Ebay is opening its first physical store in New York City this holiday season. WWDreports that the 5,500 square foot pop-up store will open at 3 West 57th Street and will run for just a few days from November 20th to November 29th. The store will carry items ranging from electronics to high-end fashion items. Some of the fashion items in the store will include L.A.M.B. shoes, Michael Kors handbags and Dooney & Burke handbags. The store will also carry the Norma Kamali for eBay collection which debuted in September. Other items in the store will include cosmetics, electronics, home products and toys. Inside the store customers will be given handheld tablets so they can place orders for anything on eBay.com.
WWD says the launch of eBay's holiday store kicks of with a cocktail party on November 19th. The store will also be participating in Black Friday when some "daily deal" items will be handed out to the first 100 shoppers who visit the store.
Determined to win shoppers' hearts -- and wallets -- at Thanksgiving, Walmart is cutting prices on turkeys and other traditional fixings, as well as on flat-panel TVs.
U.S. stores are selling whole, 12-pound (5.4-kilogram) turkeys for 40 cents a pound starting today, Walmart said in a statement. That's a third of last Thanksgiving's average price in a survey by the American Farm Bureau Federation in Washington.
Starting Nov. 7, the Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer will sell a Hewlett-Packard Co. notebook computer for $298; a 42-inch (107-centimeters) Sharp Corp. flat-panel TV for $498, down $270 from its regular price, and a 46-inch model, which usually sells for $1,158, for $698, according to Walmart.
The company will cut prices weekly as consumers, pinched by job losses, delay holiday purchases, John Fleming, chief merchandising officer, told analysts Oct. 21. Groceries accounted for 49 percent of U.S. stores sales last year, followed by electronics and other entertainment items, which generated 13 percent of revenue, according to an annual securities filing.
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Walmart said it reduced prices on seven items, including turkey, canned vegetables, cranberry sauce, stuffing, a five-pound bag of red potatoes, dinner rolls and a pumpkin roll cake, for a $20 dinner serving eight people. Thanksgiving, officially the fourth Thursday of November, is on November 26 this year.
The National Retail Federation conducted a poll in which 43% of respondents said that they will decide where to shop based on who has the best discounts this holiday season. Store loyalty is out the window: it's all about who has the best deals. Clearly, Walmart is determined to be the store with the best deals.
The 83rd annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade will be held Thursday, November 26, 2009. At 9:00am the parade begins to the sound of Let's Have a Parade. The parade route has changed slightly this year. The 2009 procession will be the first to bypass Broadway. It will begin at 77th Street and Central Park West, travel down to Columbus Circle where it will turn onto Central Park South. Once the Parade reaches 7th Avenue it will turn once more and march down 7th Avenue through Times Square to 42nd Street. At the famed intersection it will turn east to 6th Avenue and begin its final march down the Avenue of the Americas to 34th Street where it will turn towards Macy's flagship and end at 7th Avenue marking a 2.65-mile march.
The parade will include a number of new giant helium balloon this year including:
Pillsbury Doughboy: The Doughboy balloon will measure 53.7 feet in length, 34.4 feet in width and will be 46.4 feet tall. This Doughboy will rise to the occasion filled with 12,280 cubic feet of helium.
Ronald McDonald: Ronald has strapped on the world's largest pair of ice skates for a fun-filled holiday activity. Measuring 76.4 feet long, 28.8 feet wide and 48.6 feet tall, Ronald will be inflated with 13,650 cubic feet of helium on Parade day.
Sailor Mickey: Sailing aboard an anchor that is approximately four times the size of an actual cruise ship anchor, Mickey measures 48.1-feet long, 33.6-feet wide and 60.9-feet tall.
Spider-Man: On Parade day, the Spider-Man balloon will measure 78-feet long, 37.8-feet wide and 29.1-feet tall and will be filled with 11,800 cubic feet of helium.
Some of this year's floating include Floating Scenes of Magic, a float to recognize local heroes; Santa's Sleigh, a colossal float that measures 60-feet long, 22-feet wide and is 3 1/2 Stories tall; and a Yo Gabba Gabba float starring DJ Lance Rock and the cast of colorful characters, including Brobee, Foofa, Muno, Plex and Toodee.
Build-A-Bear Workshop has become Santa's Workshop for the holidays. The retailer says Santa and his helpBEARS magically transformed Build-A-Bear Workshop stores across the world into Santa's Workshop just for the holidays. The retailer won't disclose its relationship with Santa. Guests will be able to mingle with magical elves and become honorary elves themselves while making personalized gifts for friends and family.
Build-A-Bear Workshop will also donate 100,000 stuffed animals and toys to Toys for Tots through a two-month campaign. Here are some of the highlights:
On Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 7 and 8, stores in the United States will serve as Toys for Tots donation drop-off locations. Guests are encouraged to bring in a new, unwrapped toy or make a furry friend to donate to a child in need this holiday season.
On Saturday, Nov. 21, Build-A-Bear Workshop will host screening parties of its original holiday classic, Holly and Hal Moose: An Uplifting Christmas Adventure. The film will premiere Tuesday, Nov. 24, at 7 p.m. EST/6 p.m. CDT on ABC Family. Guests will get to see the movie for free in a private screening when they donate a new, unwrapped gift to Toys for Tots.
Dec. 2-6, a virtual giving quest will be featured at buildabearville.com. Each time a Build-A-Bearville citizen finishes the online quest, Build-A-Bear Workshop will donate a "real world" toy to Toys for Tots.
Reuters reports that a Consumer Reports study has found that regifting is on the rise. If you want to be green you could call it gift recycling. The study found 36% of Americans have recycle a gift. This is a steady increase from 31% in 2008 and 24% in 2007. Reuters says the study found the most likely regifters are women, adults under 55, people who live in Western states and people with children under the age of 12. The people with kids under 12 category makes since because they may have received toy gifts they already had an don't need.
There is an art to regifting and people have to take care when doing it so that a gift giver does not find out and is offended. You can read a couple of our previous articles on regifting here and here.
Aflac and Macy's are selling an annual plush Holiday Duck to fight pediatric cancer. This year's Aflac duck is dressed as a green holiday tree with ornaments and a golden star that lights up. The plush duck says "Aflaaac" when squeezed. The ducks go on sale on Sunday, November 1st at participating Macy's and at aflacholidayduck.com.
The prices are unchanged from last year at $10 for the 6-inch duck and $15 for the 10-inch version. 100 percent of the proceeds go to the nearest of 37 participating pediatric cancer hospitals in the region where it is sold. Since its initial appearance in 2001, the Aflac Holiday Duck has raised more than $2.2 million for pediatric cancer research and treatment.
"Aflac understands that many families who routinely make charity a part of their holiday traditions are struggling this year," Aflac's Manager of Cause and Marketing Philanthropy, Buffy Swinehart, said. "The Aflac Duck, which is always there in times of need, offers fans with tight budgets a chance to give back in a meaningful way."
Sting talks to Chris Farley of The Wall Street Journal about his new album "If On A Winter's Night." It's a Christmas album, but not a traditional Christmas album. It has a dark side, as Sting says that the holidays are actually very difficult for some people -- for those that can't go home, for example. But there is also the joy of the season. He has some Christian music and some pre-Christian music on the album, which sounds most interesting. Take a look:
Sting, whose music explores some dark themes, says he attempts to strike a balance between what can be a joyous as well as difficult season.
We would feel much more joyous if he would lose that awful beard. Take a look:
Racked has posted several photos of Bergdorf Goodman's Halloween window displays in New York City. A mannequin stands in the middle of a giant spider web in the window pictued above. Halloween windows are a wonderful idea. More retailers should do this.
MarthaStewart.com is selling turkeys for the holidays this year. The turkeys are part of a partnership between Martha Stewart Living and turkey grower Plainville Farms. The Martha Stewart Young Tueky is describes as delicious, juicy, tender, humanely raised, vegetarian fed and free of antibiotics and growth hormones. The turkey includes a free Turkey 101 booklet and recipes from Martha Stewart Living. A 12lb turkey costs $69.99 and an 18lb turkey costs $89.99.
Toys R Us will open FAO Schwartz mini-boutiques inside a number of Toys R Us stores in preparation for the holiday shopping season.
The boutiques will last until early 2010, then be taken out. Toys R Us bought FAO Schwarz back in May and has taken over the main locations. But the FAO Schwartz name recognition is so high that the company decided to do the boutique idea and reopen the FAP Schwarz website.
"We're excited to bring FAO Schwarz to the millions of Americans who in the past couldn't make their way to New York City," Storch said. "We'll continue to feature FAO merchandise that's very different and distinguishes Toys R Us from other toy sellers."
The FAO Schwarz Web site features interactive pages that include a version of the Muppet Whatnot Workshop in the FAO Schwarz store in New York, the company said.
Storch declined to predict the FAO Schwarz boutiques' sales for the holiday shopping season. FAO Schwarz struck a similar store-within-a-store deal with Macy’s Inc. in May 2008. Those shops will close by November, the department-store chain said.
Toys R Us is the country's largest toy company. It gobbled up BabyUniverse.com, eToys.com, and KBToys.com over the years. The new boutiques are meant to strike a blow at its arch-rival for toy dollars, Wal-Mart. It's a smart move. FAO Schwarz has a name that conjures up magical images of fantastic toys. Toys R Us, eh, not so much. Now people will go to Toys R Us looking for a bargain, and then be sucked in by the exciting FAO Schwarz display.
Home Depot is running its second annual Eco Options Christmas Light Trade In event this holiday season and its first ever Power Drill Trade In, Trade Up event.
The Home Depot Power Drill Trade In, Trade Up event begins Sunday, October 25 and runs through Sunday, November 8. It offers customers the chance to bring in their used or broken power drills and get 15 percent off a new lithium-ion drill. Lithium-ion is a cordless tools that offers more power and less weight. Home Depot says, "Lithium-ion chemistry is not harmful to the environment and it outperforms NiCad by as much as 50 percent, requiring less charging time and saving energy." Home Depot will also recycle your old drill if you upgrade.
The Eco Options Christmas Light Trade In event begins November 5th and ends November 15th. Customers can bring in their old working or non-working holiday light strings to be recycled and receive a $3 off coupon towards the purchase of energy efficient seasonal light-emitting diodes (LED) string lights. Customers must purchase their new LED lights between November 5 and November 15 and are limited to five redemptions. This event will also be valid at all The Home Depot U.S. stores.
A new survey of 1,050 Americans, conducted by Goodmind Market Research on behalf of GE Consumer & Industrial, found that over 82% plan to celebrate and decorate for the holidays. The survey also queried consumers on holiday decorating stressors and found untangling and stringing lights to be the biggest holiday hastles. Here are some of the responses related to holiday decorating stresses:
Untangling last year's lights was mentioned by 56%
Stringing lights on the house or in the yard was mentioned as the biggest hassle by 47%
Stringing lights on the tree was the choice of 39%.
Hanging ornaments and decorations (23%)
Getting the tree to stand up in the tree stand (19%)
The study also found a growing green trend. 24% plan on decorating with LED holiday lights this year. The green LED trend is strongest in the West with 31% planning to decorate with LED lights than people living in the Northeast (23%) or South (21%).
Tiny Prints has launched its second annual Celebrity Holiday Card Collection for Charity. As part of this collection, celebrity moms Alison Sweeney, Angie Harmon, Cindy Crawford, Marcia Cross and Molly Sims, have partnered with Tiny Prints and its designers to create exclusive holiday card designs benefiting charities and causes. Gwyneth Paltrow has also created a line for Tiny Prints. Her card design is pictured above. You can find the celebrity card lines here. Gwyneth's cards are not yet listed on the website.
The world's second largest toymaker Hasbro reported slumping sales due to falling toy prices. Toymakers have been cutting prices in response to the massive decline in consumer spending. Net revenue actually increased by 1% but currency fluctuations and sales decreases in some areas are hurting overall revenue. But Transformers and GI Joe tie in products are selling quite well, the CEO explained today on a conference call.
Revenue slid 1.7 percent to $1.28 billion, the Pawtucket, Rhode Island-based company said today in a statement. Analysts predicted $1.33 billion, the average of 11 estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Hasbro lowered some prices this year in response to a decline in consumer spending, Chief Executive Officer Brian Goldner said today on a conference call.
Sales of pre-school toys fell 2 percent and girls' toys declined 6 percent after the toymaker offered more lower-priced products and eliminated some more-expensive toys, including items in the Furreal Friends line, offered a year ago, he said.
"This year's line is priced more appropriately for today's consumers," said Goldner, 46. "Looking to the remainder of the year we continue to believe it will be a challenging global retail environment."
Products based on the films Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra have added to Hasbro's revenue for the past two quarters. Sales in the boys' category, including the action figures, climbed 12 percent in the quarter, Goldner said today.
"With the planned DVD release of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen tomorrow, we expect our Transformers line to continue to do well in the upcoming holiday season," Goldner said. "Transformers will continue to be a major contributor to our business next year."
Arch rival Mattel Inc., the world's largest toymaker, reported that third quarter profits decreased by 3.5 percent, while revenue fell 7.9 percent.
Consumers are making a list and checking it twice. Those getting dropped from the list this year because of the economy are acquaintances and coworkers. A new survey from PriceGrabber.com, a part of Experian, reveals that 57% of consumers said they are removing acquaintances from their lists this year and 53% said they are removing coworkers. If you are looking to save money it makes sense to buy gifts for family members and close friends only. Here are some of the highlights from the Holiday Forecast Consumer Behavior Report.
70 percent of consumers doing more research and comparison shopping online, compared with 38 percent last year.
Gift lists are being trimmed down. Consumers are crossing acquaintances (57 percent) and coworkers (53 percent) off their gift lists.
53 percent of consumers plan to spend less. Of the consumers who are planning to spend less this year, 48 percent reveal that one of the reasons that they are spending less is due to an increase in prices (necessities, gas, etc.), 45 percent cite lack of confidence in the economy, and 38 percent indicate making less money as a reason for spending less.
Some consumers are getting an early jump on shopping. 22 percent plan to start their holiday shopping in October and 29 percent are starting in November. That leaves 51 percent that won't start shopping until December.
When it comes to holiday spending this year, 36 percent of consumers expect to spend between $100 and $499, 28 percent plan to spend $500 to $999, and 30 percent anticipate a holiday spend of $1,000 or more.
Consumers are using more money-saving techniques – 50 percent plan to shop at discount or outlet stores. This is an increase from last year when only 43 percent did so.
Twenty-nine percent of consumers are planning to purchase gifts for fewer people this year, while only 10 percent did so last year.
