Events

Pier 1 Imports is celebrating the holidays with two unusual pop-up experiences.

The home décor retailer is creating a life-sized, pop-up book installation, open to the public from December 2 – 6, in downtown Manhattan.

It also is sending a limited edition, holiday pop-up catalog, created in collaboration with award-winning paper engineer Bruce Foster, to select customers. To see a video of the pop-up catalog, click here.

Thanksgiving may be over, but it is worth watching a video of how Meijer made a difference in the lives of hundreds of customers and employees ahead of the holiday and in the process earned itself immeasurable goodwill.

Alibaba generated a record $14.3 billion in sales in a 24-hour period on Singles Day (Nov. 11) this year. That is roughly five times what Cyber Monday is expected to generate.

Clearly, Alibaba is doing something right and is setting a precedent for what other retailers worldwide hope to achieve. It’s worth looking at why Alibaba was so successful. So what can retailers take away from the Singles’ Day experience to maximize sales and give customers a great experience this holiday season, and throughout 2016?

Guest appearances by Republican presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson at Books-A-Million stores gave the retailer a modest sales lift in the third quarter.

The company said its sales increased 0.4% to $101.6 million and same store sales increased 1.6%, thanks in part to appearances by Republication presidential contender Dr. Ben Carson. However, signs of life on the top line did not translate to bottom line improvement as Books-A-Million reported a loss of $7.1 million, or 50 cents a share, that was in line with a loss from the prior year.

REI's plea asking shoppers to skip Black Friday and go outside has prompted nearly 1 million endorsements for the retailer's #OptOutside social media campaign.

First it was Black Friday encroaching on Thanksgiving. Now, Cyber Monday is bleeding into Sunday night with Walmart and Target employing new promotional strategies.

REI's plea asking shoppers to skip Black Friday and go outside has prompted nearly 1 million endorsements for the retailer's #OptOutside social media campaign.

The Seattle-based retailer announced Monday that more than 150 other companies, nonprofit organizations and agencies that support state and national parks are also encouraging people to spend Black Friday outside. As Thanksgiving approaches, REI says it plans to recognize the hundreds of thousands of people and partner organizations that are opting to enjoy the outdoors with friends and family.

Barneys New York is bringing an icy winter chill — literally — to its holiday windows.

Barneys New York is bringing an icy winter chill—literally—to its holiday windows.

With a theme of “Chillin’ Out,” the specialty retailer has transformed the windows of its Manhattan flagship into a winter wonderland, complete with 35-foot fully functioning ice locker that features daily live ice carving.

RadioShack is moving Black Friday all the way over to Wednesday in the hopes of ramping up shopper excitement for the holiday.

The company issued a call to customers Tuesday saying that as a "thank you to our loyal customers (particularly those who don't like to get trampled at big box stores on Black Friday), RadioShack's Black Friday Sale will begin early on Wednesday, Nov. 25." RadioShack says stores will stay open an extra hour on Wednesday, will reopen at 8 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day and feature extended hours the rest of the weekend.