SpotlightNovember2018

EARLY BARGAIN SHOPPERS OPTING FOR ONLINE VERSUS MALL SHOPPING Results are showing that foot traffic at malls and retail stores across the U.S. for the Thanksgiving weekend was shoppers gearing up for holiday shopping wasn’t as strong as last year with reports suggesting more consumers opted to stay out of the hustle and bustle and shop online.

Preliminary data tracking shoppers’ visits to physical stores Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday show a year-over-year decline of 1 percent, ShopperTrak said. Meanwhile, store visits Black Friday by itself were down 1.7 percent.

Meanwhile, online sales reached a record of $6.22 billion Black Friday, according to Adobe Analytics, while online sales Thanksgiving Day totalled $3.7 billion, up 28 percent from a year ago and becoming the fastest-growing day for e-com- merce sales in history.

Not a bad start for retailers overall as they look to capitalize on the spirit of giving this Christmas season.

LOGITECH ENDS NEGOTIATIONS WITH PLAN- TRONICS Logitech International, a Swiss manufacturer of keyboards and webcams, has ended discussions to acquire Plan- tronics, a U.S. maker of Bluetooth earpieces and gaming headsets. Logitech’s and Plantronics’ businesses have been under pressure as a result of new offerings being developed, not just from network gear makers such as Cisco Systems, but from major technology companies such as Microsoft and Google owner Alphabet.

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NOVEMBER 2018 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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