Retail Stores

CHICAGO, Nov. 24, 2012 — /PRNewswire/ -- Black Friday proved to be a mixed bag for retailers, as retail foot traffic increased over last year, but retail sales decreased slightly. ShopperTrak, the world's largest counter of retail foot traffic,...

Last-minute preparations are being made for what's effectively the retail industry's Super Bowl, a stretch where both brick-and-mortar and online stores will be flooded with holiday shoppers looking for Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals. Many retailers have added seasonal employees to handle increased service calls, hoping to improve their customer service levels from the previous year or at least stay consistent with normal levels.

Stores are anticipating a huge turnout (read: crowds) this year. According to a survey conducted by management consulting firm Accenture, 53 percent of consumers say they plan to shop on Black Friday, up from 44 percent last year. That would reverse three years of declining consumer interest in the day, based on the company's previous surveys.

Black Friday, traditionally one of the busiest shopping days of the year, is nearing. Big-box stores are going to have to deal with “showrooming” — i.e., when in-store shoppers use their smartphones to identify cheaper deals online and then make their purchases elsewhere. What can retailers do to offset the effect of showrooming during Black Friday?"

Etsy is launching its first-ever Etsy Holiday Shop in New York City to raise awareness of the online marketplace in the offline retail environment. The shop is designed to introduce holiday shoppers to hundreds of Etsy sellers, showcase gift selections from well-known curators and raise awareness of the one-of-a-kind treasures to be found on Etsy. The Etsy Holiday Shop will be located in SoHo — "next door to Dior, down the street from the Apple Store, with furniture boutiques and coffee shops nearby" — and will be open from Nov. 29 through Dec. 8.

The economic slump transforms into a shopping hustle-and-bustle during the holiday season, and this year is projected to be no different. That holds especially true for online retailers, who are seeing more mobile customers than ever before. Check out the stats on how holidays affect online retail, and learn what online customers are looking for this holiday season.

Retailers are shifting their holiday promotions up earlier each year, and the buzz has moved progressively from Cyber Monday to Black Friday and finally to Thanksgiving Day itself, with reports of mass merchants beginning their sales in the middle of what is for many still an important family holiday. Is this a bridge too far? An October survey from credit card comparison and financial education website CreditDonkey.com found that 41 percent of U.S. consumers planned to shop on Black Friday this year, compared to 57 percent who said they would shop a few days later on Cyber Monday.

Despite the hype surrounding Black Friday, less than one-fifth (19 percent) of consumers definitely plan to hit the stores that day, according to the second annual PeriscopeIQ Retail Intelligence Survey. Additionally, consumers nationwide report that they'll spend less on holiday shopping this year in overall expenditures, in amount spent per gift and with fewer gifts given, indicating weaker holiday sales.

Foot Locker announced the introduction of SIX:02, an elevated retail concept featuring top brands in fitness apparel and athletic footwear for women. The first three stores will open for the holiday season in Stamford, Conn., Wayne, N.J., and San Antonio. SIX:02's unique design will offer women a broad choice of athletic brands in an environment created especially for her. The store features dedicated fit zones and fitting lounge areas for women to find the perfect fitness pants, sports bras, tops and athletic footwear for her body type, activity and style.

J.C. Penney's Chief Executive Ron Johnson has two key weapons in his arsenal as he tries to weather plunging sales while radically transforming the aged retailer — the backing of its top investor, and cash. Those two assets help Johnson exude confidence on days like Friday, when the retailer reported its worst drop yet in same-store sales since he began his radical transformation of the department store chain earlier this year. Same-store sales fell 26.1 percent in the latest quarter, while analysts had expected a decrease of 17.9 percent.