Seasonal

Toronto – Canadian Tire Corp. is rallying around a flag that contains no controversy with a new omnichannel promotional campaign. To celebrate the upcoming July 1 Canada Day holiday, Canadian Tire has posted a promotional video on YouTube using the hashtag #FlyYourCdnFlag.

Canadian Tire is encouraging consumers to post photos and videos on social networks such as Twitter, YouTube and Instagram using the #FlyYourCdnFlag hashtag.

Barnes & Noble is debuting a strangely appropriate omnichannel promotion for a retailer who might wish it could go back to an era in which bookshops were more relevant.

Fireworks sales are expected to reach a record level this year and while reported injuries have declined seeking medical treatment is still a Fourth of July tradition for many.

The American Pyrotechnics Association (APA) forecasts that consumer fireworks sales will reach a record level this year. Backyard fireworks have never been more popular or in more demand, according to APA, and despite the sluggish economy sales grew from $600 million in 2006 to $662 million in 2013.

GameStop is kicking off summer in a big way with a five-week Twitter contest aimed at increasing customer engagement.

The contest, called #SummerAtGameStop, is a five-week contest series designed for gamers to share their personal stories on how video gaming brings fans together to create unique friendships and lifelong relationships. The program encompasses five themed weeks: Never Met, Romance, Reunited, Game Night, and Rematch.

All good things must come to end — including, after nearly four years, my contributions to this column. “Retail Rap” will soon be forging on without me. This is the first of two final columns I’ll be contributing, and I’ll beg your indulgence if I wax nostalgic at times in this, column number 99, and in my last submission two weeks from now, Retail Rap number 100.

Armonk, N.Y. – When consumers look for Father’s Day gifts, they increasingly are doing so on the go. According to new IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark data, mobile accounted for more than 48% of all online Father’s Day traffic in 2015.

This figure was just shy of desktop, which claimed 51.7%, a far slimmer gap than 2014. For sales however, desktop remains supreme, accounting for 74.3% of sales (compared to 25.7% for mobile) and driving average order values of $115.12, compared to mobile devices at $93.14.

Disney and Ralph Lauren are among the iconic American brands consumers consider the most "patriotic," according to a new survey.

Rebel flags are now a hot commodity after numerous retailers yanked Confederate-related merchandise from their stores and websites.

Wal-Mart, Sears and eBay announced their decisions Monday, and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley called on legislators to remove the flag from the statehouse grounds. After doing so, sales of Confederate flags spiked on Amazon to claim first, second, and third place on the site's list of biggest sales gainers in the previous 24 hours. Prices ranged from under $2 to nearly $16 per flag.

T.J.Maxx has come up with a creative way to encourage shoppers to support children in need.

The retailer is launching the "Maxx Kids Art Contest" to support organizations that help children in need reach their full potential, such as Save the Children. Winning artwork will appear on future products sold in T.J.Maxx stores that will benefit children in need. In addition, all winners will receive a $250 savings bond.

A disruption in product flow because of the West Coast port dispute led to a drop in same store sales for Hancock Fabrics in the first quarter.

The company had net sales of $61.7 million for the first quarter ended May 2, compared to $63 million in the first quarter of the prior year. Same store sales declined by 1.9%.