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U.S. retailers’ holiday sales up
New York – U.S. retailers’ sales rose 3.6 percent in holiday shopping, at the lower end of expectations, helped by a late-season spending surge on some items, according to data released on Tuesday by SpendingPulse.
The figures, from the retail data service of MasterCard Advisors, offer a glimpse at the strength of the 2007 holiday shopping season, which was expected to grow at the slowest rate in five years, as U.S.
Last-minute shoppers brighten retailers’ hopes
Shoppers packed the Concord Mall on Sunday, despite discouraging economic realities such as the price of gasoline nearing $3 a gallon and the national mortgage mess that has housing prices in a freefall.
On this, the last Sunday before Christmas, it was shoulder-to-shopping bag at the retail mecca on U.S.
Independent merchants find ways to stay afloat in tough economic times
New York — At Jeff Cassels’ jewelry store, falling real-estate values and rising gold prices are more than news headlines — they are contributors to an uncertain holiday season. At Joanie McDonald’s clothing store, however, a weakening dollar is good for sales.
This season finds independent retailers across the country dealing with a new set of economic challenges even as they still contend with growing competition from big-box retailers such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Borders Inc.
Men fill the ranks of last-minute shoppers
Robert Anderson is a textbook example of a last-minute shopper.
First off, he’s a guy. Second, he thrives on imminent deadlines. Third, said the Fletcher Hills resident, the holidays always sneak up on him.
“I don’t even know Christmas is here until it’s really here,” he said.
Still, Anderson shrugged off the stress of finding gifts on such a tight schedule as he walked through Westfield University Towne Centre yesterday.
“I have an attention span issue.
Retail entrepreneurs open doors in time to capture holiday spending
Waterloo — The holiday season is celebrated by retailers as the time of year when they go “into the black” and start turning a profit for the year. But the window from mid-November until just after Christmas is also a prime time for startup retailers to set up shop.
After working for thirteen years at the Cedar Bend Humane Society, Carrie Ragsdale wanted a change of pace, so she decided to start a company in Waterloo. Each year she traveled through Indiana near the holiday season and picked up hundreds of dollars worth of hand-dipped candles to give out as presents.
Mercy gift shop to incorporate RFID technology
Rogers – Thanks to the enterprising effort and philanthropic spirit of a group of local college students, Mercy Medical Center will employ some of the latest retail technology at its volunteer-operated gift shop.
Three computer-science students at the University of Arkansas have custom-built a software program enabling Mercy to utilize Radio Frequency Identification in its gift shop, according to a news release from Mercy on Friday. This technology goes beyond current bar-code scanning.
Seasonal outlets go beyond the kiosks
They materialize in vacant storefronts with promises of holiday presents, and just as suddenly they become ghosts of Christmas past.
It’s becoming more common for seasonal businesses to shun the temporary-looking kiosks at the malls and opt instead for actual store space with a more permanent feel.
There’s even a name in the industry for this kind of setup: “temporary in-line stores.”
Not to worry — you can still find your calendar companies and sausage salespeople in the middle of the mall, where you’re used to seeing them.
But other businesses lend themselves more toward flo
Pacific Market Center Hosts Expert-Led Seminars Buzzing With Competitive Business Solutions For the New Year
SEATTLE – Pacific Market Center announces a dynamic group of speakers providing buyers with ideas on everything that is buzzing in the industry during Seattle Market Week – Winter Gift and Home Accessories Show January 30-February 5, 2008, the West Coast’s premier week-long buying event. Speakers will conduct complimentary seminars designed to sharpen buyers’ competitive edge for fueled business growth throughout the year. Featured speakers include:
- Tamra Fleming, founder of Life Architecture – Wednesday, Jan.
New Hook Rug Designs by Homespice Decor
Tucker, Ga. – Homespice Decor, a leading designer and manufacturer of braided, hook and penny rugs and coordinating accessories, celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2008. The firm continues its tradition of providing some of the most unique designs and highest quality rugs by introducing three new additions to its popular hook rug collection: Antique Symmetry, Wild Rose and Walk in the Flowers.
The new designs are created with a traditional hooking technique that hooks narrow strips of wool fabric into a flat base, creating raised loops that form a pile.
One in Five Men Have Not Started Holiday Shopping, According to NRF
No matter what way you choose to look at it, procrastinators abound this holiday season, but the biggest holiday dawdlers this year are men, according to NRF’s 2007 Holiday Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, conducted by BIGresearch. The survey found that nearly one in five men (19.4%) had yet to begin their holiday shopping, more than women (13.7%) or young adults 18-24 (17.6%).
An impressive 25 million consumers (11.7%) have completely finished their holiday shopping, but more than 35 million shoppers (16.5%) admit they haven’t even started.
More holiday shoppers say they’ll spend less
New York (Reuters) – More consumers are planning to spend less this holiday season than a year ago, according to a survey released on Tuesday that adds a fresh note of caution to what is shaping up to be a ho-hum holiday shopping season.
The National Retail Federation survey also showed consumers continue to procrastinate, meaning the final days of the shopping season will be crucial for retailers.
“The last-minute rush will be busier than ever this year,” said NRF President and CEO Tracy Mullin in a statement.
The survey, conducted between December 4 and December 11, found that 33.4
Retailers Look to Last-Minute Shopping
New York (AP) — Despite generous discounting and expanded shopping hours earlier in the season, many stores are finding themselves in the same predicament as in recent years: waiting for those last-minute shoppers in the final days before Christmas who seem to be procrastinating even more than a year ago.
Based on early reports from analysts and malls, sales results were generally unimpressive this past weekend, as shoppers were held back by a snow storm that spread a mix of sleet, freezing rain and snow from the Great Lakes states to New England.
Gift Cards: Easy buy becomes personal
If you receive a gift card this holiday season, don’t be surprised if it lights up, sings to you, has a familiar face on it or smells like gingerbread when you scratch it.
Those are some of the new features on gift cards this year offered by retailers including Target, Borders and American Eagle Outfitters.
“They are whimsical and fun,” said Borders spokeswoman Ann Binkley of the gift cards the Ann Arbor-based bookseller is offering.
Retailers Face an Ominous Holiday Sign
Sales of women’s clothing, a traditional pillar of the holiday shopping season, are unusually bleak so far this year, according to a major credit card company, an ominous sign for the retail industry.
From high-end dresses to bargain coats, spending on women’s apparel dropped nearly 6 percent during the first half of the Christmas season, compared with the same period last year, according to MasterCard Advisors, a division of the credit card company.
Analysts blamed a rough economy, which has discouraged women — and mothers, in particular — from splurging on clothing for the
Holiday shoppers flood stores
Grand Chute — As shoppers slide into the final stretch before Christmas, store fliers tout “last-minute gifts.”
For some, however, it isn’t last minute at all. With a full week left, it’s just the beginning of their buying sprees.
“I just started shopping,” said Mow Lee of Green Bay, as she stepped into the Fox River Mall on Saturday afternoon.
“We’re busy most of the time,” said her husband Phia Thao on their late start.
Friends find common business ground
Elgin — Three women, pals for years, never dreamed that their paths would cross in the business world.
A few things needed to fall in place before each would become separate entrepreneurs in downtown Elgin.
Retailers bump up lures to shoppers
With 10 days left until Christmas, many people still haven’t finished their shopping.
Small Shops See Smallness as Their Big Selling Point
Predictions of a weak holiday shopping season have led the big department stores to slash prices and stretch their advertising budgets. But most small retailers, which cannot afford either the price cuts or the expensive advertising, are doing something else this year: making a virtue of their size.
Gregory Choron, for instance, the owner of Merry Go Round Toys, a small retailer in New Rochelle, N.Y., is relying on his ability to glean intelligence quickly about what customers want and then order products for delivery practically the next day.
Small Talk: Independent shops setting themselves apart
Kids Country Toys owner Jerry Strick, who has been in business 35 years, uses services that super chains such as Wal-Mart and Toys “R” Us don’t provide – such as assembling toys for free – to draw customers to his store. And, since he is an independent, in Charleston, W.Va., he will carry toy brands that the big chains aren’t interested in but that customers want.
At Jeff Cassels’ jewelry store, falling real estate values and rising gold prices are more than news headlines – they are contributors to an uncertain holiday season.
California Gift Show Launches Eco-Earth Conscious Options
White Plains, NY – In response to market demand, the California Gift Show will launch ECO – Earth Conscious Optionstm, as a category for identifying eco-friendly and fair trade product, January 18-21, 2008, at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
The ECO umbrella will include green, sustainable, biodegradable, organic, recycled/reclaimed and fair trade products. Companies that donate a portion of their proceeds to charities promoting humanitarian and/or sustainable efforts also will be included.