Seasonal

NEW YORK — Department store retailers reported strong sales in January as shoppers responded positively to post-holiday clearance events.  

Overall, the 20 retailers reporting January comps saw an average rise of 5.1%, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers, which beat the mall trade group’s 3% forecasted rise.

GLENDALE, Calif. — Nestle today announced new additions to its line of Valentine’s Day offerings.

This season's collection includes the new Wonka Lik-M-Aid Fun Dip Mystery Flavor Valentine Exchange Kit. Returning this year are Lik-M-Aid Fun Dip Valentine Exchange Kit, Nestlé Crunch and Butterfinger Hearts, Wonka's best-selling Nerds , Pixy Stix, or Laffy Taffy Candy and Card Kits, Wonka Sweetarts Lollipops and Wonka Sweetarts Hearts.

New York -- Although there were some surprising gains among retailers in January, for the most part results were expectedly mixed, as consumers took a hit on their take-home pay from higher payroll taxes but cooler weather gave a boost to others.

Austin, Texas -- Online coupon site RetailMeNot.com reported Thursday that men outspend women by more than $120 on Valentine’s Day gift giving.

According to the just-released results of the Valentine edition of RetailMeNot.com’s Shoppers Trend Report, the average person in a relationship plans to spend $226 for Valentine’s Day this year; the break-out is dominated by men, however, as they plan to spend $287 versus women at $164.

Home Depot expects to be busy this spring and is hiring 80,000 seasonal employees, 10,000 more than last year, to keep pace with the demand.

The hiring announcement by Home Depot follows a similar announcement by Lowe’s two weeks earlier that it planned to hire 45,000 seasonal employees. The increased hiring levels suggest the nation’s two largest home improvement retailers are optimistic about consumers demand amid a recovery in the housing market.

Chicago -- Seventy-eight percent of those who celebrate Valentine’s Day plan to shop a week or less before the actual day, and still many wait until Feb. 13 or Feb. 14 to purchase, finds recent by The NPD Group.

Women do not begin their Valentine’s Day shopping much earlier than men; one-in-three female buyers (32%) wraps up her shopping Feb. 13-14, and 47% of men made their final Valentine’s Day purchase on Feb. 13 or 14, according to NPD’s SnackTrack Holidays Valentine’s Day Profile.

Atlanta -- The Home Depot plans to hire more than 80,000 temporary workers to help customers this spring, some 10,000 more than it hired last year.
   
The move comes as the housing rebound spurs spending on remodeling and landscaping.
 

New York -- Banana Republic is partnering with Match.com to host in-store meet and greet events for the online dating site’s subscribers in key markets, including San Francisco, New York, and Chicago. The partnership is part of the retailer’s newly announced “Love” global marketing campaign.

To further engage consumers, Banana Republic will ask their Instagram and Twitter followers to share photos of hearts for a chance to be featured in a special Valentine's Day album posted on the brand’s Facebook page.