holidays

Gift Shop takes a road trip to Laurel, Mississippi

Our editor is on the road this fall and winter and stopping at lots of small retailers along the way. The first stop is Laurel, Mississippi. Get an up-close look at the great display and... more »

Consumers embrace early holiday deals

An estimated 186.4 million consumers took advantage of the Thanksgiving holiday weekend and shopped in-store and online this year, according to the annual survey released today by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Prosper Insights... more »

Shopify experiences record Black Friday sales

Shopify shared its record-setting Black Friday sales of $2.4 billion* from the independent and direct-to-consumer brands on the platform worldwide. On Nov. 27, from the start of Black Friday in New Zealand through the end... more »

NRF expects holiday sales to grow

With retail sales rebounding strongly due to continued consumer resilience, the National Retail Federation (NRF) forecasted that holiday sales during November and December will increase between 3.6% and 5.2% over 2019 to a total between... more »

Museum Store Sunday helps cultural institutions affected by COVID-19

With many museums worldwide closing again due to recent surges of COVID-19 cases, patrons can look to Museum Store Sunday during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend as a way to lend much needed support to these... more »

GCA introduces Festive Friday to encourage people to send holiday cards early 

The Greeting Card Association (GCA) has added a special card-sending holiday to the calendar for 2020: Festive Friday. Occurring on Friday, Nov. 27, 2020, the international holiday, which originated in the UK, encourages people to... more »

NRF reports earlier start to holiday shopping season

Over 40% of holiday shoppers say they started earlier than they normally do, according to the annual survey released by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Prosper Insights & Analytics. “Retailers have demonstrated their commitment and... more »

Retail imports set new peak season

Imports likely saw their busiest “peak season” on record this summer and fall as retailers replenished inventories and stocked up for the holiday season, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released by the... more »