Seasonal

New York -- Luxury department store retailer Neiman Marcus and Popsugar, a global media and technology company, have partnered to create a limited-edition box filled with a luxury assortment of gifts that can be shipped directly to consumers’ homes.

Available just in time for the holiday season, the assortment will be hand-selected by Neiman Marcus fashion director Ken Downing and Popsugar founder and editor-in-chief Lisa Sugar. The box is marketed under Popsugar's monthly subscription box service, Popsugar Must Have.

Washington, D.C. - Consumers will take a conservative approach to spending this holiday season. According to NRF’s holiday consumer spending survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics, the average holiday shopper will spend $737.95 on gifts, décor, greeting cards and more, 2% less than the $752.24 they actually spent last year.  Despite this reduction in individual holiday budgets, NRF is forecasting holiday sales will increase 3.9% to $602.1 billion.

New York -- Uniqlo has opened a pop-up store in the 14th Street-Union Square subway station in Manhattan. The store, which will be open through the holidays, will offer shoppers will get a $5 Metro Card in a limited-edition sleeve with any purchase.
 
“This shop fits perfectly with our strong belief in the fundamental power of clothing to improve people’s lives, and our hope is that it will provide people with comfort and warmth during the winter season,” said Larry Meyer, COO of Uniqlo USA.
 

Chicago – More retailers are hiring extra holiday staff this year. According to a new annual holiday hiring survey from CareerBuilder and Harris Interactive, 39% of retail hiring managers reported that they plan to hire seasonal workers this year, up from 36% last year and 29% in 2011.

Uniqlo has opened a pop-up store in the 14th Street-Union Square subway station in Manhattan, and is incentivizing holiday shoppers by offering them a $5 Metro Card in a limited-edition sleeve with any purchase. The pop-shop will be open through the holidays.

“This shop fits perfectly with our strong belief in the fundamental power of clothing to improve people’s lives, and our hope is that it will provide people with comfort and warmth during the winter season,” said Larry Meyer, COO of Uniqlo USA.
 

99 Cents Only Stores is driving some Halloween traffic to its stores by taking its marketing campaign to the zoo. From 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Oct. 19-Oct. 20 and again on Oct. 26-Oct. 27, the retailer will be on hand at the Los Angeles Zoo's 24th Annual Boo at the Zoo event.

Store employees will be handing out goodies to children at trick-or-treating stations throughout the zoo. 99 enthusiast Papa Joe Aviance will be at the 99 Cents Only Stores booth reading spooky stories to the kids.

Shoppers responding to a recent National Retail Federation survey said they expect to spend slightly less this holiday season in contrast to an earlier economic forecast by the trade group which indicated spending during November and December would rise by 3.9%.

Fashion retailer Neiman Marcus and Popsugar, a leading global media and technology company at the intersection of content and commerce, have teamed up to create a limited-edition box filled with a luxury assortment of gifts that can be shipped directly to consumers’ homes.

Mars Chocolate North America has introduced a new set of planning tools to help retailers develop their marketing strategies and build chocolate sales.

The new resources include the 2014 Moments Calendar Video, year-long display programs, a convenience channel 2014 Planning Toolkit, a revamped Mars24seven.com and the Performance Plus Rewards Program.

The NPD Group has released the results of its holiday spending survey, the 12th annual survey of consumers’ holiday spending intentions. According to the report, the majority of consumers intend to spend the same as or more than last year, with fewer saying they plan to spend less.

This year’s results found that 12% of U.S. consumers who were surveyed plan to spend more, while 67% said they plan to spend about the same and 21% said they plan to spend less.