holiday sales

How Kohl's Plans to Lure You in for the Holidays

Kohl's CEO Kevin Mansell thinks he knows the holiday-season recipe that can pull his retail chain out of the slump it has been in lately. The key ingredients: rock bottom prices and more exclusive designer collections.

Last-Minute Holiday Shopping Gives Lift in Finale

Last minute shoppers gave merchants a solid lift during the final week before Christmas, according to a report from a mall trade group Wednesday. Revenue at stores open at least a year rose 0.9 percent for the week ended Saturday compared with the previous week.

Bad Holiday Sales Leads to Sears, Kmart Store Closings

Sears Holdings on Tuesday reported a sharp drop in holiday sales compared to a year ago, and said the results will force it to close 100 to 120 Sears and Kmart stores. The company said the stores to be closed have yet to be identified.

Top Retail Trade Group Upgrades Holiday Forecast

With the final Christmas countdown begun, the National Retail Federation has upgraded its holiday sales forecast, reflecting growing optimism that much more spending is to come. The NRF now expects holiday sales to rise 3.8% to a record $469.1 billion. That's up from its more modest 2.8 percent forecast made in early October, though it's hardly stellar.

Retailers Shouldn't Expect Much Holiday Cheer

The holiday shopping season is looking pretty bleak for retailers. Best Buy recently announced that it plans to hire fewer holiday workers than it did last year, and now new data from the consumer research group NPD suggests that Best Buy won't be the only chain stuck in a holiday sales rut.

Father's Day: Real Holiday or Just a Retail Holiday?

As America's hard-working, actively parenting dads prepare to unwrap their gifts of grills, barbecue mitts and ties, it's worth asking if Father's Day is a genuine holiday, designed to honor them, or just retail event designed to help the economy through the rough patch between Memorial Day and the Fourth of July.

February Retail Sales: Slow but Steady

Most forecasts expect the month will show 3% growth or better over the same time last year when major merchants report their tallies on Thursday. One thing seems clear: Higher-end households were more willing to spend than lower- and middle-income ones.

Xbox Shortages May Run Through February

Microsoft sold out of its Xbox video-game console in late December thanks to strong holiday-season demand, and may have product shortages in January and February as well, as the company's Kinect motion-sensor device has boosted the popularity of the system, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported.

TJX to Cut 4,400 Jobs, Eliminate A.J. Wright Brand

The TJX Companies announced Friday that it was shutting down its A.J. Wright brand, converting 91 of its 162 stores to those of its other brands -- T.J. Maxx, Marshalls or HomeGoods -- and closing the rest. The move will eliminate 4,400 jobs, about half of them part-time positions.

Holiday Hiring Takes a Hit, Despite a Brighter Economy

Retailers and shipping companies are adding fewer new jobs than they did a year ago. One reason: employers began shopping for seasonal workers earlier than usual, boosting hiring in October. But if holiday retail sales hold up, it could equal more hiring in December.

Overspending: A Tale of Christmas Past

Overspending can kill the Christmas spirit and ruin your finances for months. Writer Zoe FitzGerald Carter used the poor economy to cure herself of the destructive habit. Here's how she learned to create more Christmas magic for her family by spending less.

A Dose of Bah, Humbug for Holiday Sales Growth

Rising retail sales are adding to the list of positive economic developments as 2010 winds down. But how important are holiday sales in the larger scheme of things? Investors may be giving too much credit to what turns out to be a tiny sliver of U.S. GDP.

Holiday Shopping Season Begins with 'Early Black Friday' Sales

More stores are open on Thanksgiving, traditionally a day when shops have been closed, to get a jump on Black Friday, the most important shopping day of the year. The bargains have drawn some shoppers -- and also some grumbling -- but traffic is nowhere near as busy as retailers expect it to be this weekend.