Seasonal

Chicago -- With the holiday season in full swing, Mintel, a leading global supplier of consumer, product and media intelligence, has looked into its market intelligence to find out just what U.S. consumers do to make their holidays special.

Here are 10 interesting insights:
 
• Some 13% of U.S. consumers think a cell phone is a good gift for children aged 6-11, up from just 4% earlier this year.

PARIS — Gap Inc. announced the opening of its first Banana Republic store on Avenue des Champs Élysées in Pais, France. According to the company, the 15,952-sq.-ft. space will house the brand’s women’s and men’s collections and represents the most contemporary expression of the brand globally.

Well, another Black Friday has come and gone. And, much to the surprise of many (myself included), it did so with a bang. General consensus is that the Black Friday sales bonanza was a rousing success, and the numbers certainly support that: ShopperTrak reported that Black Friday sales increased 6.6% over the 2010 numbers, with a record-breaking $11.4 billion in purchases. More people were out and about — foot traffic reports show an increase of about 5% over last year, which is good news for the brick and mortar guys.

Walmart faces increased competition from dollar stores, as their value proposition still resonates with cash-strapped consumers. Dollar General, for example reported that net income for its third quarter was $171 million, 50 cents per diluted share, compared with net income of $128 million, or diluted EPS of 37 cents, in the third of fiscal 2010. The company reported that same-store sales increased 6.3% for the quarter.

Chicago -- A report release Wednesday by ShopperTrak said that sales increased just 0.2% year-over-year for the week ending in Dec. 3, representing a 22.5% decline from the prior week, which held the largest Black Friday in history — both in terms of sales and traffic. 

According to ShopperTrak, this sharp decline in retail sales is typical of the week following Thanksgiving. Although shoppers have an initial burst of activity spurred on by Black Friday sales promotions, they often stay home during the following week. 

GOODLETTSVILLE, Tenn. — Dollar General announced that it is giving $100,000 to the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Foundation to support its efforts to provide toys to underprivileged children.

"Dollar General is proud to support Toys for Tots this holiday season," said Rick Dreiling, Dollar General's chairman and CEO. "Our stores are happy to be a part of Toys for Tots' mission of bringing joy and excitement to children who might not otherwise have a gift to open on Christmas."

LOS ANGELES — Among those that have shopping-related applications on their smartphone, most of them will use this method to help save money when purchasing gifts this holiday season, according to a new PriceGrabber survey.

New York City -- The retail sector continues to edge tentatively toward recovery, buoyed by a strong start to the holiday shopping season, but several obstacles stand in the way of sustained progress in 2012, according to Jones Lang LaSalle’s North America Year-end Retail Outlook.