Limited Brands, Amazon, eBay: Retailers to Watch This Holiday Season, Part 2

Christmas '11: The Retail Forecast, a half-day conference presented by the Retail Marketing Society on Nov. 1 in New York City, showcased Morgan Stanley analysts naming eight cross-channel retailers they're betting on for success this holiday season. In part one of this article in yesterday's ROI Report, I highlighted Macy's, Nordstrom, ANN INC. and Coach. Today I report on what the analysts expect for Limited Brands, Amazon and eBay this holiday season.

Limited Brands. "We forecast 5 percent to 6 percent same-store sales growth at Victoria's Secret, driven by innovative product launches, compelling marketing and competitive promotions," said Kimberly Greenberger, managing director and specialty apparel retailing/softlines analyst at Morgan Stanley. "At Bath & Body Works, we think a continued focus on reading and reacting to customer buying behavior will drive a 3 percent to 4 percent same-store sales increase."

Amazon.com. "We continue to believe that Amazon.com is well-positioned to benefit as consumers continue to migrate from offline to online channels, because of its best-in-class customer service, exceptional user experience, broad selection and highly competitive pricing," said Scott Devitt, executive director and consumer internet specialist at Morgan Stanley.

What's more, Devitt discussed the success of Amazon's Prime membership program (which offers members free shipping as well as unlimited video downloads for an annual membership fee of $79) and the launch of its Kindle Fire seven-inch tablet device.

"The Kindle Fire will accelerate customer adoption of Amazon Prime as the company will effectively have a direct-to-consumer marketing platform encouraging online purchases and the consumption of streaming video," Devitt said.

eBay. Devtt discussed eBay's Marketplaces division, stating that it's "growing in-line with e-commerce, driven by improvements in trust and user experience such as free shipping, improved search and buyer/seller protection."