| Retailers, banks spark holiday cheer
Nov. 23 - Wall Street surged in post-holiday trade as investors look for a strong shopping season for the retailers and hopes rise the banking sector will help ease the credit crunch. In an abbreviated session, The Dow jumped 181 points to 12,980. The S&P 500 rose 23 points to 1,440. The Nasdaq gained 34 points to 2,596. Crude oil prices jumped above $98 a barrel. Speaker: Terry Lundgren, chief executive, Macy's Inc. Conway G. Gittens reports from New York. .
Pronto.com Adds Product Buying Guides to Compliment Thriving Social ...
NEW YORK, Nov. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Pronto.com(TM), an Operating Business of IAC (NASDAQ: IACI) , today announced that, just in time for the holiday season, it has added product Buying Guides to its industry-leading social shopping site. Pronto.com's new Buying Guides provide a digestible amount of information on a wide range of products, including reviews, unbiased advice and helpful, category-specific facts, so shoppers can make educated buying decisions without being experts. With the holiday season fast approaching, Pronto.com's Buying Guides have arrived at a perfect time. According to a recent study by Burst Media, more than half of consumers expect to purchase either a portion or all of their holiday gifts online this year (50.7%), up from 37.6% in 2006. The survey also revealed that more than two-thirds (68.6%) of consumers shop online and use the Internet as a resource to research products.
Developer envisions Warminster Plaza expansion
The new owners of the Warminster Plaza shopping center say they want to expand and modernize the partially empty shopping center. The 12-acre property at 654 York Road - across from Archbishop Wood High School - is home to Petco and other stores. It was sold last year for $12.4 million to Philadelphia-based Walnut Street Capital. Eric Kuhn, vice president of GM Suburban Development, said at a township supervisors meeting Thursday that his company wants to rezone the land from shopping center to commercial. The shopping center totals 120,000 square feet. Kuhn said the update would add approximately 20,000 square feet of commercial space. Both GM Suburban Development and Walnut Street Capital are run by Philadelphia developer Joe Grasso. His companies have developed at least 27 shopping centers throughout the region, Kuhn said.
More Pressies To The Pound - In NY
The dramatic fall in the dollar against the pound means that canny shoppers who fancy a few days away could get some Christmas bargains across the pond in New York. Taking a bite out of celebrity shopping habits with a trip to the Big Apple could save hundreds of pounds on "bit ticket items". That is good news for the city's tourist industry which confirms that record-breaking numbers of British tourists are heading to New York. The UK is the city's number one international travel market; it had more than 1.1m people visiting in 2006. And the current weak value of the dollar means many goods are as much as 30% cheaper on average than in London, according to price comparison website PriceRunner.co.uk. Recent shoppers back up the website's claim, with one saying she bought an Apple Mac at 200 less than the same model in London, making a saving of around 25%.
IconNicholson's SocialRetailing(SM) Solution Selected by Time Magazine ...
NEW YORK, Nov. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- IconNicholson, a leading full-service digital agency, has been recognized by Time Magazine for its ground-breaking SocialRetailing(SM) concept, which was named one of the top inventions of the year. The solution -- developed for renowned fashion designer Nanette Lepore and piloted at Bloomingdale's this past spring -- demonstrates the agency's commitment to its clients to innovate the customer experience at a time when the Internet and other emerging technologies are profoundly changing the game of marketing and world-class customer service. SocialRetailing(SM) itself has come to represent what many are calling the first integration of Web 2.0 activities with real-world channels. Facebook, MySpace and other social sites are proving the power of social networks to influence purchasing decisions and buying behaviors; SocialRetailing(SM) connects that power with the in-store shopping experience and is the first of a wave of applications that IconNicholson envisions for the future of retail.
US shoppers brave the cold as stores lure them with big discounts
New York in November can be bitterly cold. New York at the end of November at four o’clock in the morning is especially so, yet yesterday, under black night skies and with breath casting trails in the chilly air, that was the time that America began a key period in its retailing year. The day after Thanksgiving, known as Black Friday because it typically marks the point in the year when retailers go into the black, is the biggest shopping day of the year and kicks off the Christmas retail period. Yesterday, however, there were more nerves than usual behind the tills of the country’s big stores. Would the summer’s credit crisis and America’s housing slump dampen sales? Many stores were promising 90 per cent discounts on electrical items, furniture, clothing and footwear from sales that started at 4am yesterday.
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