Winter Holidays

New York -- Target Corp. has joined the growing ranks of retailers who will open earlier on Thanksgiving this year. The company said it is making the change in response to competitive pressure and demand from shoppers.

Target stores will open on 8 p.m. on the holiday, an hour earlier than last year. Stores will remain open throughout the night and close at 11 p.m. on the day after Thanksgiving, Nov. 29.

Armonk, N.Y. -- Online retailers can expect a strong holiday shopping season. According to the latest IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark data, which analyzes online transactions from more than 800 retailers in the U.S., retail sales were up 16% in October and 11% in the first week of November (Nov. 1-Nov. 7) compared to the same period last year.

Menomonee Falls, Wis. -- Kohl’s on Monday announced an array of Black Friday sales events, kicking off at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day.

Procrastinating is out this year when it comes to holiday shopping, with 62% of consumers surveyed planning to finish their gift buying on or before Dec. 16, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers.

As in most years, the top shopping day of the year is expected to be Black Friday. However, Cyber Monday will follow close behind across most demographic groups, overtaking Super Saturday as the second busiest holiday shopping day of the year.

Suffern, N.Y. -- Ascena Retail Group announced that Judith Langley has joined dressbarn as executive VP and chief merchandising officer.

Langley brings to Dressbarn extensive experience as a senior merchant and in product development. Most recently, she was executive VP and chief merchandising officer with Charming Charlie’s, a jewelry and accessories chain.

Previously, she was senior VP of design and trend at Kohl’s, where she oversaw product direction for 15 brands.

Washington, D.C. – The National Retail Federation calculated retail industry job gains at 37,600 in October 2013, and 295,000 year-over-year, a 2.4% increase from 2012. Job gains were seen in every retail sector with the exception of clothing and clothing stores, which witnessed a contraction of 12,500 positions in September.

In its annual holiday sales and employment forecast, NRF predicted that retailers would see a 3.9% increase in sales and hire an additional 720,000 to 780,000 employees this holiday season.

Shopper activity increased this October, in line with ShopperTrak expectations. Total retail store shopper traffic increased 2.4% compared to September 2013. Consumers who were off work for the Columbus Day holiday (Monday, Oct. 14) took advantage of store promotions to update their cold-weather wardrobes. Many others hit the stores to gather costumes, candies and other necessities for Halloween (Thursday, Oct. 31).

Beloit, Wis. – Online coupon provider FatWallet predicts a larger selection and assortment of lower-priced Black Friday deals in 2013 as compared to the previous year. Notable predictions include: