Dec21
I just love commercials. Funny, poignant, emotional – I like them all. And I’m not alone. Throughout the year, a group of my colleagues and I send each other emails with links to a commercial we may have seen over the weekend or that we’ve seen mentioned in the news somewhere. Over the years, these [...]
Dec05
Catering to all of their shoppers’ needs and wants this holiday season, retailers excited even the most cynical holiday shoppers with their bargains and promotions over Black Friday weekend and on Cyber Monday. And, for the first time for many retailers, mobile shopping was a huge component of their strategy. Undeniably, this will be the [...]
Nov25
| Posted in Holidays, Video
As millions of shoppers hit stores early Black Friday morning, retailers rolled out their best sales and promotions to give consumers what they really wanted this year: value. And if the scores of people lined up outside stores were anything to go by, it certainly seems that the industry is on for another Black Friday bonanza this [...]
Nov18
When I hit that online “submit” button and see savings of $10, $12, $14 on shipping, a small part of me feels like I’m getting away with something I shouldn’t have. What many consumers don’t realize is that retailers often build the cost of this kind of promotion into their holiday budgets months in advance. So while [...]
Nov09
Donating unwanted products to organizations that help people in times of need is undoubtedly a win-win for retailers. But as many companies have found, getting the right products to the right people isn’t always easy. Recipients have to be vetted, distribution has to be arranged, and goods often have to be tracked. Doing this project [...]
Nov01
It’s (officially) the most wonderful time of the year! November 1 marks the beginning of the holiday season, when retailers everywhere strain to get a piece of that $466 billion in U.S. sales. After releasing our holiday sales forecast in early October and distributing our first consumer survey mid-month, we took a look at some [...]
Oct20
Layaway. It’s a trend that has roots in the Depression-era, when some consumers had little to their name and retailers, in good faith, offered to let them make payments on merchandise they wanted to buy. When credit emerged as a popular payment method throughout the 1980′s and 90′s, layaway began dwindling and some retailers eventually got [...]
Oct14
| Posted in Holidays, Video
If you find yourself near New York City’s Times Square this holiday season, among the bright lights and dozens of screens you will probably see a new set of National Retail Federation advertisements. Beginning yesterday, and running throughout the holiday season, an NRF ad will be running on the enormous screens towering over what many [...]
Oct13
| Posted in Holidays, Video
With unemployment and the economy weighing heavily on the minds of so many Americans, it’s no wonder people are looking to the retail industry this holiday season to snatch up one of the more than 480,000 – 500,000 holiday jobs retailers are expected to add this year (not to mention the chance to use employee [...]
Oct12
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 [...]