Many retailers delivered solid sales gains for December, but heavy discounts needed to get shoppers to buy exacted a high price, clouding the holiday shopping season. Merchants had to mark down coats and other gifts to get shoppers to buy in a challenging economy. A mild start to winter also didn’t help, wilting shoppers’ appetite for [...] [...]
by Associated Press Published: December 30,2011
Tags: Colorado Springs, Retail, Sears
Colorado will lose three stores when Sears and Kmart close 120 stores nationwide early next year, and none of them are in Colorado Springs. The Sears is in Longmont and the company plans to close Kmarts in Broomfield and Glenwood Springs. Nationally, Florida will be hit the hardest by the closing of Sears and Kmart stores, losing [...] [...]
by Amanda Miller Published: December 19,2011
Tags: auction house, consignment, Downtown, Retail
Two businesses are opening this month under the Colorado Avenue bridge at 109 S. Sierra Madre St. Mary Beth Cipoletti is opening Auction House 109 in the the former location of Ross Auction, which moved seven blocks down the street about a year ago. Auction House 109 will also include a high-end consignment shop, called Little London Market, that [...] [...]
by Associated Press Published: December 16,2011
The start of the crucial holiday shopping season in November helped fuel the sixth straight monthly increase in retail sales. Gift-buying Americans spent more on clothing and electronics, and sales of autos and furniture also rose. Still, the overall gain was the smallest since June. Consumers pulled back on some purchases unrelated to holiday shopping, such [...] [...]
by Amy Gillentine Published: December 15,2011
Tags: forecast, holiday, National Retail Federation, Sales
Looks like the holiday will be even jollier than first thought – at least for the nation’s retailers. The National Retail Federation has revised its holiday forecast upward, expecting holiday sales to rise to 3.8 percent this year. The overall forecast is a record $469.1 billion in sales. NRF’s initial forecast called for anticipated sales growth of [...] [...]
by Monica Mendoza Published: December 13,2011
Tags: free shipping, online shopping
Extreme holiday shopping procrastinators are getting a lucky break this year. More retailers are extending the dates they are offering free and expedited shipping promotions — some all the way to Dec. 23. According to Shop.org’s eHoliday Survey, conducted by BIGresearch, 87 percent of retailers’ standard shipping deadlines for Christmas delivery will expire before or on Dec. [...] [...]
by Staff Writer Published: December 7,2011
Tags: delays, online shopping, security
Online shoppers will typically give up trying to make a purchase after four minutes if they have not been able to get through the retailer’s security checks, according to a new study Research for Experian revealed that 44 percent of people had abandoned an online shopping transaction because the checks were taking too long and 43 [...] [...]
by Amanda Miller Published: December 5,2011
Tags: Downtown, economy, Retail, store closure
A downtown shop owner has decided to close her doors once and for all. Jeanne Galvin closed her Mt. Tejon shop downtown in the early spring and reopened in the same location before the start of the summer season as Tillie & Toad. Her clothing and consignment business didn’t catch on the way she wanted. So she’s taken [...] [...]
by Amanda Miller Published: December 2,2011
Tags: Black Friday, holiday sales, Retail, Small Business Enterprise
Black Friday and weekend holiday sales were strong throughout the country and Colorado Springs was no exception. Traffic was heavy at the city’s shopping malls, and several stores reported higher sales this year than last. Independent shops also saw a surge of activity. Retailers cited several factors they believe created improvements. A strengthening economy, earlier store openings [...] [...]
by Monica Mendoza Published: December 1,2011
Black Friday kicked off the season of the part-time worker. The National Retail Federation predicts that nationwide retailers will hire about 500,000 seasonal employees this holiday season. Dan Hannaher, Small Business Administration regional administrator whose region includes Colorado, said, “hiring extra help for the hoped-for push should be thought out more than ever.” He offers 10 tips for [...] [...]
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