Tag: Holiday

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Business

Vacation gift-card shopping for might assist enhance retail gross sales in 2021: Invoice Simon

Holiday gift-card buying could help boost retail sales in 2021: Bill Simon

This holiday season, gift card spending could spike, and that could help boost retail sales over the next year, former US President and CEO of Walmart Bill Simon told CNBC on Thursday.

Payment service Blackhawk Network found in a survey that shoppers spent an average of around $ 313 on gift cards during the holidays. This is an increase of 19% from the 2019 average. In addition, 52% of respondents said they would likely buy more gift cards in 2020 than in the past.

In a Closing Bell interview, Simon said the increased spending on gift cards could initially have a negative impact on retailers already grappling with the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

“Gift cards are shaky … because you don’t see the sale when the customer buys the card. You see the sale when it’s actually exchanged,” he said. “So if you try to measure Christmas sales, you will have this liability on the balance sheet, which is not a sale even though the sale was closed.”

However, the impact of gift card purchases could be much more beneficial with a view to the next year, explained Simon, who was President and CEO of Walmart US from 2010 to 2014.

One reason for this is that recipients tend to spend more than the face value of the gift card when shopping. “In general, you see about 20 to 30% more than the gift card,” he said.

The second reason is that, according to Simon, there may be “3% to 5% breakage, which means that cards are not redeemed”. “It’s a bit of a godsend for retailers, but it will also take time for them to finish.”

There could be fluctuations as retailers realize the benefits of buying Christmas gift cards over the next year, Simon said, pointing to the ongoing uncertainty surrounding Covid-19. When asked if retailers could have above-average sales in the first quarter, Simon replied, “They could and should.”

“If people still don’t want to get out, they may not be able to redeem their cards until the second quarter and it can happen later in the year,” said Simon. “But I think what we’re seeing in the increase in gift card shopping seems likely.”

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Business

Transport delays have harm vacation gross sales, says Fanatics’ Michael Rubin

Shipping delays have hurt holiday sales, says Fanatics' Michael Rubin

Michael Rubin, chairman of the board of directors of online sportswear giant Fanatics, told CNBC on Wednesday that retail sales this holiday season were negatively impacted by shipping problems.

“There was so much pressure on the various shipping networks to deliver, I think there was even more demand that could have been had,” Rubin said on Squawk Box. “As good as the business is, it could have been better.”

Overall, e-commerce sales rose 22% to $ 9 billion on Black Friday alone as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, according to Adobe Analytics. However, this growth comes at a price that puts a strain on warehouse and logistics networks. For example, on Cyber ​​Monday, UPS asked its drivers to stop picking up packages from some major retailers after those companies reached their capacity allocations.

The rollout of the coronavirus vaccine, which began this month after the Food and Drug Administration approved the emergency use of Pfizer BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, kicked off millions of additional doses being distributed in the U.S.

UPS spokesman Dan McMackin said vaccine shipments were “the top priority for delivery on the UPS network,” but he said it did not affect vacation package deliveries.

“UPS has carefully planned the main holiday season with our customers. We have also worked with Operation Warp Speed, vaccine manufacturers and other partners to carefully plan for many months what vaccine delivery requirements need to be made,” he said.

Rubin, a partner with the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and the NHL’s New Jersey Devils, said the pandemic had generally sped up e-commerce adoption by two or three years.

“I think e-commerce you will see 30% plus [growth] across the border. We had a great year, “said Rubin, whose fanatics were worth $ 6.2 billion during a Series E funding round in August.” Most interesting, however, was that the demand could have been even better if the shipping networks only had more capacity. But with Corona delivering vaccines for the first time, there is so much pressure on the shipping networks this year. “

Earlier this week, Fanatics announced that it has partnered with Barnes & Noble Education to run the e-commerce operation for sporting goods sold in bookstores on campus. The partnership includes Lids, with the companies making a $ 15 million equity investment in Barnes & Noble Education.

“I think somehow the company was misunderstood, and from our perspective we looked at it and said, ‘We really believe we can work together to strengthen this offering,'” said Rubin of Barnes & Noble Education. “We’re going to leverage all of Fanatics’ e-commerce capabilities and place them behind the 775 universities to give them the best deal – better technology, better mobility, wider range.”

Barnes & Noble Education stocks rose 1.7% on Wednesday. The partnership with Fanatics was announced ahead of Monday’s opening, and the stock is up about 12% this week.

Categories
Entertainment

Watch John Krasinski’s Some Good Information Vacation Episode: Video

Watch John Krasinski's Some Good News Holiday Episode: Video

John Krasinski Some good news is back! After an eight-episode run earlier this year, the actor revived his YouTube series for a vacation special that will make your heart smile. The latest installment featured feel-good stories and video clips from around the world, including a Parents That Rock segment dedicated to parents who helped their children get through a particularly difficult year.

George Clooney showed up to cover the weather and followed in Brad Pitt’s footsteps by keeping the stint short and sweet. Shortly after, John was talking on video with a father of two named Jay, who had listed some of his favorite collectors on eBay to raise money for his children’s Christmas gifts. Dwanta Claus, also known as Dwayne Johnson, crashed her call to inform Jay that he had bought every single item on his eBay page – and that he would fly them out to visit the DC Universe exhibit as soon as possible this is certain.

Watch the whole thing Some good news Episode above for your weekly dose of heartwarming content. Thank you John for spreading the much-needed holiday cheer.