Macy's

The often-overlooked week between Christmas and New Year's is still a busy one for retailers-and Macy's is staking its claim. The retailer has dubbed the period from today through Jan. 1 its "Week of Wonderful," with plans for special promotions and deliveries of new merchandise. Consumers, often on vacation, flood malls to return gifts and use gift cards. In recent years, as gift cards have become increasingly popular, retailers have sought to stock fresh merchandise, rather than leave shoppers to pick over discounted holiday items. 

This month's Retailer Web Performance Report Card, a monthly ROI Report column by SmartBear Software, features retailers trying to capture as much holiday revenue as possible before Christmas. Through SmartBear's AlertSite, we see how online retailers’ websites perform from the end user perspective. We've picked three retailers to spotlight in December, measuring them against the critical benchmark trends in web performance — stability (standard deviation), availability and response times — to see how they're performing in the homestretch of the holiday shopping season.

Black Friday, traditionally one of the busiest shopping days of the year, is nearing. Big-box stores are going to have to deal with “showrooming” — i.e., when in-store shoppers use their smartphones to identify cheaper deals online and then make their purchases elsewhere. What can retailers do to offset the effect of showrooming during Black Friday?"

More than 400,000 people have signed a petition asking Macy's to sever its ties with Donald Trump, in part over his public skepticism about President Obama's birthplace. The petition on SignOn.org says Macy's should also break with Trump over his "sexist" comments about women's looks and other "unpleasant, nasty and despicable behavior." "Donald Trump does not reflect the ‘magic of Macy's.’ We urge you to sever ties with him," the petition reads. The petition was created by Angelo Carusone, who previously campaigned against Glenn Beck.

Macy's and Toys"R"Us — likely the two retailers most associated with Christmas — have joined together for a unique retail partnership. The companies have signed an agreement that will bring Toys"R"Us Express-branded departments in 24 Macy's stores in major markets nationwide during this year's holiday selling season. The departments, which will operate on a leased basis, will average approximately 1,500 square feet (with some smaller and some larger). They will be open for a period of about three months — roughly from Oct. 15 to Jan. 15, 2013.

Macy's will open Finish Line-branded athletic footwear shops in more than 450 of its department stores in the U.S. and online at macys.com. The deal is expected to result in additional sales to Finish Line of $250 million to $350 million annually. The leased departments, which will be operated by Finish Line, will start opening in spring 2013 with completion expected by fall 2014. For about 225 other Macy's stores that carry footwear, Finish Line will manage the athletic footwear assortment and inventory starting in spring 2013.

Think tank L2 has released its annual Digital IQ Index, which ranks 76 specialty retail brands on factors including website, e-commerce experience, digital marketing, social media and mobile. This year, L2 says the real game changer in digital retail is mobile. According to the report, "82 percent of users report using their mobile devices in-store, leading to a showrooming effect, where users experience product in-store but purchase via mobile." L2 predicts m-commerce will grow at a rate of 30 percent to 40 percent a year compared to online and brick-and-mortar retail.

A bid by Macy's to stop JC Penney Co. from selling products designed by Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. will be denied, a New York judge said after a hearing. Justice Jeffrey Oing in Manhattan today said he will rule against Macy's request for a preliminary injunction blocking JC Penney from taking any steps under an agreement reached with Martha Stewart Living last year. Macy's sued Martha Stewart Living in January to stop it from executing a sales agreement with JC Penney announced in December, with Macy's claiming an exclusive right to sell Martha Stewart products in certain categories.

Macy's took its legal battle over its agreement to exclusively sell certain Martha Stewart items directly to J.C. Penney on Thursday, accusing the rival department store chain of interfering with its contract with the home goods designer. Macy's already successfully persuaded a New York state judge to temporarily block plans for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia to sell its products at J.C. Penney stores in a lawsuit against Martha Stewart. 

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia filed a notice of appeal in a lawsuit by Macy's in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan, Bloomberg reported. Macy’s sued Martha Stewart Living in January to stop the company from executing a sales agreement that it announced in December with J.C. Penney. Macy’s said it had the exclusive right to sell Martha Stewart-branded products in certain categories. Last month, a judge in Manhattan granted Macy’s a preliminary injunction blocking Martha Stewart Living from taking any further steps under its deal with J.C. Penney.