News

Austin, Texas -- Nearly half (46%) of consumers plan to start their holiday shopping before November this year, and one in four intend to have their holiday shopping completely finished by Black Friday. According to the RetailMeNot Shoppers Trend Report survey, conducted in conjunction with The Omnibus Company, 15% of consumers pick up winter holiday gifts throughout the year to spread out the cost.    Other notable findings include:  

New York -- Two-thirds of Americans are limiting how much they spend each month. According to a new Bankrate.com report, of those limiting their monthly spending, 32% cite stagnant income as the main reason and 29% cite the need to save more.   

Ann Arbor, Mich. -– Domino’s Pizza Inc. named Richard E. Allison, 47, president, Domino's International.   Allison has been with the company since 2011 and has led its international division since that time, succeeding Michael T. Lawton, current CFO, who ran the division prior to Allison. Prior to Domino's, Allison spent more than 13 years at Bain & Company, where he was a partner and co-leader of the firm's restaurant practice.   

San Francisco –- The Pay with OpenTable mobile payment service from online reservation provider OpenTable, a subsidiary of The Priceline Group, is now available in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. To pay with OpenTable, diners who book at participating restaurants add a credit card in the OpenTable iPhone app before they dine and can then view and pay their check with a few taps.    

Tampa, Fla. -- MarketYze, a provider of pricing and promotion intelligence solutions, is partnering with retail technology vendor Revionics Inc. to launch the Competitive Data Partner Program. The new program enables retailers to seamlessly incorporate all sources of competitive data into their competitive positioning strategies.   

Oak Brook, Ill. -- McDonald’s USA will answer questions from customers through a multichannel effort called “Our Food. Your Questions.” The company invites people to submit their food questions via social media.    McDonald’s will respond with behind-the-scenes webisodes and other social content that provides facts on ingredients, how food is made and how it’s prepared in restaurants.    

Washington, D.C. -- The National Retail Federation (NRF) is offering Retail Jobs Week the week of Oct. 13-17, a multi-faceted effort to push back against long-held misperceptions about working in the retail industry. Through this initiative, NRF aims to continue educating Washington lawmakers about the value retail jobs deliver for workers and the economy.  

Sunnyvale, Calif. -- Plug and Play Tech Center is launching its first Retail and Brand Meetup on Wednesday, Oct.  22, starting at 5:30 pm PDT. The free event will feature a panel of marketing experts discussing the future of marketing and the importance of brands and retailers staying in touch with the customer at all touchpoint during a consumers path to purchase.    

By Gary Ambrosino, President and CEO of TimeTrade   Hidden in the onslaught of negative headlines about former retail heavyweights, like JC Penney and Sears, is a slew of less-publicized, good news from smaller—many formerly online-only—retailers that are not only weathering the storm but are thriving.