News

Nov
17
2015

Here’s Why the Spectacle of Holiday Windows Is Still Crucial for Brands

Tradition builds good will and foot traffic

Dozens of heads, torsos and rows of various dismembered limbs hang on the walls of a storage room in Spaeth Design's Queens, N.Y., office. They are labeled—'Macy's, '99, Fat Man'— and belong to the ghosts of holidays past, the dozens of mannequins that have at one time or another populated the fantastical world of the famous New York City holiday window displays of retailers like Bloomingdale's, Macy's, Lord & Taylor, Tiffany & Co., Saks Fifth Avenue and Bergdorf Goodman. You know, the windows people travel from all over the world to see between Thanksgiving and New Year's.

October is crunch time for Spaeth Design. It's one of the best-known design firms making up a small but critical cottage industry of decorating department store windows for the holidays.

It's a business that helps drive foot traffic (Lord & Taylor estimates that 500,000 people pass by its windows daily; Macy's clocks 15,000 people per hour during the holiday season, up from the typical 10,000 per hour) and ostensibly boosts sales—analysts say it's near impossible to evaluate, though they try.

Construction in the holiday workshop has kicked into high gear over the last few weeks, as the shop's nearly 60 employees (30 of which are full-time) labor to meet a fast-approaching deadline. Spaeth Design has been creating holiday windows for these major retailers for over 60 years, but talks with this year's main clients, Bloomingdale's and Lord & Taylor, started late.

"We're working as we should be delivering," explains David Spaeth, owner and CEO of the shop. Spaeth runs the firm with his wife Sandra, who serves as president.

All that pressure makes sense. The holiday season rings up some 25 percent of annual sales for retailers, and window displays influence purchase on average 24 percent of the time, according to NPD research. Meanwhile, the average consumer is projected to spend roughly $805.65 this year on holiday shopping, pushing November and December sales (excluding automotive, gas and restaurant purchases) to $630.7 billion, up 3.7 percent versus last year, according to the National Retail Foundation.

Of course, the bad news for brick-and-mortar stores is that, according to the NRF, 46 percent of all holiday shopping, browsing and buying this year will be done online.

"What do the stores want? They want you in the store, they need you in the store," says Marshal Cohen, NPD's chief industry analyst. "Impulse [buying] happens in the store 45 percent of the time; impulse [buying] happens online 18 percent of the time. It's so critical for them to drive traffic to the store and then ultimately try to get you into the store, even if it means doing things the old-fashioned way. Using windows and holiday displays, and turning it into a tradition to make it have everlasting life is a critical thing for them to do."

Every year by mid-November, the retailers reveal—with ever-increasing pomp and circumstance—their holiday displays, hoping that consumers will journey to the stores to see the windows in person. (Grumpy Cat and Nick Jonas were among last year's in-store holiday celebrities.) For thousands of families, going to see the windows is something that has become a tradition and been passed down from generation to generation. "Macy's windows have become an iconic, important tourist visit," says Roya Sullivan, the chain's national window director. "As that's happened over the years, the celebration and unveiling has become more prominent."

Read entire article at Adweek.com
Source: Adweek.com
Article by Kristina Monllos

 

MEDIA CONTACT:
KATY LASEE | MARKETING DEPT.
651 554 8533
KRLasee@traveltags.com

TAGS:   Community, holidays, trends

Nov
06
2015

Retailers in for a Very Digital Holiday Season, according to NRF survey

Top findings of consumers surveyed:

 

  • Average spending per person reaches $805.65, comparable with spending in 2014 holiday season ($802.45).
  • Spending on gifts for family members will total $462.95, up from $458.75 last year, and a survey high.
  • Almost half of holiday shopping, consisting of browsing and buying, will be done online: average consumers say 46 percent of their shopping (both browsing and buying) this holiday season will be conducted online, up from 44 percent last year.
  • 21.4 percent of smartphone owners will use their device to purchase holiday merchandise this year, the highest seen since NRF first asked in 2011.
  • Nearly half (46.7%) said free shipping/shipping promotions are important factors in their decision on where to shop.
  • 55.8 percent of holiday shoppers will splurge on themselves and/or others for non-gift items, and will spend an average of $131.59, up from $126.37 last year. ​

 

Gift cards maintain their spot at top of wish lists!

Those struggling with finding the perfect gift this year should look no further than a retailer’s gift card section. According to the survey, nearly six in 10 (58.8%) consumers celebrating the holidays say they would like to receive gift cards as a gift, making this the ninth year in a row that gift cards have topped the list of most requested gift items. Close behind is clothing or clothing accessories (52.2%) and books, CDs, DVDs and video games (40.5%) — though the latter is the lowest percentage seen since NRF started asking.

Read entire article at NationalRetailFederation.com

Source: National Retail Federation

Article by Kathy Grannis Allen, NRF

MEDIA CONTACT:
KATY LASEE | MARKETING DEPT.
651 554 8533
KRLasee@traveltags.com

TAGS:   card fulfillment, card services, holidays, National Retail Federation, trends

Nov
04
2015

Target to Give Gift Cards in Exchange for Used Clothing

Target has announced that it will be giving store credit to its customers in exchange for used clothing. The project is being implemented with ThredUp, an online consignment store, which accepts "high-quality, children's, or women's clothing, bags, and shoes," in return for Target gift cards, according to KARE 11 News.

Customers who would like to participate in the program would simply need to drop off their used goods at any target store. The items can also be shipped via FedEx or UPS. Target will even pay for the shipping fee.

However, Target states that not all items that are sent will be accepted. To date, ThredUp states that less than 50 percent of the items donated are being accepted. There's no cause for worry, however, since unwanted donations will be "recycled responsibly." Customers whose items are not accepted can also request for the donations to be sent back, reports Business Insider.

For the items that do get accepted, the corresponding store credit will vary. Items listed under $60 dollars will be paid upfront, while those listed for more than $60 will be listed as consignment.

Customers whose donations are accepted will receive an email about which items have been accepted within 25 days. The target gift cards that correspond to the accepted donations will be sent through registered mail.

 

Source: HNGN.com

Article by Peter de Jesus, HNGN.com

MEDIA CONTACT:
KATY LASEE | MARKETING DEPT.
651 554 8533
KRLasee@traveltags.com

TAGS:   card services, Community, holidays, trends