Winter Holidays

New York -- Retail sales this holiday season will grow about 4%, according to a survey by brand loyalty and customer engagement consultancy Brand Keys.   In the 2014 Brand Keys Holiday Shopping survey, 54% of consumers indicated they were going to start holiday shopping in November, “a trend we’ve commented upon for a number of years,” said Brand Keys founder and president Robert Passikoff.    

Amazon made it even easier to find holiday gifts for technology lovers this year.   The company launched its annual Electronics Holiday Gift Guide (www.amazon.com/giftguide), a curated list of more than 500 top tech gifts of the season which features 3 times more deals than last year, with 10 deals on electronics items offered every day.

Hoffman Estates, Ill. -- Sears Holiding Company joined the growing list of retailers with extended shopping hours on Thanksgiving and Black Friday.   Sears and Kmart stores will open on Thanksgiving Day, with Sears opening at its earliest time ever: 6 p.m, two hours earlier than last year. Kmart will open its doors for 42 hours straight, from 6 a.m. on Thanksgiving to midnight on Black Friday.

New data from JLL’s 2014 Holiday Sentiment Report, which includes feedback from 800 largely national or global retailers in JLL-managed shopping centers across the United States, suggests retailers are optimistic about store performance, but are fighting the “survival of the fittest” match.  

San Francisco –- Compared to non-users, Twitter users start holiday shopping earlier, spend more and are more prone to impulse purchases. According to a new study conducted by brand research firm DB5 for Twitter, more than a third (34%) of Twitter users have already begun thinking about holiday shopping, and 81% say they love holiday shopping, compared to 56% of non-users.  

Whole Foods has a tendency to zig when other retailers zag and it is doing just that with a new line PBS Kids branded toys this holiday season.

No bright shiny plastic toys will be found on Whole Foods shelves. Instead, the natural grocer struck a deal with PBS Kids to offer a line of educational and sustainable wooden toys and plush products for kids ages six months to three years. Each item in the PBS Kids line is made with safe, non-toxic materials and inks, and all packaging is made from recycled materials, according to the companies.

By Craig Johnson, Customer Growth Partners   With a third straight year of dismal retail spending, American consumers will generate only a lackluster 3.4% year-over-year increase in holiday sales, well below the 5% pace in 2010 and 2011, according to Customer Growth Partners’ 14th Annual Holiday Forecast.   

Bentonville, Ark. -- Walmart is upping the ante on holiday shopping. The chain announced that, starting Saturday, Nov. 1, it will reduce prices on more than 20,000 items. Walmart is also launching its holiday promotions on the first weekend in November to get a jump on what is expected to be a highly competitive selling season.