According to NRF's 2010 Valentine's Day Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, conducted by BIGresearch, couples will spend less money on each other than last year. Last year couples spent an average of $67.22. That amount is forecast to drop nearly 10% to $63.34 this year. The NRF forecasts couples to spend less but individuals will spend a little more overall. The survey predicts the average person will spend $103.00 on Valentine's Day merchandise this year, which is very similar to last year's $102.50. Valentine's Day spending in 2009 - during the middle of the recession - was not very good for retailers. The news that this year won't be better probably isn't what retailers want to hear.
The items people are buying include typical Valentine's Day gifts like flowers, chocolate and cards. Traditional gifts such as greeting cards (54.9%), candy (47.2%) and flowers (35.6%) remain popular choices. Spending on clothing is expected to climb (14.4% vs. 10.2% in 2009) while jewelry spending is expected to fall slightly (15.5% vs. 16.0% last year).
Americans will spend more on friends, co-workers and pets this year. The average person will spend $5.37 on friends, up from $4.74 last year; $4.29 on classmates and teachers, compared to $3.59 last year; and $2.84 on co-workers, slightly up from the $1.94 they spent in 2009. The average person will spend $3.27 on pets this year - a big jump from $2.17 last year. Spending on family members will remain the same ($20.94 vs. $20.95 last year).
Men will spend nearly twice the amount women spend on the holiday. The average man plans to shell out $135.35 to impress the people in his life while women only expect to spend $72.28. Men spending a lot more than women is typical for Valentine's Day.
In Japan, Epson is offering technology that lets users make their own augmented reality greeting cards. The greeting cards come to life when they are placed in front of a webcam. Dvice says Japanese consumers have been using the technoloy to make end of the year greeting cards called "nengajo." There are some augmented reality greeting cards available in the U.S., such as these cards from Hallmark but Epson's printer technology that lets people make their own is not available yet in U.S. store. Here is a video (in Japanese) that shows how the technology works. Take a look:
Reuters Shop Talk blog reports that Target announced plans to combine Valentine's Day and Super Bowl promotions in its stores. The Super Bowl is February 7th and Valentine's Day is February 14th so the two big days are just a week apart. At Target the two events will be combined to become Super Valenbowl. Michael Francis, Target's chief marketing officer, announced the plans in a meeting with analysts.
"As the timing of the Super Bowl now encroaches more and more on more on Valentine's Day, we've embraced the challenge and decided to create a uniquely Target holiday, which we've called Super Valenbowl. It's a great opportunity to have some fun and reassure Mom she can get everything she needs from Super Bowl party supplies to Valentine's Cards and treats all in her favorite store," Francis told a chuckling audience.
The football player with pink cupid wings is pretty amusing.
Image: Reuters, via screenshot from Target's analyst meeting Webcast
New reports say that holiday spending was more than originally forecasted by retail trade groups. Lower priced retailers such as TJ Maxx and luxury retailers such as Neiman Marcus both showed better results than anticipated. Bloomberg reports:
Sales climbed 14 percent at TJX Cos.' stores open at least a year, beating the 5.9 percent average of analysts' estimates compiled by Retail Metrics Inc. Aeropostale Inc. jumped 10 percent, compared with a 3 percent projection. Sears Holdings Corp. posted a sales gain and issued a profit forecast that topped analysts' projections.
After an East Coast snowstorm snarled sales the weekend before Christmas, shoppers made up for it with online buying and discount hunting. A "last-minute sales surge" lifted December comparable-store sales 3 percent, the biggest gain since April 2008, Retail Metrics said today.
"Retailers are breathing a big sigh of relief here," Ken Perkins, president of Swampscott, Massachusetts-based Retail Metrics, said today in a telephone interview.
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Luxury retailers also beat sales estimates.
Nordstrom Inc.'s sales gained 7.4 percent, compared with a 1.7 percent estimate. Annual profit will exceed its forecast of $1.83 to $1.88 a share, the Seattle-based chain said.
Neiman Marcus Group Inc. posted a 4.5 percent gain. Grant Jordan, a fixed-income analyst at Wells Fargo Securities LLC in Charlotte, North Carolina, anticipated a 3 percent increase for the Dallas-based luxury retailer. Closely held Neiman Marcus doesn't provide forecasts.
The National Retail Federation isn't buying it. An NRF rep Kathy Grannis told Bloomberg "At this point we are not changing our forecast." The NRF forecast a 1% decline in spending from last year.
The Undecorating Season is here. The twelfth night after Christmas -- or the Feast of the Epiphany (when the Wise Men arrived) -- is the traditional European day to remove all the Christmas decorations. It can also be one of the most annoying times of the year for those who have a lot of Christmas decorations to take down.
The Feast of the Epiphany, which this year falls on Wednesday, is considered by many to be the end of the holiday season. It is also considered the unofficial kickoff of the undecorating season and a busy time for professional organizers.
It's also the season of falls, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control, which found that the rate of falls among younger adults rises sharply during holidays. The CDC urges caution and sturdy step stools and ladders when taking down decorations.
Professional organizers have other tips. Some suggest taking pictures of things that looked nice together and storing them accordingly, while others advocate "zoning storage," for example, putting outdoor decorations in the garage.
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Bob Brenner, a retired teacher who has written books on Christmas history and collectibles, says taking down ornaments on Jan. 6 is a European tradition still followed by many people of German, Polish and Czech ancestry. The tradition, in part, dates before 1900 when ornaments were often real fruit, nuts and marzipan. "That was a special day when you got to eat everything on the tree," he says. Glass ornaments that could be packed up each year originally became more popular in the 1870s for people who couldn't afford fresh fruit, he says.
In some parts of the country people leave their Christmas lights on until March because the winter weather is so depressing. The lights seem to make things more cheery. But in most of the country, the trees are pitched out and the light are down by tonight. Happy Undecorating Day!
Chef Ed Brown of eighty one in New York shares some dessert recipes for the New Year. Ed whips up some Cranberry Bread Pudding. When he asked for some sugar, Ann Curry decided to kiss him on the cheek and he blushed beet red for the rest of the segment.
Take a look:
You can find recipes for all of Ed Brown's New Year's recipes, from crab cakes to cocktails to desserts here.
It's that time of year again when we make resolutions for the new year. But not everyone thinks that making New Year's resolutions is a good thing. Lauren Goode of The Wall Street Journal headed to Times Square in New York to
ask people what their goals are for 2010. While a number of people had standard responses, some felt that there's just no need to be resolute this year.
Take a look:
he New Year's Eve celebration went off without a hitch in Time Square last night. The worst job of the night goes to the New York City sanitation crew that had to clean up after more than 750,000 people. What an awful job. We hope your New Year's clean up is much easier than this. Take a look:
A crowd of hundreds of thousands watched the iconic ball drop in New York City's Times Square this year. 3,000 pounds of confetti were also dropped. Take a look:
London celebrated the arrival of the New Year with a fireworks show above the London Eye. The BBC reports that 200,000 people lined the River Thames to watch the fireworks. Take a look:
Mariah Carey and husband Nick Cannon like to mail a cartoon Christmas card to their friends and family each year. This year's card shows Mariah as Mrs. Claus sitting on Nick Cannon (Santa's) lap. The cartoon was illustrated by J. David McKenney. The couple's four dogs are also featured on the greeting card.
Paris celebrated the arrival of 2010 with a display of lights on the Eiffel Tower. Over 400 new LED lights were used to bring an end to the Eiffel Tower's 120th birthday. Take a look:
According to NRF's 2010 Valentine's Day Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, conducted by BIGresearch, couples will spend less money on each other than last year. Last year couples spent an average of $67.22. That amount is forecast to drop nearly 10% to $63.34 this year. The NRF forecasts couples to spend less but individuals will spend a little more overall. The survey predicts the average person will spend $103.00 on Valentine's Day merchandise this year, which is very similar to last year's $102.50. Valentine's Day spending in 2009 - during the middle of the recession - was not very good for retailers. The news that this year won't be better probably isn't what retailers want to hear.
