Tuesday
Nov032015
There is still halloween candy to eat, but retailers put the 'creep' into holiday shopping right away
Tuesday, November 3, 2015 at 4:42PM
Due to Christmas creep, retailers are moving out the pumpkins and putting out winter holiday right away, if not already. Some retail trends shoppers can look forward to now:
- Early season deals are popping up and not waiting for Black Friday. Wal-Mart announced November 1 launches “savings and holiday retailtainment”. The iPad mini will be priced at $199 instead of $268. Target, Amazon, Kmart and Toys R Us all introduced their “hot toy” lists in early Fall with sales starting now.
- Thanks to the broad effects of Amazon Prime, Best Buy and Target and many other retailers are offering free shipping throughout the season.
- Many retailers have implemented their in-store and curb pick-up programs in time for the holidays, using online pre-purchasing and mobile apps in store to get shoppers checked out quickly.
Sales will increase dramatically on Thanksgiving and Black Friday, as usual, but predictions are that 15-18% sales growth will come from online sales on those days. The National Retail Federation (NRF) forecasts holiday sales to rise 3.7% this year with online sales far outpacing brick-and-mortar sales. Counting on those online sales are retailers who have decided to be closed this Thanksgiving to appeal to families: Staples, Home Depot, Lowe’s, Costco, GameStop and Nordstrom.
Source: Money.com