Tuesday Tipsheet: Christmas Spend +12% | Wgreen’s Virtual Doc | Looting Champagne

 

“Americans plan to spend most in 5 years this Christmas” by Steve Liesman at CNBC. “The average American plans to spend $765 this year, up 12 percent versus last year, and about 6.5 percent higher than the average across the survey’s nine-year history.” Read more

 

“Bill Gates’ dad leaving Costco’s board after 11 years” by Ben Miller at Puget Sound Bus. Journal. “Costco said in an SEC filing that “the voluntary resignation is not due to any disagreement with the company on any matter relating to the company’s operations, policies or practices.” Read more

 

UK: One in three items of clothing, furniture and household appliances are now purchased online by Dan Hyde at The Telegraph. “Outside of food, the purchase most commonly made online – as opposed to in person – was shoes, the British Retail Consortium found. Almost 34 per cent were bought over the internet in November.” Read more

 

“Walgreen tests virtual doctor visits through app” at AP via SF Gate. “Walgreen is testing a telemedicine service that lets patients see a doctor without leaving home or even visiting any of the drugstore chain’s clinics. The company says patients in California or Michigan can contact a physician around the clock through Walgreen’s mobile application for smartphones or tablets.” Read more

 

“Best Buy dangles free two-day shipping to lure holiday shoppers” by Kavita Kumar at Star-Tribune. “Best Buy’s aggressive shipping offer appears aimed in part at Amazon Prime members, who can get free two-day shipping, said Kevon Hills, vice president of research for StellaService, a firm that tracks retailers’ shipping speed and customer service. “But it also seems aimed at Target,” he said.” Read more

 

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“Fannie Approves 3% Down Payments” by Dunstan Prial at Fox Business. “Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on Monday announced details of a controversial plan to allow some first-time homeowners to obtain a mortgage while putting down just 3% of the price of the home.” Read more

 

Washington Post: “Meet the secret army of meteorologists who keep your holiday deliveries on time” by Drew Harwell. “Deep within a global operations nerve center in Memphis, a team of specially trained operatives scans data from nearly 200 countries, issues urgent “SNOCON” alerts and tracks a fleet of cargo jets via a glowing, wall-size “war board.” Their mission? To make sure no “Frozen” doll is left behind.” Read more

 

“Amazon Is Getting Sick Of The US Government Dragging Its Feet On Letting It Test Delivery Drones Outside” by Jillian D’Onfro at Business Insider.  “Amazon sent a letter to the Federal Aviation Administration warning that it would “have no choice” but to move more of its drone research outside the United States if it wasn’t allowed to do more testing outside soon.” Read more

 

“Tim Tebow shocks Walmart shoppers by paying layaway tab” at Austin 360 via ABC. “Oh my God, thank you!” she cried, hugging Tebow. Later, she called her mother, telling her: “Mom you’re never going to believe what just happened. Tim Tebow just paid my layaway!” See the video / Read more

 

Berkeley: Champagne Looted at Whole Foods at AP via ABC. “A Whole Foods grocery on historic Telegraph Avenue was looted, with people stealing bottles of champagne and passing them around the crowd.” Read more

 

Claim: Grumpy Cat Made $114 Million in Two Years by David Millward at The Telegraph via Financial Post. “I was able to quit my job as a waitress within days of her first appearance on social media and the phone simply hasn’t stopped ringing since.” Read more

 

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Eye-on-Retail is a daily tipsheet read by thousands of Retail Merchants & Executives every weekday morning. Eye-on-Retail is unique because it’s timely, smart and fun. It’s created early AM every weekday and delivered between 7-8 am CST. We love data, earnings reports, executive presentations and stories off the beaten path that get at what’s happening in the world of retail. info@shiftmarketinggroup.net.