Events

Forty participants in the annual OfficeMax ElfYourself campaign are due to join in next week’s McDonald’s Thanksgiving Parade in Chicago.

The elves will escort a candy train float along the parade route expected to be attended by 500,000 people and millions of television viewers. While on the parade route, the elves will distribute winter survival kits featuring cold-weather essentials such as lip balm, hand warmers and hot chocolate mix, and also invite spectators to enjoy OfficeMax's online and in-store deals this holiday season.

Meijer has made it so shoppers don’t have to pore through circulars on Thanksgiving Day and then wake at 3 a.m. to wait in line and jostle with other customers on Black Friday.

Meijer said it is making holiday shopping easier for customers this year by offering aggressive Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday doorbuster deals on popular brands all day long while supplies last.

Whiting, Ind. -- Survey results released Wednesday by CouponCabin found that nearly a third (31%) of U.S. consumers feel that holiday shopping is starting too soon, with many stores opening their doors to shoppers Thursday, and in some cases, even Wednesday, night.

Stress is a factor, as many respondents reported that a variety of factors make Black Friday a nerve-wracking holiday. When asked which of the following stressed them out about Black Friday, U.S. adults said the following:

Los Angeles -- Survey results released Tuesday by PriceGrabber found that 71% of consumers believe that retailers offer better deals during Thanksgiving weekend than they do during the rest of the winter holiday shopping season, up from 58% in 2011.

When consumers who indicated that the best deals can be found over the Thanksgiving weekend were asked which days retailers offer the best prices, 71% said Black Friday (Nov. 23), down from 80% in 2011 and 86% in 2010, and 41% said Cyber Monday (Nov. 26), up from 37% last year and 33% in 2010.

Atlanta -- Jones Lang LaSalle released a forecast suggesting that shopping centers will be pulling out all the digital stops this holiday season to engage and interact with consumers to influence purchasing decisions.

Los Angeles -- Survey results released Tuesday by PriceGrabber found that 71% of consumers believe that retailers offer better deals during Thanksgiving weekend than they do during the rest of the winter holiday shopping season, up from 58% in 2011.

When consumers who indicated that the best deals can be found over the Thanksgiving weekend were asked which days retailers offer the best prices, 71% said Black Friday (Nov. 23), down from 80% in 2011 and 86% in 2010, and 41% said Cyber Monday (Nov. 26), up from 37% last year and 33% in 2010.

New York -- Target plans to open at 9 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day to kick of its Black Friday promotional efforts and will follow up with additional deals that become available at 4 a.m.

The company is also rewarding its REDcard holders by allowing them early access to select Black Friday sale items at Target.com.

Sam’s Club’s decision to open at 7 a.m. on Black Friday is a definite "swim upstream" move on the part of the warehouse club operator given retail industry trends and Walmart’s decision to offer its Black Friday deals on Thanksgiving.

Pleasanton, Calif. — Safeway on Friday announced it will expand its support of America's military veterans by hiring at least 1,000 military veterans in 2013 to add to the 1,300 hired to-date in 2012. In addition, the company is raising money this Veterans Day weekend for organizations that help veterans recover from service-related injuries and/or return to the civilian workforce.

Black Friday can be so limiting which is why OfficeMax is expanding a program it offered last year involving special deal pricing every Friday until mid December.