Winter Holidays

Los Angeles -- Black Friday shoppers are looking to extend the Black Friday experience as much as possible. According to new survey results from PriceGrabber, 24% of Black Friday shoppers plan to start shopping on the evening of Thanksgiving. When asked if they plan to take advantage of extended hours during the weekend, 57% said they plan to do so.

Framingham, Mass. -- TJX Cos. is launching its first-ever holiday gift hotline for its TJ Maxx and Marshall stores.

The hotline will be available to shoppers from Tuesday, Dec. 3 through Friday, Dec. 6, and will be staffed by nationally renowned style and gifting experts.

The hotline will be staffed from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

More than half of consumers plan to shop on Black Friday this year, although the number has decreased since last year. According to the Deloitte Pre-Thanksgiving Survey, 53% of 1,000 consumers polled will shop on Black Friday, compared to 63% in 2012.

Younger consumers are more likely to shop Black Friday, with 68% of weekend shoppers age 18-29 planning to shop that day and 44% of Black Friday shoppers in this age group planning to hit the stores between midnight and 5 a.m., compared to 30% of those 30 and older.

Philadelphia – Holiday spending looks strong this year, with 85% of U.S. consumers planning to maintain or increase their holiday spending levels from last year. According to a new survey of 2,000 respondents from Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (PREIT) and Harris Interactive, of those who plan to spend more, 15% plan to increase spending on electronics, 14% plan to purchase more gift cards, 13% will spend more on apparel and 10% will spend more on home goods.

Milwaukee – Harley-Davidson is debuting a new Pinterest pinboard at Pinterest.com/harleydavidson. The pinboard features holiday gifts as well as 2014 bikes, custom items, and parts and accessories.

Starting Nov. 26 and running through Dec. 24, people can create their own pinboard with Harley-Davidson items. Harley-Davidson will pick nine weekly winners at the $25-$200 level and one $10,000 grand prize winner with no purchase necessary.

Pleasanton, Calif. -- Ross Stores Inc. reported third-quarter profit of $171.6 million, up from $159.5 million a year earlier, on higher sales and gross margins. Looking ahead to the fourth quarter, the off-retailer forecast earnings below Street estimates and said it was adopting a more cautious outlook for the quarter.

Cleveland -- Holiday spending expectations are in line with last year when in-store shopping accounted for 70% of spending, according to a new survey by Forest City Enterprises. The average in-store expenditure is expected to increase by 1% to about $774. The average online expenditure is expected to decrease by 0.3% to $330.

Holiday shoppers will be driven more than ever by value this year and that they expect to shift even more of their spending toward children, the study found.  

Apprehension regarding shoppers’ willingness to spend during the shortened holiday season has reached the point where even retailers presumably well positioned to benefit from frugality are sounding alarms.

The most recent is Ross Stores vice chairman and CEO Michael Balmuth who shared his concerns about the fourth quarter even as the operator of 1,154 stores reported third quarter sales that were in line with expectations and profits that exceeded guidance due to margin expansion.