Tech security firm says it's easy to hack Target gift registry apps by Mary Lynn Smith at Star Tribune. "Target took Avast’s assertions seriously, issuing a statement late Tuesday that said, “Earlier this evening, it was brought to our attention that there may be a potential issue with our guest registry platforms. Out of an abundance of caution, we have disabled elements of our wish list app and gift registry while we assess. We apologize for any challenges guests may be facing while trying to access their registry. Our teams are working diligently overnight to resume full functionality.” Read [...]

  Retailers Lost $185 Million in Sales Due to Warm Weather by Adrianne Pasquarelli at Ad Age. "Of course, consumers should have more disposable income from the lower heating bills that come with warm weather. But they're not spending that extra cash at retail stores, said Jack Kleinhenz, chief economist for the National Retail Federation." Read more   Former Costco exec launches certified-organic concept by Lisa Jennings at Restaurant News. "Erica Welton, a former food buyer for Costco Wholesale Corp., has opened what she says is the nation’s first ‘certified organic fast-food’ concept." Read more   JC Penney Shoppers Visit [...]

  Walmart Retreads Black Friday Deals for Green Monday by Phil Wahba at Fortune. "Green Monday has become the third biggest online spending day of the holiday season, after Cyber Monday...and the day after that. Last year, shoppers spent $1.6 billion on Green Monday, according to comScore, and if sales rise tomorrow at anything like e-commerce’s growth rates for the season so far, we could be looking at a nearly $2 billion day." Read more   Kohl's is building a legion of loyal shoppers by Krystina Gustafson at CNBC. "It's also the first Christmas that its new loyalty program has [...]

  Walmart CMO Out, Former Target guru Michael Francis In by Sarah Nassauer & Paul Ziobro at Dow Jones via Pioneer Press. "Walmart is hiring Francis as a marketing consultant; he spent nearly three decades at Target in Minneapolis and was an architect of Target's cheap-chic image. Francis will initiate a broad revamp of Walmart's marketing department and will likely work closely with Quinn's eventual successor, said a person familiar with the situation. A Walmart spokesman said Francis will start Jan. 1 " Read more   What Amazon Wants for Christmas: 100,000 Temps by Adam Satariano & Spencer Soper at Bloomberg. [...]

  FTC Says Retailers Are 'Bamboozling' Shoppers With Fake Bamboo Fabrics at AdWeek. "The Federal Trade Commission announced complaints against four major retailers—Bed Bath & Beyond, Nordstrom, JCPenney and Backcountry.com—with civil penalties totaling $1.3 million. The offense? Marketing bamboo products that aren't made of bamboo." Read more   Walmart Drops An Atomic Bomb On Its Apple Pay Competitor by Mark Rogowsky at Forbes. "But the big news, which Walmart neglected to mention in its press release, is that in dropping this midnight bomb just two weeks before Christmas, the retailer isn’t targeting Apple Pay. Instead, it’s essentially blowing up MCX, [...]

  Costco Q1 Comp Sales -1.0% / +6.0% (excluding gas & foreign exchange) "Net sales for the first quarter increased one percent, to $26.63 billion from $26.28 billion during the first quarter last year." Read the release   Downbeat Americans may spend less for holidays: Survey by Steve Liesman at CNBC. "The CNBC All-America Economic Survey finds that just 22 percent of the public sees the economy improving, a 5-point drop from more buoyant levels a year ago." Read more   Home Depot CEO Touts U.S., Digital Growth Opportunities by Thomas Barrabi at Fox Business. "Home Depot will not pursue [...]

  Target opens a holiday-themed playground to sell toys and test ideas in New York by Kavita Kumar at Star Tribune. "The 16,000-square foot "retail spectacle," as the company calls it, will be free and open to the public for two weeks starting on Wednesday. Located next to the Chelsea Market, it is filled with 10 holiday-themed displays that incorporate a digital element on top of an interactive physical experience. Each one is tied in to a popular holiday toy that Target is selling at the space." Read more   Canadian Tire suing Wal-Mart Canada Corp for allegedly copying clip-on [...]

  Wal-Mart Sues Puerto Rico Over ‘Astonishing’ Tax Increases by Andrew M. Harris at Bloomberg. "The new levy raised the estimated cumulative income tax on Wal-Mart Puerto Rico Inc. “to an astonishing and unsustainable 91.5% of its net income,” according to the company’s complaint, filed in federal court in San Juan Friday." Read more   Williams-Sonoma founder Chuck Williams dies at 100 by Olga R. Rodriguez via Dallas Morning News. "Williams opened his first Williams-Sonoma store in Sonoma, Calif., in 1956 inspired by a trip to Paris three years earlier..."I couldn't get over seeing so many great things for cooking, [...]