The NRF predicts that consumers will spend $9.1 billion on Halloween this year. Officially seen as the start of the holiday spending season, retailers both in person and online are readying their storefronts and promotions for October 31.

Bricks to Clicks: Chapter One Summary

One of the driving questions we ask ourselves, and our clients, at Content Analytics is: what does success for brands look like in the 21st century? We know (and they do, too) that leveraging e-commerce is how all sellers need to transform their organizations if they’re going to survive. Our founder and CEO, David Feinleib, has focused his career on the...

The financial woes for the once dominant big box brand appear to have gone from bad to worse. On September 16, Reuters filed a story stating that the beleaguered brick and mortar store “is working to put together a loan to fund its operations in a potential bankruptcy filing that could come before the holiday sales season, according to people familiar with the matter.”

The financial woes for the once dominant toy retailer appear to have gone from bad to worse. On September 16, Reuters filed a story stating that the beleaguered brick and mortar store “is working to put together a loan to fund its operations in a potential bankruptcy filing that could come before the holiday sales season, according to people familiar with the matter.”

The holidays are coming. From early November until January 1, the industry takes part in an annual marathon that really starts now. Big prep for the busiest buying season begins in August, and, just like last year, and the year before that: you never have as much time as you think you do.

Today, Amazon broke the Internet when it announced that it was reducing list prices at recently-acquired Whole Foods by upwards of 40%. (Insert your own Whole Paycheck joke here.) Amazon also recently announced that it would offer perks to Prime members (which, as of this posting, have only been alluded to and not officially outlined as of yet).

For those of you who have been following along at home (or, more likely, work), we’ve been talking a lot about the so-called retail apocalypse. Yes, there have been a lot of stores that are failing, and while online retail is a huge contributor, it’s far from the only one. We’ve also pointed out that aggressive and creative brand strategies are necessary for survival.

August is the month to get prepared for the busy holiday shopping season. Here’s one thing we know: consumers are looking for you and your products. We also know that if you adopt the “set it and forget it” philosophy of eCommerce: shoppers won’t find your products even when they’re looking.

This week, retailers had a moment to rejoice when overall consumer spending in the retail sector was up by 0.6%, the biggest jump of the year, and showing a 4.2% increase from this time last year. Not bad from an industry that’s been plagued by high-profile bankruptcies and notable consolidations.

While we all have to remain pragmatic about the continued unraveling of some national retail stores: it’s completely unrealistic to assume that physical retail is in an unavoidable, inevitable death spiral (also: it’s not). Payless Shoes just announced that it’s emerging from bankruptcy.  Despite the gloom and doom headlines, not all physical stores are buckling under Amazon’s online heft. In...