Seasonal

LeapFrog Enterprises is rolling into the holiday with its strongest product lineup ever but concerns about consumer spending have the leading educational entertainment company tempering its view of fourth quarter sales.

Wayne, N.J. – The time may have come to change the name of Black Friday to Black Thursday. According to multiple media reports, Toys ‘R’ Us will open stores at 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving night.

Chelmsford, Mass. -- It only take an average of 2.2 negative experiences for  Americans to stop purchasing from a retail brand -- across any channel, according to a new survey commissioned by Kronos Inc. Underscoring the urgency of a seamless omni-channel experience, 68% of Americans agree that a negative shopping experience within a single channel negatively impacts their perception across all shopping channels including physical stores, online, mobile, phone centers, and catalog.

Macy's has integrated NantMobile’s iD visual recognition technology into its Star Gifts app to allow customers to shop on the go from catalogs, billboards and magazine ads.

Austin, Texas -- Starting in November, Whole Foods Market stores nationwide will host DIY craft tutorials, with local artists from Etsy’s seller community. Shoppers can also find exclusive step-by-step DIY projects from Etsy’s creative community in Whole Foods Market’s 2013 Holiday Guide, available in stores and online.

New York -- Macy’s shoppers will be able to see it, scan it, shop it this holiday season with the chain’s upcoming integration of NantMobile’s iD visual recognition technology. The new Macy’s Star Gifts app, powered by iD, empowers mobile shoppers to leverage visual recognition technology to purchase items from Macy’s Star Gifts assortment while on the go. Whether they scan it from a catalog, magazine ad or even from an outdoor billboard, Macy’s will deliver mobile access to product information, gift-giving assistance and much more.

New York -- Starting in November, J. Crew consumers can take advantage of MasterPass at checkout, a digital wallet service enables shoppers to use any payment card or enabled device to unlock a simplified and speedier checkout experience whether they’re at home, in a store or on the go.

J. Crew consumers can now take advantage of MasterCard’s digital wallet service, MasterPass, at checkout. The digital wallet service enables shoppers to use any payment card or enabled device to unlock a simplified and speedier checkout experience regardless of where they are.