Stores Pull Out Gimmicks

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Stores pull out gimmicks start of holiday shopping season: cookies, longer hours, big deals
 

FILE - In this Jan. 10, 2008 file photo, a variety of retail gift cards are seen on a kiosk at a store in Santa Clara, Calif. Gift cards sales, which took a hit last year, are not expected to revive this holiday season as shoppers stretch their budgets by buying at deep discounts. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar, file) (Tony Avelar, AP / January 10, 2008)

As you rush into the holiday shopping season, you may catch a whiff of cookies baking at the mall or find a note from a roving elf on your iPhone or get a coupon by text message.

Across the nation, retailers and mall owners are trying to spark the holiday spirit with longer hours, more live music, twittering elves and even fresh-baked cookies.

Simon Property Group , the nation's largest mall owner, plans to give away more than 2 million bite-size chocolate chip cookies this season in partnership with Nestle's Tollhouse brand.

Cathi Weiner, a senior vice president at Simon Brand Ventures, calls it retail aromatherapy.

"I can't think of anything that can fit into it more - warm cookies in the mall and that type of comfort food feel," she said.

Shoppers will be able to snag several morsels at a time, along with a Nestle coupon during the promotion, which starts Black Friday , Nov. 27, at 100 locations and runs each weekend through Christmas. But it's strictly BYOM: bring your own milk.

Taubman Centers, with 24 malls nationwide, plans to focus on store employees by delivering breakfast to thousands of workers the day after Thanksgiving, known as Black Friday and traditionally seen as the launch date for the holiday shopping season.

The mall management company also plans to treat store employees to midday massages.

"We wanted our retailers to be at their peak performance," said Taubman spokeswoman Karen MacDonald.

Shoppers also will get free breakfast at Taubman malls in Los Angeles, Miami, Dearborn, Mich., and Wellington, Fla., while others will offer free parking.

- AP Retail Writer Ashley M. Heher


Continue Reading: http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-ap-us-
holiday-shopping-notebook,0,5149116.story

Source: Chicago Tribune

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Smarter Shoppers vs. Smarter Sellers

Results Improve at Saks, Target but Retailers Prepare for Holiday Bargain-Hunting Battle

By ANN ZIMMERMAN, VANESSA O'CONNELL And ELIZABETH HOLMES

Some retailers are finding ways to profit even in the face of declining sales.

On Tuesday, luxury retailer Saks Inc. reported a surprise profit and Target Corp. notched its first rise in year-over-year net income in eight quarters. But both companies reported declines in sales at stores open for a year, and predicted more of the same in the current quarter, which includes Christmas.

Their concerns about holiday sales echo other stores across the spectrum of price and location. In particular, retailers are watching for how many shoppers they can lure in the doors around Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, which in flush years has kicked off a holiday shop-a-thon.

  Three Best Ways to Win Community Support
By MAUREEN SCARPELLI

The recession has taken a beating on local businesses, but many consumers still want to support and patronize their neighborhood shops. If you're a small retailer or service provider, highlighting your local roots can keep the regulars coming in - and even attract new customers seeking to improve their hometowns' economic health by buying from local merchants.

Here are three best ways to showcase your origins - and win community support.

Nathan's hosts the International Hot Dog Eating Contest each July.

1. Hold contests or events that capture local flair. Take a hint from Nathan's, which holds one of the nation's most famous annual events every summer at its original location on Coney Island's Surf Avenue: the International Hot Dog Eating Contest. Thousands have packed the beach every Fourth of July since 1916 (with the exception of two years) to see dog-snarfing competitors eat as many as they can in 12 minutes.

Although Nathan's sells their dogs around the world, the company wouldn't think of holding the event anywhere but Coney Island. "I'll be traveling around the world and no matter where I go, someone will always come up to me and tell me how their grandparents kissed for the first time at Coney Island," Nathan's CEO Eric Gatoff says. "The centerpiece of our brand is that store."

On a smaller level, businesses can hosts events that show off their own signature styles and welcome members of the community to participate. Hideaway Pizza, which was founded in Stillwell, Okla., built its reputation by delivering pizzas in painted Volkswagen Beetles. Now, several of the company's stores host "Big Stuff" fundraisers, inviting local groups such as high school teams or church groups to fit as many people as possible into VW bugs. The events raise money or awareness for local charities and causes.

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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405274870336370
4574503573498581220.html?mod=dist_smartbrief

Source: The Wall Street Journal