Retailers Boost Spending on Holiday Advertising

Consumers will face an onslaught of elves and jolly snowmen in the coming weeks, as companies such as Target, Wal-Mart StoresKmart and Gap boost their holiday advertising spending beyond last year’s levels.
Kmart began its holiday ad blitz 30 to 40 days in advance of when it started in 2008 and says it has increased what it will [...]

Insights Into Holiday Spending in Stores and on Web Sites

Findings in a new study from Burst Media outline four insights into spending trends by consumers this holiday season.
Insight #1: Spending Trends Slightly Downward
One third (32.7%) of respondents expect to spend less on gifts and entertaining this holiday season compared to 2008, and almost the same number (30.1%) expect to spend about the same as [...]

Kohl’s Steps Up Marketing for Anticipated Brutal Holiday Season

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — Kohl’s is ramping up its radio, digital media and direct-mail marketing programs this year, as it looks to compete in what is expected to be another rough holiday for retailers.
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Black Friday: How Much Will It Matter?

In some ways, there’s something comforting about the way retailers are gearing up for Black Friday, that make-or-break kickoff to the holiday season. Stores like Target are already shoving aisles of Christmas items in between the Halloween costumes. And advertising circulars are already being leaked to deal-finding websites, creating a buzz retailers count on to [...]

Spending on Electronics to increase this Holiday Season

Consumers plan to spend more on consumer electronics this holiday season, as technology garners a larger share of holiday gift budgets, according to new research released today by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) ®. The 16th Annual CE Holiday Purchase Patterns Study was unveiled today at CEA’s Industry Forum in Phoenix, a four-day conference designed to [...]

U.S. Consumers Say Boo To Store Brand Candy on Halloween

As American consumers get set to buy nearly 600 million pounds of candy this Halloween, they are choosing fewer store brand or private label sweets, opting instead for brand name treats. During the year, store brands candy for an 8.1% share of candy sales, but in the weeks leading up to and including Halloween, the [...]

Holiday Shopping Season Gets Early Start

BOSTON (TheStreet) — The end-of-year holiday trilogy — Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas — could make or break retailers this year. Stores will be working harder to attract consumers who curtailed spending last year.
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Walmart’s ‘Project Impact’ Redesign Takes Toll on Sales

BATAVIA, Ohio (AdAge.com) — Walmart is doling out hundreds of millions of dollars for “Project Impact,” an ambitious five-year push to de-clutter its stores to make them more shopper-friendly. But having less merchandise on display has put a serious crimp in sales for some categories and dinged suppliers. And that’s got Bentonville buzzing that the [...]

Holiday Forecasts Hold Out Some Hope

Coming so soon after last fall’s near-collapse of the global financial system, the 2008 holiday-shopping season was doomed from the start. Now, with an economic landscape that features some signs of recovery alongside plenty of lousy numbers (and plenty of consumer anxiety), how can we expect 2009’s holiday-shopping season to pan out? Some early forecasts [...]

Retailers See Back-to-School Sales Slowing

Halfway through the back-to-school shopping season, retail professionals are predicting the worst performance for stores in more than a decade, yet another sign that consumers are clinging to every dollar.
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