Seasonal

MINNEAPOLIS - Target announced that it is offering free shipping on thousands of Target.com purchases and announces extended store hours on Dec. 26.  

"Target makes shopping fun, fast and festive for our guests throughout the holiday season," says Nik Nayar, vice president, merchandising at Target. "Most holiday gift cards are redeemed in our electronics department so we are gearing up for great deals on some of our guests' favorite products such as video games, TVs and cameras."

Chicago - Boosted by a very weak comparison period, ShopperTrak’s National Retail Sales Estimate (NRSE) reported that total GAFO retail sales for the last Saturday before Christmas (12/18), or Super Saturday, increased a sharp 15.1% compared with last year, while the company’s retail traffic index (SRTI) reported a similar 10.1% total U.S. foot traffic uptick for the same period.

QUINCY, Mass. - Stop & Shop Supermarket announced that it set a new record in 2010 with its annual Food for Friends campaign. More than $2 million -- a 40% increase from 2009 -- will be donated to more than 300 local food pantries and regional food banks throughout Stop & Shop's operating areas this year, the company reported.

Competition in the toy category is intense every holiday season, but it seems to have been ratcheted up a few notches this year, and Target was one of the companies doing the ratcheting. The company’s aggressive pricing moves put it in close proximity to Walmart early in the season and more recently Target’s toys were less expensive than Walmart’s, according to a pricing survey conducted by Citigroup retail analyst Deb Weinswig.

The small ad was a little lost on the bottom of page 36 of Target’s 40-page holiday circular this week, but there among an offering of floor care products was a reminder of a Facebook initiative that could be worth as much as $50,000 to the Kids In Need Foundation. The ad encouraged readers to visit Facebook.com/TargetGiveJoy to create a wish list of up to five items for a chance to win a gift card equal in value to those items with Kids In Need receiving a $5 donation for each wish list submitted up to a total of $50,000. The program ends at midnight on Christmas.

Fortune has released its list of the top 10 Fortune 500 stock performers for 2010, and Dillard's is the lone retailer on the list.

Ranked at number 10, Dillard's, which is ranked at 348 on the Fortune 500, posted a year-to-date stock performance improvement of 97% and a market cap of $2.1 billion.

According to the report, Dillard's sold more merchandise this November than last year, with sales totaling almost $470 million for the month. That marked a 7% increase over last year.

PLANO, Texas - JCPenney announced that it will opens its doors at 7 a.m. on Dec. 26 for its biggest After Christmas Sale ever. Customers visiting JCPenney the day after Christmas can find extended store hours, free shipping offers on jcp.com and over 100 “Doorbuster” specials from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., highlighted in JCPenney’s expanded 48-page sales circular, the company reported. 

Walmart has been a non-player in toys this year, according to Eric Johnson, director of the Center for Digital Strategies at Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business. He was quoted in a Bloomberg article this week about how Walmart increased toy prices after Thanksgiving weekend. Johnson is regarded as something of a toy expert, so he pops up in holiday stories and he has been critical of Walmart this year.