Seasonal

Chicago -- Claire's Stores has entered into a partnership with Dylan's Candy Bar, the world's largest confectionary emporium and lifestyle brand, whereby Claire’s will sell an edited selection of Dylan’s candies. The assortment features nearly 30 items, all under $24 – from lollipops, chocolate bars and fillable gummy bears to cotton candy buckets, cupcake pillows and sweet candy houses

Camp Hill, Pa. – Rite Aid reported a same-store sales increase of 2.1% for October 2013 as compared to the same month in the prior year. Front-end same-store sales actually decreased 0.6%, but gains of 3.4% in pharmacy same-store sales and a 1.1% jump in prescription count drove the total growth.

San Bruno, Calif. -- Walmart on Friday kicked off its online holiday deals, a month earlier than usual, and announced that it is offering free shipping on about 99% of its online items this year for orders over $50. (Last year, only about 15% of its assortment qualified for free shipping). The moves comes as retailers get ready for what is expected to be an extremely competitive season, one marked by intense promotional activity. Retailers are also challenged by this year’s calendar: Thanksgiving falls late, on Nov.

Newegg, a leading electronics-focused e-retailer in the U.S., has kicked off this year’s Black November shopping event. The online retailer first unveiled Black November in 2010.

The company will be offering exclusive deals on the first four days of Black November across 60 categories, including computers, electronics, automotive, sporting goods and jewelry.

Lay's will be introducing Lay's Wavy Potato Chips Dipped in Milk Chocolate next week, according to a report from USA Today.

The chips, priced at $3.49 for a 5-oz. bag, will only be sold at Target for a limited time through the holidays. If the product is successful it could become a permanent fixture on store shelves, according to Ram Krishnan, VP marketing at Frito-Lay.

San Francisco – Almost nine-in-10 (88%) consumers will shop in stores this holiday season, compared to 75% who will shop online and 16% who will shop via mobile device. A new Harris Interactive survey co-sponsored by Aerohive Networks and Euclid also shows that physical retailers still need to address consumer concerns regarding in-store holiday shopping.

Specifically, consumers are most concerned about crowds (42%), lines (29%), and out-of-stock items (15%) affecting their in-store holiday shopping this year.

New York -- Neiman Marcus and 3D printing marketplace Shapeways have teamed together to offer a limited holiday collection.

The collection consists of two pieces available in Shapeways’ 3D Printed metal finishes: A monogrammed silver heart pendant necklace that can be customized with initials, and an orb stainless steel sculpture paperweight. Both items are made by Shapeways' 3D Printing and feature its prin.

Naperville, Ill. – Count OfficeMax as the latest in a growing list of retailers opening its doors at 8 p.m. local time Thanksgiving night (as permitted by law). Online Black Friday discounts at OfficeMax.com start at 12:01 a.m. EST Thanksgiving morning.

The OfficeMax Black Friday shopping event will take place for three days from Thursday, Nov. 28 to Saturday, Nov. 30 in stores and at OfficeMax.com.

New Canaan, Conn. -- Continuing a two-year slide in retail spending momentum, American shoppers will generate only a lackluster 2.9% rise in holiday sales, according to Customer Growth Partners’ 13th Annual Holiday Forecast. The CPG report paints a scenario that is decidedly less cheery than some of the other holiday forecasts that have been released to date.

By Craig Johnson, president, Customer Growth Partners