Winter Holidays

Kay Jewelers is looking to leverage social media and gamification to better engage with shoppers this holiday season.

From now through Dec. 20, visitors to Kay Jewelers' social media channels will be encouraged to participate in an interactive holiday-themed memory match game for a chance to win jewelry prizes. Fans can enter the Merry Match sweepstakes for a chance to win a prize from the featured daily collection by visiting KayMerryMatch.com, registering and playing the game. One winner will be selected each day and will receive a piece of jewelry.

Retailers looking to provide a positive customer experience this holiday season should realize time is of the essence.

According to a new survey of 1,267 U.S. consumers from LoyaltyOne Consulting, 94% of respondents said they expect retailers to take extra measures to keep checkout lines moving during the holiday rush. When asked why they avoided stores completely during the holiday season, 36% of shoppers said their primary reason is waiting too long at the checkout.

Watch this video for a time-lapsed video on how Target transformed a 16,000-sq.-ft. space in Manhattan into its holiday-themed pop-up, Target Wonderland.

Target merges physical and digital retailing in its holiday pop-up, Target Wonderland, located in Manhattan. The 16,000-sq.-ft. space has ten larger-than-life displays, including a jumbo Etch-a-Sketch, a Christmas tree made from green-foam Hulk Hands and the "S.S. Free Shipping” LEGO pirate ship which is part of Target’s holiday advertising campaign.

Target Corp. has opened a 16,000-sq.-ft. space in New York that is part store and part holiday playground — and a testing ground for merging physical and digital retailing.

Target is back to its old marketing tricks in New York City this holiday season with a16,000-square foot omnichannel "spectacle” opening Dec. 9 next to Chelsea Market.

According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the holiday pop-up store "is filled with 10 holiday-themed displays that incorporate a digital element on top of an interactive physical experience. Each one is tied in to a popular holiday toy that Target is selling at the space."

The Children’s Place blamed unseasonably warm weather for its weak third quarter results and plans to close 200 stores by 2017 as part of its turnaround strategy.

For the third quarter ended Oct. 31, the retailer said same store sales fell 3%. The Children’s Place reported a profit of $38.5 million, or $1.88 a share, compared with a profit of $36.9 million, or $1.70 a share, in the prior year quarter. EPS was $1.93, up from $1.82. Sales rose 6.4% to $455.9 million.

Many mall retailers have been having a tough time lately attracting shoppers, and Christopher & Banks was not immune to struggles with weak traffic in the third quarter.

The women's specialty retailer posted a net loss of $0.3 million, or 1 cent per share, for the third quarter ended Oct. 31, versus a year-ago profit of $9 million, or 24 cents per share. Net sales totaled $103.6 million, as compared to $110.6 million for the prior year. Same-store sales decreased 6.5%.