This year's Black Friday and Cyber Monday were bigger than ever. But the numbers could be concealing an underlying trend away from those key dates in the retail calendar.

Transplace, a provider of transportation management services and logistics technology, has announced its acquisition of Lakeside Logistics, a Canadian-based logistics services company. This acquisition expands Transplace's presence throughout North America and supports its strategic growth in order to meet the supply chain needs of its growing customer base, the company says. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Deep inside a sprawling glass-and-cement edifice the size of an airplane hangar in the Spanish town of Arteixo, 10 designers swarm around a model dressed in cropped gray trousers and a double-breasted navy blazer. Sweaters, shirts and suits are spread out on the white-tile floor, while seamstresses in white labcoats stitch prototypes nearby. "It's classic, but it's new at the same time," says a woman from China. "I'm not sure about the bold patterns," counters a British woman, dressed in white sneakers and a flowing skirt. Others nod their assent or express doubt.

Holiday shoppers eager to snag big discounts turned to the internet in record fashion this week, one tracking company said, driving online sales on Black Friday to a new high. Consumers spent $3.34bn shopping online on Friday, a 21.6 percent increase from the same day last year, according to Adobe, which tracks online retail transactions.

The EPA has raised the amount of renewable fuel that must be blended into the nation's gasoline supply, drawing an immediate attack from the oil industry. The final Renewable Fuel Standards, announced last week, raise the levels from 18.11 billion gallons this year to 19.28 billion gallons in 2017.

The latest membership estimates for Amazon.com's Amazon Prime service show that the e-retailer's bid to consolidate consumer spending onto one platform has now attracted almost one in six Americans, according to independent research by Cowen & Co. In addition to signing up some 50 million Amazon Prime customers, the company expanded into car sales last week, teaming up with Fiat to sell cars in Italy.