Holiday sales increased 5% over last year, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse report, marking the largest year-over-year increase since 2011. Christian Magoon, CEO of Amplify, and Melissa Gonzalez, CEO and Founder of Lion'esque Group, join The Long and The Short to recap retail in 2017 and make predictions for 2018.
According to the Mastercard survey, aggressive promotions early in the holiday season were the main driver for the uptick in retail sales. As for the specific categories that saw growth: sales of electronics and appliances increased by 7.5%, and home furnishings and improvement sales jumped 5%. However, women's apparel was negative over the entire year.
Magoon believes mobile commerce is growing by leaps and bounds, which is a direct result of retail sales going up. This is a white-hot growth opportunity for retailers, as smart devices, faster internet, and more trusted mobile payment technology push mobile sales above desktop or foot-traffic. Gonzalez says that retail stores need to start offering perks to their shoppers to get them in the store. Additionally, aggressive discounts were a main driver this year.
Patricia Napier-Fitzpatrick, president of The Etiquette School of New York, shares some tipping tips so that you don't come off as a Scrooge.
Sam Raimondi shows you how to make a beautiful rustic wreath for the holiday season.
Marissa Silva, editor-in-chief of The Toy Insider, joined Cheddar News to provide gift ideas for your furry loved ones ahead of the holidays.
Musicals have been tough sells in theaters in recent years, so much so that Warner Bros. downplayed the song and dance elements of “Wonka” in trailers. Instead, the studio emphasized Chalamet, the 27-year-old actor.
Barbara Streisand will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at next year's SAG Awards.
Cher opened up to Kelly Clarkson about being excluded from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Nicki Minaj revealed that she turned down a request from Kanye West to clear her verse so he could release her collaboration.
Peacock shared the trailer for the second season of the celebrity competition show, 'The Traitors.'
Women outnumber men in the largest urban counties east of the Mississippi River, along the Eastern Seaboard and in the Deep South, while the West skews male, according to data released last week from the 2022 American Community Survey 5-year estimates.
A giant panda at the Beijing Zoo had a lot of fun playing in the snow this week.
