Winter Holidays

For the eighth year in a row, Dillard’s is making a big commitment to the communities its serves by offering a custom edition of the Southern Living Christmas Cookbook to raise money for Ronald McDonald House Charities.

The competition for retailers selling online just got a lot more intense with a new price-match policy from Target just ahead of the prime holiday shopping season.

Beginning Oct. 1, Target will price-match the websites of 29 major retailers in stores and for purchases from their website.

GameStop must know something other retailers don’t judging from the retailer’s plans to increase holiday hiring.

Other retailers who have announced season hiring plans kept this year’s projections at or near last year’s levels, but GameStop said it will increase holiday hiring by 12% and bring on 28,000 workers at its 6,800 stores and other facilities.

A new consumer survey from e-gift software provider Loop Commerce reveals some common reasons why consumers are hesitant to buy gifts online.

The survey shows that one in four (25%) respondents cited worrying about buying the wrong size, while another roughly one in four (24%) respondents cited worrying about the hassle of returns as the most common reasons they hesitate to buy gifts online. Nearly one in five (18%) respondents cited concern about getting their gift to the recipient on time.

As the holidays approach, retailers are hoping the convenience and immediacy of e-commerce will prompt high volumes of online gift purchases.

But according to a new survey of more than 1,000 U.S. consumers from e-gift software provider Loop Commerce, there are some common problems that make consumers hesitate to buy gifts online.

October will be over in a flash, and with it, all eyes will be on the holiday season, which is measured from Nov. 1 through Dec. 31.

The 2015 retail calendar has several distinctions, as we saw Memorial Day fall on the earliest possible date and Labor Day on the latest possible date. This holiday season, there are 28 days between Thanksgiving (not counting the actual day) and Christmas, which is an average amount for the period separating the two holidays.

Dollar General is looking to drive increased participation in its digital coupon program by featuring several enhanced benefits during the month of October.

The holiday season is rapidly approaching, so of course everyone is thinking about the latest trends in... retail IT. Okay, nobody outside of the industry has visions of technology solutions dancing in their heads, but retailers do need to know what is developing on the IT front as their busiest season arrives.