Winter Holidays

Sales of toys got a big boost in 2020 as families stuck at home shifted their spending from other types of entertainment to toys.

On the heels of a strong holiday season, Target Corp. is paying out its fifth round of employee bonuses during the pandemic.

Holiday shoppers flocked online in 2020, and purchased a lot of gift cards while they were connected.

Issues such as COVID-19 impacted store operations during the 2020 holiday shopping season, but most retail stores avoided a sales decline.  

Seasonal retail employment gains hit their highest total on record in December, as retailers added 229,700 jobs during the month.

Traffic statistics at American malls in the early days of this year’s expanded holiday shopping season fell in step with the volume of COVID-19 cases being reported—except during gift-buying crunch time in December.

Online consumers were nice to retailers during the 2020 holiday season, but showed some naughty behavior as well.

Confounding dour predictions of soggy holiday sales — and defying COVID headwinds — America’s resilient shoppers drove the November-December holiday period to a record-breaking $768 billion in sales, a remarkable 8.6% leap from last year’s $707 billion. 

The nearly year-long focus on safety protocols is resonating with customers, but it may be diverting attention from other areas.

The offices of Chain Store Age are officially closed on Monday, Jan. 18, in recognition of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.