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.
Wondering what to watch this weekend? This week we watch real-life spiritualism that has gone too far, fictional witchcraft that has gone too far, and two Christmas classics to bring our happiness back.
Since 1927, Time Magazine has chosen its Person of the Year to acknowledge the world's biggest and most influential change makers. This year it was global phenomenon Taylor Swift. Dan Macsai, executive editor of Time, spoke with Cheddar News about the process to make its pick and what's involved.
So I got the chance to chat with times executive editor Dan Max about how time made its decision and the entire person of the year issue.
A liberal activist with an eye for mainstream entertainment, Lear fashioned bold and controversial comedies that were embraced by viewers who had to watch the evening news to find out what was going on in the world.
Dean O'Neill, CEO and owner of Pekarna Restaurant & Event Space, joined Cheddar News to discuss a new Christmas-themed pop-up called Tinsel Town in the Upper West Side of Manhattan with some delicious food and drinks.
