Seasonal

Chicago -– During the upcoming winter, Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino will convert nearly 6,000-sq.-ft. of open space into four new retail destinations by welcoming M•A•C Cosmetics, Desigual and Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics and opening a larger, renovated House of Hoops by Foot Locker. M•A•C Cosmetics opens in December, followed later in the winter by global apparel retailer Desigual.  

Los Gatos, Calif. -- Forty percent of holiday shoppers use mobile shopping apps. According to a new poll of 1,000 U.S. consumers from Wanderful Media, parent company of local sales site Findnsave.com, 51% of shoppers are very interested in receiving mobile notifications regarding holiday deals and sales, and 20% of them have already signed up to receive mobile sale alerts.  

Mississauga, Canada -- Canadian shoppers are off to an earlier start with holiday shopping. UPS Canada's annual Black Friday survey conducted by Leger shows that one-third of Canadians plan to take advantage of Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals.    The findings forecast that 20% of Canadian consumers will travel to the U.S. to shop for Black Friday deals and 32% of Canadian consumers will make online Cyber Monday purchases from U.S. retailers.   

Little Rock, Ark. -- Dillard's Inc. reported Thursday a profit of $55.2 million in its fiscal third quarter, up 8.4% over the $50.9 million profit in the same period last year.   Sales, however, dipped to $1.460 billion, from $1.469 billion, and same-stores sales declined 1%.   Still, said CEO William T. Dillard II, "We believe we are positioned very well for the holiday season.”  

Perhaps the most aggressive traffic and sales generating promotional effort this Black Friday comes courtesy of Old Navy.

The Old Navy division of Gap, Inc., plans to open its more than 800 stores at 4 p.m. on Thanksgiving day and will price all merchandise at half off for 31 hours until stores close at 11 p.m. on Black Friday. And, if the 50% markdown isn’t sufficient to motivate shoppers, the retailer plans generate store traffic by giving away $1 million to one lucky customer and 1,000 $200 gift certificates.

New York -- Entertainer Nick Jonas joined Lord & Taylor/Hudson’s Bay president Liz Rodbell for the unveiling of the department store’s annual holiday windows on NYC’s Fifth Avenue on Thursday, marking the 100th anniversary of the retailer’s holiday window program.  

Bentonville, Ark. -- For the third consecutive year, Wal-Mart workers at about 1,600 stores are prepping to protest on Black Friday to demand better wages and benefits.   According to pressure group OUR Walmart, the protestors are demanding a $15/hour wage and consistent full-time hours.  

New York -- A 2014 Kelly Scott Madison Holiday Shopping Study revealed that the top concerns for consumers this holiday season are shipping costs and online security, as 71% of respondents ranked both as top-of-mind.   Other findings focused on timing and returns: