Cross-Merchandising

Dollar General is leveraging the expansive reach of its more than 11,500 stores this holiday season to benefit several organizations aligned with the retailer’s mission of serving others.

The retailer is partnering with St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital’s Thanks and Giving campaign and the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Foundation’s “You’re the Hero” toy drive, as well as other local toy drives, to offer customers an opportunity to give back this holiday season.
 

The Grommet is partnering with a store in Boston to launch a “pop-in” shop on Nov. 20 as part of an effort to bridge the gap between e-commerce and brick-and-mortar stores.

With so many consumers on the hunt for unique holiday gifts, the Grommet said it wants shoppers to be able to touch, test and purchase the company’s offerings. The “pop-in” Grommet shop will be located within Boston boutique Michelle Willey and be open from Nov. 20 through the end of December.

General Growth Properties has unveiled Adventure to Santa, a DreamWorks DreamPlace first-of-its-kind holiday experience that starts with Shrek, ends with Santa and seamlessly blends storytelling with cutting-edge technology.   

By Ahsin Rasheed      

Arts and Crafts retailer A.C. Moore launched its inaugural campaign to benefit the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation with a program involving all its stores.

The company’s 140 locations will serve as official drop off locations for the program with every toy donated going to a child in the local community. In addition, the company has pledged to donate 25,000 toys and is asking its customers to help double the donation with an additional 25,000 toys to provide a total of 50,000 toys to kids this holiday season.
 

Cute cat videos and funny dog tricks are everywhere on the Internet so it only stands to reason that Petco would unleash customers’ creativity with an Instagram contest as part of a larger holiday initiative.

Petco is encouraging shoppers to enter its holiday photo contest from Nov. 23 to Dec. 18 by submitting photos of their pets showing holiday spirit by following @petco and posting photos with #JoyLovePetsContest on Instagram. A winner will be selected every Friday and will receive a $1,000 Petco gift card.

Office products are getting a stylish makeover at Staples with two designer-driven collections arriving mid-November.  “Style at Staples” is the name of a new assortment that features the new designs by Cynthia Rowley and British stationary brand Paperhouse.

American Eagle Oufitters has turned an April Fool’s joke into a business opportunity by launching its first-ever clothing line for “dogs and their owners,” American Beagle Outfitters, for a limited-edition Holiday 2014 release.

San Francisco -- Ben & Jerry’s has opened its largest flagship to date, a 3,000-sq.-ft., two-story location in São Paulo, Brazil.     Designed by Tesser, a San Francisco strategic branding and design firm, the property showcases the company's social mission along with its iconic ice cream treats.   

San Francisco –- Compared to non-users, Twitter users start holiday shopping earlier, spend more and are more prone to impulse purchases. According to a new study conducted by brand research firm DB5 for Twitter, more than a third (34%) of Twitter users have already begun thinking about holiday shopping, and 81% say they love holiday shopping, compared to 56% of non-users.