Winter Holidays

By Anna Convey, OpenSpan

Chicago -- Retail sales are forecast to rise 2.4% during the holiday season of November and December while total retail traffic will decrease 1.4% as compared to the year-ago period, according to ShopperTrak, a leading provider of shopper analytics. The company also notes that retailers have less time to capture peak holiday spending: There are only 25 days lie between Black Friday (Nov. 29) and Christmas this year, compared to 31 days in 2012. And unlike last year, consumers have only four (not five) full weekends to shop.

New York – The Deloitte Consumer Spending Index, which tracks consumer cash flow as an indicator of future consumer spending, slightly dipped in August.

New York – Cloud-based e-commerce, mobile apps and mobile wallets are among the most important IT trends affecting retailers as they enter the 2013 holiday shopping season.

Verizon Communications, Inc. has compiled a list of the biggest IT trends for this year’s holiday season. Following are highlights:

As the winter season approaches, Burlington Coat Factory experienced overall sales growth that led to a comparative store sales increase of 7.8% for the second quarter ended Aug. 3.

Total net sales increased 11.5% to $963.7 million for the months quarter compared with last year.

“We are proud of our second quarter results including 11.5% overall sales growth and, most important, our 7.8% comparative store sales increase. I would like to thank our store and corporate teams for contributing to these results,” said Tom Kingsbury, president and CEO. 

Bentonville, Ark. -- Walmart on Thursday announced its annual holiday top toy list, but this year’s list has a new spin: It was put together with the help of kids. The chain brought together 1,000 kids ages 18 months to 10 years to test, play with, and help select the top toys for the season.

Toys"R"Us held a special preview event at its flagship location in NYC's Time Square. Speaking about the company's competitive advantages as it gears up for the holiday shopping season as well as the company’s omnichannel offerings and investments being made in its mobile capabilities were EVP and chief merchandising officer Richard Barry, as well as SVP and chief digital officer Fred Argir, respectively.

Wayne, N.J. -- Toys “R” Us is updating its in-store shopping experience and expanding its omnichannel initiatives for its more important selling season. The retailer detailed its plans on Thursday at a special holiday preview event in New York City.

Starting in October, Toys “R” Us will expand and enhance product categories that have experienced sales growth over the past few years, notably education, tablets and construction, while reducing the space dedicated to areas that have underperformed over time.