Winter Holidays

Wayne, N.J. -- Toys “R” Us is expanding its point-based Rewards “R” Us loyalty program as it gears up for one of the most competitive holiday seasons in years. The added incentives include a first-ever, private pre-Black Friday incentive.

Naperville, Ill. – Count OfficeMax as the latest in a growing list of retailers opening its doors at 8 p.m. local time Thanksgiving night (as permitted by law). Online Black Friday discounts at OfficeMax.com start at 12:01 a.m. EST Thanksgiving morning.

The OfficeMax Black Friday shopping event will take place for three days from Thursday, Nov. 28 to Saturday, Nov. 30 in stores and at OfficeMax.com.

OfficeMax has joined the growing list of retailers that plan on opening most of its stores at 8 p.m. Thanksgiving, ahead of Black Friday. The office supplies, technology and business services retailer will entice consumers with doorbuster deals and significant Black Friday savings at OfficeMax.com starting at 12:01 a.m. EST Thanksgiving morning.

The OfficeMax Black Friday shopping event will run through Saturday, Nov. 30, in stores and online.

New Canaan, Conn. -- Continuing a two-year slide in retail spending momentum, American shoppers will generate only a lackluster 2.9% rise in holiday sales, according to Customer Growth Partners’ 13th Annual Holiday Forecast. The CPG report paints a scenario that is decidedly less cheery than some of the other holiday forecasts that have been released to date.

San Francisco – Almost nine-in-10 (88%) consumers will shop in stores this holiday season, compared to 75% who will shop online and 16% who will shop via mobile device. A new Harris Interactive survey co-sponsored by Aerohive Networks and Euclid also shows that physical retailers still need to address consumer concerns regarding in-store holiday shopping.

Specifically, consumers are most concerned about crowds (42%), lines (29%), and out-of-stock items (15%) affecting their in-store holiday shopping this year.

PriceGrabber, a leading distributed e-commerce platform and shopping site, conducted its Winter Holiday Shopping Survey and found that 69% of consumers plan to shop at the same retailers at which they shopped last year.

New York -- Shoppers feel that they get a better retail experience online than in-store, including better service, more perks and rewards, and the ability to make smarter purchasing decisions, according to shopping behavior and retail trends firm WSL.  

San Francisco – PBTeen, a Williams-Sonoma retail brand, will open a new store in Huntington, N.Y., on Nov. 7. It will be the first PBTeen location on Long Island, the 16th in the U.S., and also the first combined location of PBTeen, Pottery Barn and Pottery Barn Kids, with pass-through access to all three stores.