Events

Holiday shopping continues to encroach on Thanksgiving with Walmart the latest retailer to reveal plans that its promotional activity will begin at 6 p.m. with an expanded range of featured items, price guarantees, deeper inventory levels and detailed crowd control procedures.

New York -- Thirty-eight percent of shoppers are likely to shop on Thanksgiving Day this year, according to Accenture’s annual Holiday Shopping Survey. Of those shoppers planning to hit the stores on Thanksgiving, 41% said they will be out shopping between 6 p.m. Thanksgiving Day and 5 a.m. the next morning.

Suffern, N.Y. -- Ascena Retail Group announced that Judith Langley has joined dressbarn as executive VP and chief merchandising officer.

Langley brings to Dressbarn extensive experience as a senior merchant and in product development. Most recently, she was executive VP and chief merchandising officer with Charming Charlie’s, a jewelry and accessories chain.

Previously, she was senior VP of design and trend at Kohl’s, where she oversaw product direction for 15 brands.

Games, giveaways, book signings and personalized recommendations will be offered as part of “Discovery Friday,” event Barnes & Noble has planned for November 22 to pre-empt the doorbuster madness that will occur the following week on Black Friday.

Wayne, N.J. -- Toys “R” Us will open its stores at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 28,  offering more than 300 doorbuster values, while supplies last, from four-hour deals and Thursday-through-Saturday discounts on hot toys, games and tablets, to gift with purchase offers. New this holiday season, Toys "R" Us will provide its Rewards “R” Us members the exclusive opportunity to take advantage of select Thanksgiving Weekend deals and discounts on Wednesday, Nov. 27.

Post Foods' Honey Bunches of Oats has enlisted pop duo Domino Saints for its latest ad campaign geared toward Hispanic markets. The pop duo from San Juan, Puerto Rico, collaborated in the exclusive "Smile While You Shake It" music video.

Inspired by samba beats, the song and signature dance incorporate the cereal box and breakfast utensils as percussion instruments. National bilingual media, social media and website (bunchofbeats.com) encourage consumers to upload their own versions of the dance, share them digitally, and be eligible to win prizes.

H&M plans to hold a ribbon-cutting celebration marking the opening of a 42,000-sq.-ft. store in New York City’s Times Square at 12:01 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 14. On hand to help light the H&M logo at the top of 4 Times Square will be global superstar Lady Gaga.

New York -- Procrastinating is out this year when it comes to holiday shopping, with most consumers (62%) planning to finish their gift buying on or before Dec. 16, according to a survey by the International Council of Shopping Centers.

As in most years, the top shopping day of the year is expected to be Black Friday. However, Cyber Monday will follow close behind across most demographic groups, overtaking Super Saturday as the second busiest holiday shopping day of the year.