Winter Holidays

PITTSBURGH — Giant Eagle is looking to ease the fears of consumers concerned about risig food costs by promising not to raise prices on hundreds of items through the holidays.

MINNEAPOLIS — More unsettling news from Best Buy this week, as the company announced the departure of EVP and CFO Jim Muehlbauer.

Muehlbauer, who joined the company in 2002, will support the company through 2013 as it searches for a new finance chief.

Wayne, N.J. -- Toys “R” Us and Macy’s announced Wednesday that the pair will team on a Toys “R” Us Express-branded in-store program slated to open in 24 Macy’s stores during the holiday selling season.

Beginning mid-October and running through mid-January, the holiday temp departments will operate on a leased basis, will average about 1,500 sq. ft. each and will offer an edited selection of the Toys “R” Us product assortment.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Walmart said Tuesday it is testing same-day delivery service in four markets over the holiday shopping season.

The service is being tested in northern Virginia, Philadelphia, Minneapolis and San Francisco/San Jose, Calif. Geared toward customers who buy popular items online during the holidays, the test includes about 5,000 items and builds on a same-day grocery delivery service the retailer launched in San Jose in April 2010 and tested in San Francisco in 2011.

CINCINNATI and WAYNE, N.J. — Macy’s and Toys"R"Us -- likely the two retailers most associated with Christmas -- have joined together for a unique retail partnership.

Petaluma, Calif. -- Research results released Wednesday by multichannel commerce solution-provider MarketLive found that mobile will be used heavily for researching deals, making purchases and connecting with merchants across channels this holiday season.

According to the annual "Mindset of a Multi-Channel Shopper" survey, in 2012, customers will spend about the same amount on holiday gifts as last year—but a greater share of that spending will be online.

I’m sure I wasn’t the only person in the industry to raise an eyebrow when the S&P Retail Index notched an all-time high last month. Closing at $669.26 on September 14th to reach that milestone, the index has continued to creep up even further the last couple of weeks. A closer look at the stock market performance of the retail sector shows that both REITs and many individual retailers are continuing a strong positive trend—which makes sense, of course, because REITs will perform better in a strong retail environment when retailers are doing well.

PARSIPPANY, N.J. — Duncan Hines has introduced limited-edition flavors under its Frosting Creations line.

Evoking traditional, nostalgic holiday flavors and aromas, Duncan Hines already has introduced apple pie and pumpkin spice flavors to the market, followed by the debut of peppermint stick and gingerbread flavor mixes on Nov. 1.