Winter Holidays

New York & Company has devised an interesting sweepstakes-based approach to ensure customers are lined up when its stores open at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day.

The operator of more than 500 stores said the first 200 shoppers to enter its stores beginning at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving will be entered to win $100,000 in the company’s first ever Win Big in New York sweepstakes. In addition to the $100,000 grand prize winner, each store will also have one $500 prize winner.

American Eagle Oufitters has turned an April Fool’s joke into a business opportunity by launching its first-ever clothing line for “dogs and their owners,” American Beagle Outfitters, for a limited-edition Holiday 2014 release.

Academy Sports and Outdoors' 186 locations won’t be open Thanksgiving Day, but the retailer does have other operational and promotional strategies planned including a 5 a.m.Black Friday opening.

The $4 billion retailer said it was continuing its longstanding practice of not opening on Thanksgiving Day. Instead, leading up to Thanksgiving Academy plans to provide customers access to shop its Black Friday deals early through three major sales events – Early Access, Black Friday Starts Now, and Black Friday.

Last year, 37.3% of “Black Friday” consumers began shopping between 8 p.m. and 11:59 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day. Shopper traffic over the two-day Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday period at retail outlets totaled more than 1.07 billion store visits. Sales during the two-day period were $12.3 billion, and online sales grew an explosive 18.5%.

After seeing the financial benefits of opening earlier, more retailers are expected to open their doors on Thanksgiving Day to get a jump on their holiday sales.

Like an inconsiderate party guest, Old Man Winter arrived early this year, bringing his trusty cohorts snow, ice, wind and rain. The first official day of winter is still a month away, but many parts of the United States are feeling the freeze, especially in the Northern Plains, where snow fell 11 days before summer officially ended. If that is any indication of the upcoming season, retailers could be in for a long and brutal winter.

Winter Forecast

For many, winter is a magical time of the year.

Los Angeles -- Lifestyle brand Paul Frank is launching a pop-up shop at the Paramount Hotel in New York City, now through Jan. 30, 2015, with omnichannel features. Customers can participate in two digital activations featuring the face of Paul Frank, Julius the monkey.

Los Angeles -- Lifestyle brand Paul Frank is launching a pop-up shop at the Paramount Hotel in New York City, now through Jan. 30, 2015, with omnichannel features. Customers can participate in two digital activations featuring the face of Paul Frank, Julius the monkey.   

New York -- U.S. households plan to spend an average of $538 on gifts this holiday season, up slightly from $528 last year, The Conference Board reports today. About 8% of consumers say they plan to spend more this year on holiday gifts, while approximately 32% plan to spend less. The remaining 60% plan to spend about the same as last year.  

Plano, Texas -- The J.C. Penney Co. Inc. will open stores and begin its Black Friday sale activities at 5 p.m. local time on Thanksgiving Day. The company announced its plans via a tweet on the official JCPenney news account.   This start time is an hour earlier than the 6 p.m. Thanksgiving opening time of competing department stores Macy’s and Sears, and three hours earlier than the 8 p.m. opening time Penney used for Thanksgiving 2013.   

Big Lots celebrates families and mothers in particular through its national holiday television and online campaign launched on Nov. 1.

The campaign features four original songs - one in Spanish - which are intended to inspire sing-alongs.  The spots feature a singing trio that includes "America's Got Talent" finalist Deanna DellaCioppa, a Boston native who has performed with Stevie Wonder and Diana Ross. 

In this campaign, Big Lots emphasizes a special role mothers play in celebrating the holidays.