Seasonal

Competing with Walmart is nothing new for Target, but what appears to be different this holiday season compared with the last few years is, to borrow a football metaphor, Walmart has eliminated its turnovers and is now showing some signs of momentum.

At least that’s what the retailer told financial analysts gathered in Northwest Arkansas last week for an all-day meeting. 

AUSTIN — Whole Foods is focusing on immune support by offering educational podcasts, in-store lectures, a brochure and a "seasonal wellness shopping list" to customers this fall.

Whole Foods said that the promotion, which is being held during the months of October and November, is part of the Be Good to Your Whole Body campaign.

By Sven Hammar, CEO, Apica

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — In an effort to reward loyal shoppers, CVS/pharmacy has created a new promotion that allows members of its ExtraCare Rewards program to earn multiple free gift cards by shopping for essentials at more than 7,200 locations nationwide.

New York City -- U.S. retail sales in September grew at their fastest pace in six months, beating forecasts and rising 1.1%, the Commerce Department reported Friday. Excluding the auto sector, sales rose 0.6%, also better than expected. The increase gave retailers renewed hope for the upcoming holiday season.

The Commerce Department also reported that sales for August, which were originally reported as unchanged, were revised up to a 0.3% increase.

There will be no escaping the long arm of Walmart’s marketing efforts this holiday season as the retail reminds shoppers it has the lowest prices on the broadest assortment of merchandise. Chief merchandising office Duncan Mac Naughton is making sure of that, and on Wednesday he outlined all of the ways the company plans to communicate with shoppers in the months ahead.

Armonk, N.Y. -- Jewelry will be one of the brightest categories for U.S. retailers this holiday season, according to a new analytics-based forecast by IBM. Jewelry sales are set to hit $2.6 billion In November, up 7.7% over the year-ago period, IBM reported, and $5.4 billion in December, up 4% over last year.

Promotions during September saw mixed outcome with some retailers increasing the number of pages and inserts, while the rest decreased the volume of promotions. The contrasting promotional strategies among the retailers led to the overall change being minimal. 

Like August, the largest decrease was Lowes, which saw a 61% drop in number of number of pages per market and 54% decline in inserts per market. This was a result of Lowes not having promotions in the second and third week of both August and September.