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.
A Colorado funeral home owner where 115 decaying bodies were found tried to conceal the improper storage of corpses and claimed he was doing taxidermy, according to a suspension letter sent to him by state regulators.
Air travel costs are up but there are ways to make the airport experience better and cheaper. Travel journalist Francesca Page joined Cheddar News to provide how to bring those costs down while traveling, especially ahead of the holiday season.
Senior dogs only have a 25% adoption rate, according to the ASPCA. Josey Miller of Best Friends Animal Society and seven-year-old Christine the Chihuahua joined Cheddar News to discuss the benefits of adopting older pets and to dismiss some myths about taking them home.
