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News for the retail industry | December 17, 2008   Retailer Reports  Grocery chains see increase in sales of gift cards Retailers say they have noticed an increasing number of people are giving necessities as gifts this holiday season. In Utah, for example, Harmons grocery stores have experienced a 68% increase in sales of gift cards, and Albertsons' gift-card sales are up 20% over last year. "What we are finding in general is that practical gifts are in this year," NRF's Ellen Davis said. The Deseret News (Salt Lake City) (12/15) Sony Style stores offer scent of the holidays The Sony Style store in New York City has unveiled its holiday window displays, which include chocolate-inspired replicas of cameras and a gingerbread replica of the New York City skyline. In honor of the holiday season, Sony Style stores are featuring a holiday scent -- chocolate peppermint -- in their product displays. Sony Insider (12/14) Retailers create positive holiday experiences online Retailers are stepping up their digital efforts for the holidays to help them compete for consumers' stretched dollars. Best Buy has "Blue Shirts" blog posts about technology gifts, Gap is sending around viral e-mail coupons, and The Athlete's Foot has launched an online fan club. DMNews (12/8) Other News Wal-Mart will not put iPhones in Christmas stockings Wireless Week (12/12) Drugstores welcome last-minute holiday shoppers Daily Comet (Thibodaux, La.)/Daily Press & Argus (Michigan) (12/13) Private label/global sourcing successes revealed Hear Urban Outfitters, Macy's, IBM, Lowe's, Kohl's and Guitar Center discuss how TradeStone improves speed to market, visibility, and adds basis points to the bottom line. TradeStone is the only company that provides an end-to-end solution for PLM, sourcing, order, quality, compliance, logistics, finance and supplier management.   Holiday Trends  Holiday shoppers reach for bright-colored gifts Pink and purple iPods are indicative of a holiday shopping trend this year: Consumers are loving bright colors. All kinds of consumer electronics and small appliances are available in a variety of colors this season. "People form a personal connection to a product in a color they like," says Jill Morton, a Colorcom consultant, and this is particularly true when the economy is down. USA TODAY (12/8) Online retailers told to expect traffic spike on Christmas Traffic on online-retailer sites is expected to soar on Christmas Day as people redeem gift vouchers, hunt for bargains and look for the value of the presents they have been given. "Last year we found that the second-biggest day of the year for online traffic was actually Christmas Day," said Damian Saunders of Citrix. "It is the one day that online retailers have an advantage over high-street retailers because, increasingly, gift vouchers are a popular gift." Silicon Republic (Ireland) (12/15) Other News "Happy" holiday songs encourage shoppers to linger in stores Forbes/The Associated Press (12/11) Discounts on the rise as Christmas gets closer NYTimes.com/The Associated Press (12/15) Wish lists ease holiday shopping NYTimes.com/ReadWriteWeb (12/9) Retailers urge ethical giving Google/The Canadian Press (12/9)   Fast-track your global sourcing/private label solutions Click here to get fast-track implementations of solutions for global sourcing and private label that deliver radical results. TradeStone's Merchandise Lifecycle Management solutions easily layer over a retailer's existing infrastructure, have a high adoption rate, and will reduce cycle times, increase sales and increase quality and compliance.     Research and Releases  NRF survey finds average person has completed far less holiday shopping than in previous years With five fewer days between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year, the holidays are sneaking up on shoppers more than usual. According to a new NRF survey, the average person had completed 47.1% of their holiday shopping by the second week of December, about 10% less than the same time last year. Read more here. Most shoppers think retailers have fair return policies, according to NRF Holiday Returns Survey Shoppers buying their friends and family gifts this year want peace of mind that a duplicate gift or one that doesn't fit properly can be returned at any time. This holiday season, many retailers are adjusting their return policies to be more accommodating to holiday returns, and shoppers are holding up their end of the bargain by giving gift receipts with holiday gifts. Read more here. Most standard shipping offers for Christmas delivery expire by Dec. 19, according to eHoliday Study People buying gifts online this holiday season should consider not only the shopping days, but the shipping days before Christmas. According to the 2008 Shop.org eHoliday Study, conducted by Shopzilla, two-thirds of online retailers said the deadline to place orders for ground shipping with delivery by Christmas is on or before Friday, Dec. 19. Learn more here.     Product announcements appearing in SmartBrief are paid advertisements and do not reflect actual NRF endorsements. The news reported in SmartBrief does not necessarily reflect the official position of NRF. 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