Microsoft may be planning to launch a special bundle that includes the Nokia Lumia 800 and several accessories for $899. Citing unnamed industry sources, The Verge said the deal will kick off on February 14th and will include a Bluetooth headset, a Purity HD stereo headset and Nokia’s Play 360 wireless speaker. Microsoft will reportedly not be offering the Lumia 800 as a stand-alone product. $899 seems a bit steep to us, even considering that consumers will be getting an unlocked device and a bundle of solid accessories. After all, AT&T will be launching the sub-$100 Lumia 900 with 4G LTE support and a bigger screen just one month later.

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Amazon announced the company’s fourth quarter results last week, which fell short of Wall Street’s estimates. The company reported $17.4 billion in revenue, with net sales up 35% from $12.95 billion in the same quarter of 2010. Despite falling short of analyst estimates of $18.26 billion, Amazon’s growth was more than twice the overall market’s growth according to data from comScore. At $49.6 million, U.S. retail spending was only up 14% in the fourth quarter of 2011. “The growth rate represented the ninth consecutive quarter of positive year-over-year growth and fifth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth rates,” said the company’s press release. “For the entire 2011 year, U.S. retail e-commerce spending reached a record $161.5 billion, marking a 13-percent increase from 2010.” Read on for comScore’s full press release.

comScore Reports $50 Billion in Q4 2011 U.S. Retail E-Commerce Spending, Up 14 Percent vs. Year Ago

Spending Reaches $161.5 Billion for Full Year 2011 Marking 13 Percent Gain
comScore Chairman Gian Fulgoni to Present Update on Q4 2011 E-Commerce Trends in Upcoming Webinar

RESTON, VA, February 6, 2012 – comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released its Q4 2011 U.S. retail e-commerce sales estimates, which showed that online retail spending reached $49.7 billion for the quarter, up 14 percent versus year ago. This growth rate represented the ninth consecutive quarter of positive year-over-year growth and fifth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth rates. For the entire 2011 year, U.S. retail e-commerce spending reached a record $161.5 billion, marking a 13-percent increase from 2010.

Retail E-Commerce (Non-Travel) Growth Rates Excludes Auctions, Autos and Large Corporate Purchases Total U.S. – Home & Work Locations Source: comScore, Inc.
Quarter	E-Commerce Spending ($ Millions)	Y/Y Percent Change
Q1 2007	$27,970	17%
Q2 2007	$27,176	23%
Q3 2007	$28,441	23%
Q4 2007	$39,132	19%
Q1 2008	$31,178	11%
Q2 2008	$30,581	13%
Q3 2008	$30,274	6%
Q4 2008	$38,071	-3%
Q1 2009	$31,031	0%
Q2 2009	$30,169	-1%
Q3 2009	$29,552	-2%
Q4 2009	$39,045	3%
Q1 2010	$33,984	10%
Q2 2010	$32,942	9%
Q3 2010	$32,133	9%
Q4 2010	$43,432	11%
Q1 2011	$38,002	12%
Q2 2011	$37,501	14%
Q3 2011	$36,308	13%
Q4 2011	$49,698	14%

“The fourth quarter of 2011 capped off what was yet another strong year for online retail, one in which every quarter achieved double-digit increases versus the prior year,” said comScore chairman Gian Fulgoni. “In the face of continuing uncertainty regarding the U.S. economy, consumers increasingly went online for their shopping needs. Price and convenience continue to be the critical value drivers for e-commerce, and unless those conditions change we can expect to see more channel-shifting to online in 2012 and perhaps even an acceleration in the current growth trend.” Other highlights from Q4 2011 include:

• The top-performing online product categories were: Digital Content & Subscriptions, Jewelry & Watches, Consumer Electronics, Toys & Hobbies, and Computer Software. Each category grew at least 18 percent vs. year ago.
• Ten individual days in Q4 surpassed $1 billion in online spending, led by Cyber Monday (Nov. 28) at $1.251 billion. Monday, Dec. 5 ranked second at $1.178 billion, followed by Green Monday (Dec. 12) at $1.133 billion.
• 52 percent of e-commerce transactions included free shipping, representing an all-time high. The previous high was Q4 2010 at 49 percent.
• Smartphones and tablets played a growing role in online shopping, with consumers increasingly using smartphones to check prices and product features while physically in a retail store.

Amazon is preparing to open a retail store in Seattle within the next few months, according to a report from Good eReader. Amazon is apparently looking to open a small boutique rather than a large shop in an effort to test the market. The store would feature the Amazon Exclusive book line and the company’s popular eReaders and tablets most prominently according to the rumor. Amazon’s headquarters is located in Seattle, which is known as being fairly tech savvy and may be the perfect location to gauge interest in such an endeavor. The company has reportedly already contracted the design through a shell company and it is expected that the first location will open ahead of the holiday season this year.

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Apple has hired Dixons Retail chief executive officer John Browett to run its retail business as senior VP of retail. Browett will assume his new position in April and will be responsible for Apple’s retail strategy and on expanding Apple’s presence around the globe. “Our retail stores are all about customer service, and John shares that commitment like no one else we’ve met,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We are thrilled to have him join our team and bring his incredible retail experience to Apple.” Browett has been the CEO of Dixons Retail since 2007 and has also served as the CEO of Tesco. He earned a degree in natural sciences from Cambridge University and an MBA from University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton Business School. Apple’s full press release follows after the break.

John Browett Joins Apple as Senior Vice President of Retail

CUPERTINO, California—January 30, 2012—Apple® today announced that John Browett will join the company as senior vice president of Retail, reporting to Apple CEO Tim Cook. Browett comes to Apple from European technology retailer Dixons Retail, where he has been CEO since 2007. Beginning in April, he will be responsible for Apple’s retail strategy and the continued expansion of Apple retail stores around the world.

“Our retail stores are all about customer service, and John shares that commitment like no one else we’ve met,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We are thrilled to have him join our team and bring his incredible retail experience to Apple.”

Prior to joining Dixons Retail, Browett held a series of executive positions at Tesco plc including CEO of Tesco.com. Earlier in his career he advised retail and consumer goods clients at Boston Consulting Group. He holds a degree in Natural Sciences from Cambridge University and an MBA from Wharton Business School.

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad.

Italy’s Antitrust Authority has fined Apple Sales International, Apple Italia Srl and Apple Retail Italia a total of $1.2 million for “unfair commercial practices.” According to The Wall Street Journal, Apple’s Italy-based retail stores were fined €500,000 ($653,000) for not providing customers with adequate information about its AppleCare Protection Plan warranties, and an additional €400,000 ($523,00) for not being completely transparent about the length of product guarantees. The fines are a bit surprising, considering that Apple is typically praised for customer satisfaction in the United States. Apple has not commented publicly on the matter.

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Microsoft is reportedly in talks to partner with Chinese retailer Suning in an effort to distribute Windows Phones throughout the country. Suning has more than 700 stores in China and Microsoft is rumored to have agreed to give the retailer first dibs on Windows Phone and upcoming Windows 8 devices, Chinese news source QQ Finance reported recently. The deal may be imminent although it remains unclear which Windows Phone models will be sold in the country. It is also unclear how vendors are involved with the talks. Microsoft currently has a small slice of the smartphone operating system market but a big push in China could help drive momentum as it continues to battle Android and iOS for consumer interest. Research firms IDC and Gartner both predict that Windows Phone will have the second largest operating system share by 2015. Pyramid Research has even suggested the OS will surpass Android’s global share by 2013 driven by Microsoft’s new partnership with Nokia.

[Via WinRumors]

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Brick and mortar shopaholics have so few places to turn for an adrenaline rush these days thanks to the advent of online shopping, but Black Friday always promises to be a battle that tests even the most seasoned shopper’s will. Anxious consumers line up early outside their retailers of choice and prepare to push, shove, crawl and even trample their way to some of the deepest discounts of the year. It’s no holds barred and things are bound to get dirty, but those who plan to work off their Thanksgiving feasts by throwing elbows and sprinting from store to store had better get their game faces on and go in prepared. Following the break, we lay out all the top tech retailers in the country and link you to the tools you need to map out your plan of attack. Good luck, be safe, and Godspeed.

Best Buy Black Friday 2011 sale details

Doors open: 12:00 AM

BJ’s Wholesale Club Black Friday 2011 sale detail

Doors open: 7:00 AM

Costco Black Friday 2011 sale details

Doors open: 9:00 AM

GameStop Black Friday 2011 sale detail

Doors open: 12:00 AM

Kmart Black Friday 2011 sale detail

Doors open: 5:00 AM

RadioShack Black Friday 2011 sale details

Doors Open: 5:30 AM

Sam’s Club Black Friday 2011 sale details

Doors open: 5:00 AM

Staples Black Friday 2011 sale details

Doors open: 6:00 AM

Target Black Friday 2011 sale details

Doors open: 12:00 AM

Walmart Black Friday 2011 sale details

Doors open: 12:00 AM

Bonus

For those who would rather not fight through angry mobs of sale-hungry consumers, feel free to enjoy Amazon’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals from the comfort of your desk or couch.

Amazon Black Friday 2011 sale details

AmazonWireless Black Friday 2011 sale details

Doors open: Always

While information about Apple’s new iOS app and retail plans have leaked out in various forms over the past few weeks, we now have the whole story thanks to a trusted source. On Thursday, Apple’s new retail store app for iOS will launch, and it will bring two major features with it. First, it will enable online ordering with retail store pick up. This has already started happening in a few stores in California and New York City Apple stores as well, and more stores will go live on Thursday. Hit the jump for details on what happens when you place an order through the app to pick up in a retail store nearby.

• If a customer orders an in-stock product, pick up will be available approximately 12 minutes after completing the order. Why 12 minutes? Well, the order goes through the system to the designated Apple Store in about 3 minutes. Apple’s back-of-house employees have 2 minutes to set all of the products aside on a shelf from the minute it was ordered. There is then a 7-minute grace period for employees to get everything else in order. Around 12 minutes after purchasing, customers will be able to walk into the Apple Store, skip lines, skip registers, get their products, sign for them and leave. We’re told Apple is really excited about this, and it’s something customers have been seeking for a while.
• If a customer orders something that a retail store does not have in-stock, like a custom-configured machine, an accessory the store does not carry, or something like an engraved or gift-wrapped device, the customer will be a given a pick-up date right after the purchase is completed. Everything will have free shipping when sent to an Apple retail store. Once the order arrives at the Apple Store and is available for pickup, a push notification will be sent to the customer through the Apple Store app, letting him or her know the order is ready. We’re told the same 12-minute timeframe applies here as well: 12 minutes from the time the push notification is received, the customer’s order should be waiting to be signed for.
• We have been told customers who opt to purchase online or through the app will be given priority when they walk into the store over a customer waiting for a retail specialist, and that Apple expects the majority of customers over the next few years to use the in-store pick up option as their default method of buying products. This will help with foot traffic in retail stores while also reducing the cost of shipping for Apple, and possibly even reducing the number of stores Apple needs to open to accommodate sales.
• Apple will offer customers the ability to return items purchased online to retail stores.
• Lastly, we’re told that Apple will be attributing revenue from items purchased in this manner to the retail store where the items are delivered and retrieved. This should help create new job opportunities since hiring at Apple Stores is based on sales. Apple is reportedly expecting a 30% increase in sales at retail stores from this program, and it will only be available in the U.S. for now.

The other major feature coming in Apple’s new app? Customer self check-out at retail stores. This is a huge deal and Apple is the first to be able to put it together. Here is how this will work: after you find the item you want to buy, like an accessory, you launch the Apple Store app on your iOS device and there will be an option to buy a product in the store. You scan the product with the camera on your device in the app, click purchase, and it will charge whatever credit card is associated to your Apple ID. You then just walk out of the store. Yes, we have been told that Apple will not be checking purchases which seems hard to believe, but this self check-out option will launch Thursday worldwide at all Apple retail stores.

You are not alone if you walk into brick and mortar stores to check out a product only to turn around and buy it online later. According to a new study from Retrevo, 66% of all shoppers and 78% of smartphone owners “look at a product in a store” and then purchase the product online from a different outlet. Consumer electronics stores are taking the biggest hit; 58% of smartphone owners decide to buy products first spotted in a store online. Retrevo suggests that is because consumers feel overwhelmed with the amount of products on display. 53% of the respondents who walked into a retail electronics store could not decide what to buy. 30% of those shoppers said it was because they did not have an adequate amount of information on the products they were searching for and sales staff were of no help. Smartphones could help save stores such as Best Buy, however. 42% of shoppers use their phones to check prices while in store, 25% use smartphones to find coupons and 29% read reviews and product specs on their phone. Retrevo suggests that a carefully crafted application that provides access to the aforementioned information could help consumers stay in stores instead of heading home and buying goods online.

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Best Buy will hire fewer temporary workers for the 2011 holiday season compared to last year, Reuters reported on Wednesday. The nationwide electronics retail chain will take on 15,000 new temporary employees, compared to the 29,000 it hired in 2010. Best Buy is not alone in its decision. Research from the management consulting firm Hay Group suggests that about 25% of U.S. retailers will hire fewer temporary employees this holiday season. “The consumer is being really careful about where he or she is spending the dollars, and I think that will continue through the holidays,” Best Buy CEO Brian Dunn told Reuters. Dunn said his company will carry the iPhone 5 and noted Best Buy expects tablets, smartphones and accessories for both to be a sales catalyst this holiday season.

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An all-hands day has reportedly been called for nationwide T-Mobile stores on September 24th. As per a purported internal memo obtained by TmoNews, T-Mobile corporate has instructed managers to “plan for increased store business and maximum floor coverage on Saturday September 24.” Initial speculation suggested the memo may involve the iPhone 5, but that seems highly unlikely. First and foremost, some reports refer to the all-hands day as a meeting where employees may be preparing for an iPhone launch, however the memo instead refers to it as a high-volume day for T-Mobile retail stores. The launch of Apple’s iPhone 5 would certainly pull in high volumes of foot traffic, of course, but it is not expected to be released until early to mid-October. Moreover, it’s safe to say T-Mobile is expecting more than one single day of high-volume retail traffic if and when it launches the iPhone 5, and the handset will likely launch ahead of the weekend when it finally does hit store shelves. We’re not sure what T-Mobile has in store for the 24th, but odds are definitely not in the fifth-generation iPhone’s favor.

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OfficeMax announced on Thursday that it will stock Amazon’s popular Kindle eReader in its nationwide stores beginning on August 7th. The company mentions 3G in its press release so we assume it will only carry the 3G/Wi-Fi version of the eReader and not the ad-supported “Kindle with Special Offers” model. The Kindle provides access to more than 950,000 books and offers a 6-inch E Ink display. OfficeMax did not specify the device’s price, but Amazon currently sells its 3G/Wi-Fi model for $189. Read on for the full press release.

OfficeMax Introduces Bestselling Kindle to Expanding Line of Tech Products

Amazon’s innovative wireless reading device now at OfficeMax stores nationwide

NAPERVILLE, Ill., Aug. 4, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — OfficeMax® Incorporated (NYSE: OMX) a leader in office supplies, technology and services, today announced that Amazon’s bestselling wireless reading device is now available at OfficeMax stores nationwide starting Sunday, August 7.

“OfficeMax is thrilled to be working with Amazon to offer Kindle and its related accessories to our customers,” said Ryan Vero, executive vice president and chief merchandising officer for OfficeMax. “Kindle is a highly innovative and versatile wireless reader that brings our customers new ways to access and enjoy books and news.”

Kindle is Amazon’s popular reading device that wirelessly downloads books, magazines, newspapers, blogs, and personal documents to a crisp, high resolution electronic paper display that looks and reads like real paper.  Kindle fits comfortably in one hand for hours, has an e-ink display that is easy to read even in bright daylight, up to two months of battery life, and global 3G wireless with no monthly fees or annual contracts.  All Kindle Books are “Buy Once, Read Everywhere” — customers can read Kindle books on their Kindles and free Kindle reading apps for Android, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, PC, Mac, Windows Phone, BlackBerry and HP TouchPad. With Kindle Worry-Free Archive, books and magazines purchased from the Kindle Store are automatically backed up online in customers’ Kindle libraries on Amazon, where they can be re-downloaded wirelessly for free, anytime. These features, paired with the massive selection of over 950,000 books available in the Kindle Store, have made Kindle the bestselling product in the history of Amazon.com and the bestselling e-reader in the world. OfficeMax will also sell popular Kindle accessories.

“We’re excited that customers will now have yet another way to discover and purchase Kindle,” said Mike McKenna, Vice President, Amazon Kindle. “OfficeMax will be offering its customers a great experience with Kindle—the ability to think of a book and be reading it in less than 60 seconds, read on a screen that is easy on the eyes even in bright sunlight, and carry thousands of books with them wherever they go in just 8.5 ounces.”

It took 145 days, but Apple’s supply of iPad 2 tablets has finally caught up with demand. Purchases made from the online Apple Store will now ship within 24 hours of being placed, and the new fulfillment time applies to all six variants of the iPad 2. Since the tablet launched in the middle of March, Apple’s iPad 2 instantly became the world’s most sought after tablet. Inventory at brick and mortar Apple Stores, retail partners and at Apple’s online store depleted as fast as Apple could replenish it, and order fulfillment quotes grew as long as a month. Now, four and a half months later, fulfillment quotes have dropped to 24 hours for the first time since the iPad 2 became available on March 11th. In-store supply is still short at some heavily trafficked Apple Store locations according to reports, but most Apple Stores now have units in stock regularly, as do third-party retailers. Of course if rumors are accurate, we’re now just a few months away from seeing a new iPad launch, so enjoy those 24-hour shipping quotes while you can.

[Via 9to5 Mac]

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Apple has reached a deal with the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority to open a massive Apple Store in the main terminal at Grand Central. Several publications including the New York Post reported the deal over the weekend, which Apple has been negotiating since early this year. The 23,000-square-foot retail shop will be the largest Apple Store location to date, and it will occupy the space currently inhabited by renowned chef Charlie Palmer’s Metrazur restaurant. According to the terms of the deal as reported by the Post, Apple will pay $800,000 annually for the retail space during the length of the 10-year contract. Should Apple re-sign the lease in 2021, the rent will increase to more than $1 million each year. Charlie Palmer’s restaurant group paid just over $300,000 each year for the space, the report claims. The MTA’s financial committee is expected to green-light the deal on Monday, and then it will be reviewed Wednesday by the body’s board of directors. “[The deal with Apple] has the potential to bring a great new shopping destination to iconic Grand Central Terminal and significantly increase revenues for the MTA’s transportation system,” the MTA said in a statement. The MTA expects the deal to bring in at least $5 million in profit for the agency.

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We’ve been hearing reports that Apple would open the world’s largest Apple Store on one of New York City’s Grand Central terminal balconies since February of this year. Despite a report in May that the plan had been nixed, the dream of a 15,000 square foot store could finally become a reality. According to The New York Times, The Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) board is expected to approve Apple’s bid later this week during a monthly board meeting. Apple really knew how to woo the MTA, too: buried deep in the article was a discussion about how the iPhone maker submitted its bid for the spot in “linen-lined boxes, as if it were a wedding present to transit officials.” We expect to hear more on Apple’s plans in the coming weeks.

Thanks Trey!

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