in the three-day period.

Spending on Black Friday itself rose just 0.5%, but it did hit $10.66 billion -- a new record. On Black Saturday, spending gained 0.9% from last year, to reach $6.11 billion. And while the 5.3% jump in Sunday sales to $3.73 billion might seem exciting, the Chicago-based traffic management company points out that last year the Sunday of Black Friday weekend began the long, slow slide into the Grinchiest holiday season in recent memory.

'The bottom line is, retailers saw a slight sales increase with a minimal traffic decrease, both of which are tremendous improvements over sales and traffic levels we saw throughout 2009 prior to the holidays,' the company says in its report. 'But while this weekend is a bit encouraging, we're still comparing to what turned out to be the worst holiday season we've ever measured.'"