Winter Holidays

For the second year in a row, Sports Authority said most of its stores would open at 6 p.m. Thanksgiving Day.

Pleasant Ridge, Mich. -- Belk has teamed with HelloWorld, a provider of rich engagement solutions, to launch Santa Baby Sweepstakes, a holiday-themed multi-channel incentive program accessible across digital and mobile channels.   

Customers at Target are being given expanded opportunities to engage with the retailer this holiday season thanks to extended hours and early access to promotional offers.

New York -- Despite potential seasonal barriers to store trips such as long lines, traffic and limited merchandise selection, consumers anticipate spending the majority of their holiday budget in physical stores this year, according to Deloitte's 29th annual holiday survey.     

At a time when physical books are becoming an alien concept for younger consumer, Barnes & Noble has introduced a new ad campaign that positions books as, “a gift like no other.”

New York -- RadioShack has brought on rock parody singer Weird Al Yankovich to star in a holiday ad.   Yankovic is appearing in the chain's holiday campaign called "Gift Smart.” In the spot, he sings his own unique take on the holiday song  “Toyland.”   

Cute cat videos and funny dog tricks are everywhere on the Internet so it only stands to reason that Petco would unleash customers’ creativity with an Instagram contest as part of a larger holiday initiative.

Petco is encouraging shoppers to enter its holiday photo contest from Nov. 23 to Dec. 18 by submitting photos of their pets showing holiday spirit by following @petco and posting photos with #JoyLovePetsContest on Instagram. A winner will be selected every Friday and will receive a $1,000 Petco gift card.

Barnes & Noble is giving thanks to veterans this holiday season with a one-day, in-store-only Veterans Day offer of 15% off Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 NOOK and NOOK GlowLight devices. 

This offer is available to veterans, active duty military members and their families on Veterans Day, Tuesday, November 11, at all Barnes & Noble stores nationwide.