Kroger, Guess among participants in new retail holiday

U.S. retailers, brands, technology vendors, and other companies are preparing for the inaugural 10.10 Shopping Festival.

The October omnichannel sales extravaganza, designed to compete with Prime Day and the 11.11 Global Shopping Festival, will occur during the weekend of Oct. 9-11. The event’s organizers, retail research/advisory firm Coresight Research, shopping rewards app Shopkick and global online fashion marketplace Fashwire, have announced an initial list of retailers and brands who will offer discounts during the sale, including Guess, Jos. A. Bank, K&G Fashion Stores, Kroger, Men’s Wearhouse, and Shoe Carnival.

In addition, technology vendors Blue Yonder, Newmine, Position Imaging, Preima, and Trove; as well as Manhattan Chamber of Commerce, Retail Innovation Conference, startup incubator Science Inc. and retail real estate investment trust Tanger Outlets, are all serving as supporting partners.

During the 10.10 Shopping Festival, consumers will earn rewards in the form of “kicks” (Shopkick’s rewards currency), for visiting and purchasing from participating retailers and brands, both on- and offline. “Kicks” can be redeemed for gift cards or donated to participating charitable organizations. In addition, Fashwire’s participating designers will be presented in a curated global shop available in-store, online and via the Fashwire mobile apps. All participating designers will all donate a portion of proceeds to charitable causes.

“With our research showing most consumers anticipate doing their holiday shopping earlier this year, it’s the perfect time to launch,” said Deborah Weinswig, CEO and founder, Coresight Research. “The extra time before December will help alleviate every retailer’s nightmare in a year involving skyrocketing online sales: order processing, fulfillment, and shipment delays. The timing, coupled with what we’ve learned from Alibaba’s Singles’ Day – a newly created shopping holiday that turned into a resounding success for the Chinese retail platform – are key aspects of our decision to band together to create this event.”