Winter Holidays

For the third year in a row, leading U.S. no-contract cell phone service provider Straight Talk Wireless will donate $1 to Make-A-Wish for every demonstration given at more than 3,000 Walmart stores nationwide on Saturdays in September as part of the “Give A Minute, Help Make-A-Wish” program.

Meijer is preparing to hire thousands of new employees for its stores as the growing company prepares for the fall and holiday selling seasons, announced Janet Emerson, EVP of operations for the Grand Rapids, Mich.-based retailer.

"Meijer is always looking for good people," Emerson said. "Our continued growth provides a great opportunity to find new team members who will help deliver on the Meijer promise of providing exceptional customer service."

The Mall at Short Hills (New Jersey) will launch the holidays with its 13th annual “Santa Paws” promotion, as shoppers have pictures taken with Santa--pets in tow. On Nov. 9 and Nov. 16, shoppers will bring their canine companions--in costume, if desired--to the Ice Palace at Grand Court on the lower level of The Mall at Short Hills and have a holiday photo taken.

For the second consecutive quarter, Toys “R” Us has delivered positive comparable store net sales results in its U.S. and international segments.

After several years of market weakness, the company’s international business as whole has begun to rebound, driven primarily by net sales increases in Japan and the U.K. Business in China and Southeast Asia remains strong, as the company continues its expansion in that region.

Harrisburg, Pa. -- The Shoppes at Susquehanna Marketplace, in Susquehanna Township, Pennsylvania, is celebrating its 10th anniversary by adding dining, spa services and two in-demand retailers, announced The Shoppes’ owner and developer, Stanbery Development.

As the holiday season approaches, many retailers will ramp up their staff to accommodate the increase in customers and other operational demands. However, in today’s era of widespread employment litigation, employers must be even more conscientious of the legal liabilities and practical consequences they face during this time of year.

Despite the fast-paced nature of the holiday rush, companies should still conduct their due diligence when screening new employees, whether they are long-term or seasonal.

With some 3,200 franchised, independently owned and corporate stores, the fast-growing Danish jewelry retailer Pandora needs to ensure customer relationship management (CRM) consistency throughout its operation — especially during the heavily promotional holiday season. It does so by using the Microsoft Dynamics CRM system and a retail portal based on the Microsoft Azure cloud platform.

Furniture doesn’t leap to mind as a common holiday gift item. But by optimizing its customer experience for mobile devices and utilizing advanced personalization, Chattanooga, Tennessee-based online retailer Smart Furniture (which also runs a single flagship store) is making consumers think of the home for the holidays.

“Last year, we had the single biggest traffic pattern shift in company history,” said T.J. Gentle, president and CEO of Smart Furniture.

While holiday forecasts are just starting to come out, most industry experts agree that retailers can expect mobile to command a bigger share of online shopping. Forrester projects $294 billion in e-commerce sales across 30 retail categories in 2014, with $87 billion of the total occurring on phones and tablets in 2014. A report by IBM forecasts that mobile will account for more than 20% of site sales and more than 43% of site traffic, by November 2014.

“Mobile should be a primary purchase channel within a few years,” said Bill Davis, director of MB&G Consulting.

Everyone knows that stores need extra staff during the holiday shopping rush, but there is a big difference between carefully scheduling employees when and where they are needed and simply adding bodies to a store’s headcount. San Francisco-based beauty retailer Sephora has come up with a solution: The company is expanding its use of the Ceridian Dayforce workforce management platform to adjust holiday staffing according to both historical sales data and current trends.

“We forecast the entire quarter’s sales and payroll,” explained Gino Filice, IT manager of Sephora.