NRF

The National Retail Federation has announced the development of a new chief marketing officer council to serve as an advertising and marketing voice for the retail industry. The organization’s Retail Advertising and Marketing Association will transition into the newly created council.

OfficeMax EVP and chief digital officer Jim Barr has been elected to Shop.org’s board of directors for a two-year term.

Shop.org, the digital arm of the National Retail Federation, is the world's leading community for digital retail, offering thought leadership through original research and gold standard events. The community's exclusive networking groups and committees lead the global conversation surrounding innovative e-commerce trends and digital retail.

Washington, D.C. -- Nearly 158 million consumers will participate in Halloween activities this year, slightly less than the historic high of 170 million people last year. New figures from the National Retail Federation (NRF) indicate the average consumer will spend $75.03 on Halloween this year, down 6% from $79.82 last year.

However, average overall spending on Halloween has increased 54.7% since 2005, with total spending estimated to reach $6.9 billion in 2013. Other NRF figures include:

Although retail sales in August increased, they came in at a much slower pace than anticipated, according to the National Retail Federation. Sales (excluding automobiles, gas stations and restaurants) increased 0.1% seasonally adjusted from last month, and increased 3.9% unadjusted year-over-year.

Import volume at the nation’s major retail container ports is expected to grow 5.1% in September over the same month last year as retailers head into the holiday season, according to the National Retail Federation. 

U.S. ports followed by the monthly Global Port Tracker report, released by the NRF and Hackett Associates, handled 1.43 million Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) in July, the latest month for which after-the-fact numbers are available.

WASHINGTON — The National Retail Federation confirmed that the retail industry added 43,600 jobs last month, particularly in general merchandise, electronics and clothing.

The numbers were based on calculations from the NRF, out of a total 169,000 jobs that the Bureau of Labor Statistics said the economy added in August, bringing the country's unemployment rate down to 7.3%.

Washington, D.C. -- The National Retail Federation calculated retail industry job gains at 43,600 in August, with marked increases in clothing, general merchandise and electronics stores.
 

New York -- Target Corp. will follow the lead of several other retailers, including Walmart, and allow shoppers to pick up select goods ordered online in its stores, the Star Tribune reported.

Target will introduce the service, referred to as Buy Online, Pick Up in Store (BOPS), in its hometown Minneapolis market and then expand it to all of its U.S. stores by Black Friday, according to the report.

A survey of consumers conducted by the National Retail Federation and published in the trade group’s September issue of Stores placed Walmart second on a list of the nation’s favorite e-commerce retailers, an encouraging sign given the company’s efforts to drive digital growth.

Delivering a superior mobile experience is a top holiday priority

Retailers can expect mobile devices to impact sales and play a greater role in buying decisions this holiday than last. Mobile as a percentage of site traffic on Black Friday shot up to 24% in 2012 from 14.3% the previous year. Sales over smartphones and devices on Black Friday rose to 16% in 2012, up from 9.8% in 2011.