Mass Merchant

Watch this video for a time-lapsed video on how Target transformed a 16,000-sq.-ft. space in Manhattan into its holiday-themed pop-up, Target Wonderland.

Angela Ahrendts, senior VP of retail for Apple and former CEO of Burberry, is taking a more luxe approach in some of the company’s retail stores. “The stores are the best physical manifestation of the brand,” Jan Dawson, an analyst at Jackdaw Research, told the New York Times. “Angela is bringing her sensibility to that experience.” [New York Times]

Retailers looking to provide a positive customer experience this holiday season should realize time is of the essence.

According to a new survey of 1,267 U.S. consumers from LoyaltyOne Consulting, 94% of respondents said they expect retailers to take extra measures to keep checkout lines moving during the holiday rush. When asked why they avoided stores completely during the holiday season, 36% of shoppers said their primary reason is waiting too long at the checkout.

The National Retail Federation called on Congress to reject a customs reauthorization bill set for a vote this week unless it includes a provision allowing states to require online merchants to collect sales tax the same as local stores.

Target merges physical and digital retailing in its holiday pop-up, Target Wonderland, located in Manhattan. The 16,000-sq.-ft. space has ten larger-than-life displays, including a jumbo Etch-a-Sketch, a Christmas tree made from green-foam Hulk Hands and the "S.S. Free Shipping” LEGO pirate ship which is part of Target’s holiday advertising campaign.

Consumer packaged goods companies eager to keep pace with shoppers’ desire for product ingredient transparency have embraced a major initiative branded as SmartLabel.

SmartLabel is the name given to an initiative spearheaded by the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) that is designed to give consumers easy access to detailed information on ingredients and hundreds of other product attributes, such as whether food items contain ingredients from genetically modified sources.

Target Corp. has opened a 16,000-sq.-ft. space in New York that is part store and part holiday playground — and a testing ground for merging physical and digital retailing.

Custom-built LED displays enhance the atmosphere at Irish fast-fashion retailer Primark’s first U.S. store, at Downtown Crossing in Boston.

The displays are integrated into high visibility locations throughout the store, blending into the environment and highlighting key features of the Primark brand. The displays are designed to attract shoppers, present current trends and provide store information in a hip, stylized fashion.