Holidays

Death Row Records Made a Christmas Album?

Authored by Scott Goldberg on December 20, 2006 - 5:37am.

At a Christmas decorating party I recently attended, the host played a homemade holiday compilation disc. When I realized within the opening stanza of the first song that it was not Alvin & The Chipmunks but The Beatles, I was surprised, though less so than I was for the songs that followed. Soon there was Queen, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Christina Aguilera, Kurtis Blow, Whitney Houston, and a tune from Phil Specter’s album, “A Christmas Gift to You”. But then came a moment of surprise similar to taking a sip of water from a straw only to find a Jack & Coke. Silky smooth over the stereo came the one and only Snoop Dogg, singing a song called, “Santa Claus Goes Straight to the Ghetto.”

XM Satellite Radio Adds Hanukkah Programming

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 4, 2006 - 3:28pm.

Washington - XM Satellite Radio, a provider of satellite radio service to more than 7 million subscribers, said on Monday that it will launch a special channel to coincide with the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. The company said that its "Radio Hanukkah" channel, to air Dec. 15-23, will feature a broad spectrum of Jewish music and conversation.

Report: "Cyber Monday" Sales Set Single-Day E-Commerce Record

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 30, 2006 - 2:56pm.

Reston, Va. - Online retail sales on "Cyber Monday," the first Monday after Thanksgiving, came in better than expected this year, according to new figures from comScore Networks.

"Cyber Monday" Online Shopping Fails to Live Up to Hype

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 28, 2006 - 2:21pm.

San Francisco - "Cyber Monday," a term coined a year ago by the National Retail Foundation to refer to online shopping done on the first day back to work after Thanksgiving, appears this year to not have lived up to hype pushed by retailers and the media alike.

Report: "Black Friday" Online Shopping Sees Slower Growth This Year

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 27, 2006 - 1:37pm.

New York - The number of Internet users shopping from their home computers on "Black Friday" increased 12% this year compared with 2005, according to new figures released by Nielsen/NetRatings. This was lower than the 29% increase seen between 2004 and 2005, and closer to the 11% growth between 2003 and 2004.

Sony Sees North American PSP Sales of 2.5 - 3 Million During Holidays

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 20, 2005 - 9:31am.

San Francisco - Sony hopes to sell between 2.5 million and 3 million PlayStation Portable (PSP) handheld game devices in North America during the upcoming holiday shopping season, Sony Computer Entertainment America president and CEO Kaz Hirai told Reuters on Thursday. The company has sold some 2.3 million PSPs in North America since the device went on sale in late March. Sony also on Thursday announced that it will begin selling a $299 PSP "Giga Pack," which includes the PSP, a 1GB memory stick, battery pack, AC adaptor and a new PSP stand; the standalone device costs $249. Hirai additionally told Reuters that Sony expects to sell between 2.5 million and 3 million PlayStation 2 consoles before the end of the year. The PS2 will compete this holiday season with the release of Microsoft's next-generation Xbox 360. Sony plans to release the PlayStation 3 in the spring of 2006.

Report: Online Spending Up 35% to $18.5 Billion During 2003 Holidays

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 7, 2004 - 4:08am.

New York, N.Y. -- A new report from Goldman Sachs, Harris Interactive and Nielsen//Netratings on online spending during the recent holiday season indicates that total spending was 35% greater than a year ago. Online holiday shoppers spent a record $18.5 billion online (excluding travel) during the 2003 holiday season, according to the report. The top-five categories in terms of total spending include apparel, toys and video games, consumer electronics, computer hardware and peripherals and video/DVD.

tags: Internet | Reports | Holidays |

Report: Online Spending to Sharply Increase During Holidays

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 25, 2003 - 7:03am.

New York -- Consumers are expected to significantly increase their online shopping budgets during the holiday season, according to a new report from Nielsen//NetRatings, Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Harris Interactive. During the week ending Nov. 15, 67% of those surveyed said that they had visited an e-commerce site, up from 60% during the same week last year. A separate report by Nielsen//NetRatings found that the online holiday shopping season has officially started during the past two weeks, driven by a significant uptick in shopping at toys sites. "Toys and games got the holiday season started this year, with big spikes in many of the firms' online sessions," said Robert Leathern, a director and senior analyst for Nielsen//NetRatings. "Other categories like consumer electronics, and home and garden have shown strong consistent growth throughout this year, and continue to grow traffic strongly as the holiday season is kicking off."

tags: Internet | Reports | Holidays | Sharply |