Winter Holidays

New York -- Shoppers in the United States intend to spend an average of $646 on gifts this holiday season, representing an 11% increase over the $582 they planned to spend, on average, in 2012, according to Accenture’s annual holiday shopping survey. The forecast uptick is more optimistic than other holiday surveys released to date.

Best Buy Canada is now offering Gibson’s guitars and basses from Gibson USA and Epiphone, both online and in select stores across Canada. This launch adds to the ever-growing selection of more than 300 musical instruments available online at bestbuy.ca.

Shoppers in the United States plan on spending an average of $646 on gifts this holiday season, representing an 11% increase over the $582 they planned to spend, on average, in 2012, according to Accenture’s annual holiday shopping survey. The forecast uptick is more optimistic than other holiday surveys released to date.

Denton, Texas — Golden Triangle Mall has announced the addition of Charlotte Russe to a list of national and regional tenants that have recently committed to or renewed leases at the renovated mall. The specialty fashion retailer will occupy 4,475 sq. ft. and will open before the holiday shopping season.

In addition to Charlotte Russe, the list of new retailers includes Buckle, Body Central, Pro Image Sports and food court eateries Italia Express, Tobu Oriental Eatery and Smoothie Paradise.

Washington, D.C. – The National Retail Federation’s Shop.org expects holiday sales to grow between 13%-15% from last holiday season to as much as $82 billion.

“Online and mobile continue to be a leading area of growth for retailers. In this economy savvy, cost-conscious consumers go to the web to do their research and get the best bang for their buck,” said NRF president and CEO Matthew Shay.

Washington, D.C. – The National Retail Federation (NRF) expects holiday sales to increase 3.9% to $602.1 billion, up slightly from last year’s 3.5% increase. The forecast is higher than the 10-year average holiday sales growth of 3.3%.

The group noted, however, that its forecast hinges “on Congress and the Administration's actions" over the next 45 days as the government shutdown entered a third day

Plano, Texas -- J.C. Penney Co. is set to launch Disney branded shops inside 565 Penney stores on Oct.4. The shops will offer toys, collectibles and children's apparel designed for Penney and showcasing various Disney characters, including those from Toy Story and Monsters University and Disney Junior shows.

The National Retail Federation showed its Christmas spirit on Thursday by releasing a holiday forecast that calls for sales to increase 3.9% to $602 billion and assumes the President and Congress will be able to resolve their differences.

NRF’s forecasted growth rate of 3.9% is a solid figure and well above the 3.3% average growth rate of the past 10 years and ahead of last year’s 3.5% gain. In addition, the trade group’s Shop.org digital division forecast that online sales would grow between 13% and 15% to roughly $82 billion.

Home furnishings retailer West Elm is opening a retail store in Birmingham, Ala., Thursday, Oct. 10 — it’s first ever location in the state.

The nearly 8,000-sq.ft. store located in the Summit Birmingham shopping center will feature the brand’s mix of furniture, home décor, gifts and artist collaborations. The store will also feature an assortment of local handcrafted products sourced through Etsy.com, including one-of-a-kind furniture, lighting, leather goods and wall art.

Austin, Texas – More than nine-in-10 (91%) holiday shoppers admit to overspending on presents, according to a new survey from RetailMeNot, with 60% of overspenders saying they do so because they thought giving a gift the person would love was worth the extra money.