- Mark Levin Signs Multi-year Deal with ABC, Expands Show to 3 Hours
- Consumerist.com Adopted by Old-School Consumers Union, Stops Selling Ads
- For Auto Industry, 2009 Holds Even Tighter Ad Budgets
- User-Generated Magazine Publisher 8020 Media Shuts Doors
- Out-of-Home, Fueled by Digital, to Weather Recession Well
- Clear Channel Swaps Cincy Stations for Five in Green Bay
- Consumers Swarm to Discounters for Grocery Items, Don’t Switch Back
- Wikimedia Raises $6.2M to Keep Wikipedia Afloat
- Conde Nast’s Jan. Ad Pages Slip More than Most
- Aegis Faces Possible Sale or Spin-off of Non-core Businesses
- Top US Cities for Charitable Givers, by Category
- Online Fitness, Video Game Spending Outperforms Brick-And-Mortar
- RIM Must Fix Glitches, Boost Satisfaction To Hold Off iPhone
- LCD TV Revenue to Fall YoY for First Time Ever
- Top 10 Broadcast Media Websites - November 2008
- Top 10 Entertainment Online Advertisers by Image-Based Impressions - November 2008
- Top 10 Sports Websites - November 2008
- Eight in 10 Online Holiday Shoppers Read Web Reviews
- Top 40 Online Retail Satisfaction Index: Merry Outlook for Some, but Not Others
- Firefox Share Tops 20% in November
Multi-channel Retailing
Borders Announces New CEO, Management Changes, Holiday Sales Results
Borders Group today announced several management changes—including the appointment of a new CEO—to more aggressively drive a turnaround of the company within today’s challenging economy.
Effective today (Monday), Ron Marshall, who most recently was Principal of Wildridge Capital Management, a private equity firm he founded some three years ago, has been appointed president and CEO and will...
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‘Wal-Mart’s Worst Nightmare’
British megaretailer Tesco is challenging Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, on its home turf, the US—though Wal-Mart is fighting back using Tesco’s own tactics, writes BusinessWeek.
Wal-Mart countered Tesco’s Nov. 2007 launch of Fresh & Easy—a chain of 10,000 sq. ft. convenience stores in California, Nevada, and Arizona—with its own similar-format Marketside, in Arizona.
Still, “Tesco is...
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Retailers Beware: Worst Is Yet to Come, but Hope on Horizon
Retailers that survived the 2008 holiday season shouldn’t pin their hopes on the new year, as retail sales will remain weak throughout 2009 and won’t rebound until 2010, TNS Retail Forward forecasts.
For 2009, sales growth for the year (excluding automobiles and gasoline) is forecast to approach 2% compared with the 2.3% average growth for 2008 through November, based on data reported by the US...
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Top 40 Online Retail Satisfaction Index: Merry Outlook for Few
Some online retailers will thrive in 2009, while others have an uphill battle ahead, if customer satisfaction with top retail websites during the holiday season is any indication.
Amazon and Netflix continued to delight holiday shoppers online while customer satisfaction with websites for Circuit City, Gap, Home Depot, HSN, Neiman Marcus, and Overstock fell below industry standards, according...
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Eight in Ten Online Holiday Shoppers Read Customer Reviews
Eight in ten online shoppers (81%) have read consumer-written product or retailer reviews when doing their holiday shopping this year, according to (pdf) a Nielsen Online holiday survey conducted in mid-December.
Customer reviews are an important research tool for online consumers, with 71% agreeing that consumer reviews make them more comfortable that they are buying the right product, Nielsen...
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Target Challenging Wal-Mart with Low-Price Message
Target Inc. seems poised to ratchet up its pricing message to counter consumer perception that rival Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is the place to shop for low prices, writes Dow Jones, citing industry analysts.
A frustrated Target, which has been eclipsed for 12 consecutive weeks by Wal-Mart in same-store sales, has already made changes in its messaging.
Its In-store signs, circulars, and TV campaign...
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KB Toys Going-Out-of-Business Sale Going on Now
With just days left in the holiday buying season, KB Toys Inc. will be closing its doors for good and has lowered prices on its entire stock, with savings starting at 40% off regular prices, the company announced today.
All KB Toys, KB Toy Outlet, KB Toy Works, and KB Toys Holiday Stores nationwide are participating in the going-out-of-business sale.
On December 18, 2008, a Delaware bankruptcy...
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IMRG/Capgemini: UK Shoppers Flock Online before Christmas
UK online spending in November surged 26% from October—and 16% from Nov. of last year, according to figures released from the Interactive Media In Retail Group (IMRG) Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index today (Tues.).
The 26% surge in November sales was the highest of the year.
Shoppers may be attempting to beat the recession in the run up to Christmas by heading online, with online retailers...
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Retailers, Manufacturers Face Off on Minimum Advertised Pricing
A 5-to-4 Supreme Court ruling (pdf) that found manufacturers’ efforts to set a “minimum advertised price” (MAP) for retail products do not run afoul of antitrust laws is quickly leading to a confrontation between manufacturers’ MAP enforcers and retailers, writes the Wall Street Journal.
Representatives of discounters such as eBay, Costco, and online retailers, as well as consumer groups and the...
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Black Friday Traffic to Online-Shopping Sites Up 10%
Web traffic from home and work to the Nielsen Online Holiday eShopping Index increased 10% year over year on Black Friday, growing from 28.8 million unique visitors in 2007 to 31.7 million unique visitors in 2008, Nielsen Online reported (pdf). The index tracks more than 120 representative online retailers.
Below, additional findings released by Nielsen Online.
Category Growth
Consumer...
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