What was once a budding idea to help centrally locate NRF’s holiday research is now a full-fledged website – and NRF’s Holiday Headquarters is now open for business!
This is the third year we’ve “opened” our Holiday Headquarters and we’ve added a few fresh twists this year, including charts and a professionally-designed Holiday Survival Kit.
If you’re a reporter, blogger, producer, retailer, or even just a very engaged and interested consumer, you can access all of NRF’s holiday press releases, survey results, top tips, guidelines, blog posts, frequently asked holiday questions and of course, historical holiday information.
Here are a few other resources that can be accessed through the website:
- NRF’s 2011 holiday forecast for expected sales and seasonal hires.
- Audio of our first holiday forecast media briefing featuring NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay, Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz and BIGresearch Consumer Insights Director Pam Goodfellow. Talk about story ideas! This media briefing covers our forecast, insight into how retailers have prepared for the holiday season, and what to expect from consumers over the next 90 days.
- NRF’s members-only 4th Quarter Retail Sales Outlook. NRF members can download a copy for free. Press and analysts can also receive complimentary copies of the document, which highlights key economic indicators and the state of the retail industry including income growth, consumer prices, past month’s retail sales, credit usage and employment. Please contact Kathy Grannis to request the latest copy.
- The 2011 Holiday Survival Kit - a veritable almanac for historical holiday data. Download the data or check out the charts for an instant look at historical holiday sales and employment.
- Direct access to Retail’s BIG Blog and Twitter (@NRFnews). As a thought leader in all things holiday, NRF will use its blog to highlight the the top trends in consumer spending and overall retail. Retail’s BIG Blog also hosts exclusive Q&A’s with retail executives from around the country. (Check out last year’s interviews with Macy’s Chairman, President and CEO Terry Lundgren and Toys “R” Us Chairman and CEO Jerry Storch.)
- Historical holiday sales and consumer spending. Quick links to charts and data can tell you what actual sales were as far back as the early 2000′s. Want last year’s actual consumer spend on holiday gifts and merchandise? Make sure to check out the PDF version of the Holiday Survival Kit. NRF will also release that data in its first holiday spending survey of the year, coming out in mid-October.
Our Holiday Headquarters also has a helpful list of frequently asked questions, such as, “Is Black Friday the busiest shopping day of the year?” and, “What’s the best way to monitor online holiday sales?”
This is the tenth holiday season we’ve partnered with BIGresearch to provide holiday data, so identifying clear year-over-year trends is that much easier. For consumer reporters, the Holiday Headquarters also offers top shopping tips for Black Friday, Cyber Monday and online shopping in general, and shopping on a budget.
It goes without saying, but of course you can always contact the PR team with holiday related questions too. We have plenty of experts who can provide interviews for print and broadcast or simply answer any questions on our research or trends in general. Happy holidays!