Retail Stores

After a Good Samaritan helped her pay off the layaway bill she’d accumulated to buy Christmas gifts for her grandchildren, Lori Stearnes planned to collect her paycheck Friday and head to Kmart anyway. Her new plan? Pay the stranger’s kindness forward by using the money she’d budgeted to instead support somebody else.

Uniqlo opened two unique flagship stores in the heart of Manhattan’s busiest shopping districts this fall. Shoppers who walk into the Fifth Avenue Uniqlo find themselves canopied under a three-story vaulted ceiling and faced with a sleek staircase accessorized with color-changing LED lighting.

With just nine days until Christmas, the National Retail Federation has revised its holiday forecast upward, expecting holiday sales to rise 3.8 percent this year to a record $469.1 billion. The initial forecast, announced on Oct. 6, called for anticipated sales growth of 2.8 percent.

Toys"R"Us announced that its stores nationwide will remain open for 112 uninterrupted hours beginning at 6 a.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 20 and continuing through 10 p.m. on Christmas Eve. In conjunction with continuous shopping during the last few days leading up to Christmas, Toys"R"Us will hold a two-day sale from Tuesday, Dec. 20 to Wednesday, Dec. 21.

Retailers everywhere are looking to reach prospects and customers to ensure their products end up under the tree this year. There are many different philosophies on how to achieve this goal, but one consistent requirement is accurate contact data. A recent Experian QAS survey found that 99 percent of respondents waste budget on inaccurate contact data, hurting operational efficiency and communication effectiveness, especially during the holiday rush.
 

With free shipping cutoffs looming, shoppers are turning to the streets to find last-minute gifts in stores. You can make your brand stand out after shipping cutoffs by taking advantage of consumers' companion this holiday season — smartphones.

December holiday sales remain flat year-over-year but are showing signs of growth to come. Double-digit increases in week-over-week sales show shoppers are spending this holiday season. According to ShopperTrak, the week ending Dec. 10 saw a 10.6 percent increase in retail sales from the previous week.

Best Buy announced that its third-quarter net income fell 29 percent to $154 million from $217 million in the year-ago period, worse than analysts had expected. The company had 20 percent growth in online sales and 9 percent growth in mobile phone revenue in the United States, along with brisk sales in tablets, appliances, e-readers and movies.

Retail sales rose less than expected in November as a drop in receipts for food and beverages weighed against stronger sales of motor vehicles, tempering some of the expectations of a strong holiday shopping season.