News

Shoppers have wasted no time in getting started with their holiday purchases this year, according to a new survey.

The National Retail Federation’s Consumer Holiday Spending Survey shows that 56.6% of those celebrating the holidays had already started shopping by early November, up from 54.4% last year and 16% from the 49% who had started by this time in 2008, the first time NRF asked the question. This also marks the highest percentage seen in that timeframe.

Target Corp. is giving the bargain-priced, impulse section located in the front of its stores a makeover.

The retailer is transforming the popular department into “Bullseye’s Playground,” and the chain’s iconic mascot, Bullseye, will be located on the top of each display.

Bloomingdale's is apologizing after critics said one of its holiday advertisements appeared to promote date rape. The luxury department store owned by Macy's Inc apologized for the 'inappropriate' eggnog advertisement on Tuesday. [Reuters]

Home goods and Sephora helped J.C. Penney turn a page on the ongoing story of its story of transformation by exceeding top-line growth expectations in the third quarter.

For its third quarter ended Oct. 31, the company cut its loss by 27% to $137 million, or 45 cents a share. It reported net sales of $2.90 billion, compared to $2.76 billion in the year-ago period. Same-store sales increased 6.4%.

The holiday promotion season is fast approaching with the arrival of Thanksgiving and Black Friday. From that moment the race is on for customer dollars through to the New Year. We’ve all been through this many times, and it seems like no sooner has one season finished than we are shortly into planning for the next. But what impact are the prices we set having on customer behavior and the profits of retailers?

Huntsville, Ala. -- RCP Companies announced the opening of the first phase of The Shops at Merchants Walk located in Huntsville, Alabama. The property features 90,000-sq. ft. of shopping and dining experience, including the only Whole Foods Market in North Alabama along with high-end shopping options. The development extends Parkway Place retail node and connects it to the Central Business District.

Shoppers all across the country who long for a taste of salsa from San Antonio or tortilla chips from Dallas will love the latest news from Texas-based grocery chain H-E-B.

Home goods and Sephora helped JCPenney turn the page on the next chapter of its story of transformation by exceeding top-line growth expectations in the third quarter.

For its third quarter ended Oct. 31, the company reported net sales of $2.90 billion compared to $2.76 billion in the third quarter of 2014. Same store sales increased 6.4 % for the period. JCPenney cut its loss by 27% to $137 million, or 45 cents a share. Total sales increased 4.8 percent to $2.9 billion versus $2.76 billion last year.

For much of the past decade Kroger's growth stragey has depended on acquiring regional grocery chains. But Kroger's move to acquire a beloved MIdwestern chain has many shoppers there in an uproar.

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At NRF, we like to think of ourselves as the industry’s chief storyteller. As the nation’s largest private-sector employer, with 3.7 million retail establishments across the country employing close to 30 million people serving every community in the nation, retail has a lot of stories to tell.