Toys “R” Us to Stay Open for 88 Continuous Hours

December 13, 2012 By

With Christmas right around the corner, Toys “R” Us stores nationwide will keep their doors open for 88 consecutive hours of shopping beginning at 6 a.m. on Friday, December 21 through 10 p.m. on Christmas Eve, providing last-minute gift-givers with “all the toys, all the time.”

Shoppers will also get values each day leading up to Christmas, as well as the company’s Price Match Guarantee, helping them check off everything on their little one’s wish list and stretch their holiday budgets. [Read more...]

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Editor in Chief Shares Hottest Holiday Gifts on Fox

December 3, 2012 By

Check out The Toy Book‘s Editor in Chief Jackie Breyer as she shares her picks for hottest holiday gifts for kids on Fox & Friends First.

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Holiday Shoppers Believe Black Friday Holds Best Deals, According to PriceGrabber Survey

November 14, 2012 By

PriceGrabber has released results from its third winter holiday shopping survey, revealing that 71 percent of consumers believe that retailers offer better deals during Thanksgiving weekend than they do during the rest of the winter holiday shopping season, up from 58 percent last year. Conducted from October 1 to October 24, the survey includes responses from 4,958 U.S. online shopping consumers.

When consumers who indicated that the best deals can be found over the Thanksgiving weekend were asked which days retailers offer the best prices (respondents could select as many choices as they liked), 71 percent said Black Friday (November 23), down from 80 percent last year and 86 percent in 2010, and 41 percent said Cyber Monday (November 26), up from 37 percent last year and 33 percent in 2010.

To view all of PriceGrabber’s 2012 holiday shopping press releases, visit http://www.pricegrabber.com/about.php?about=press.

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Toys and Apparel Top Moms’ List of Purchases Influenced by Social Media

October 29, 2012 By

Moms love Facebook–but they trust blogs, according to a new study from Child’s Play Communications. Moreover, 92 percent of moms active in social media are buying products as a result of a social media recommendation.

The study, How Moms are Using Social Media RIGHT NOW–and How You Can Make the Most of It, conducted by Child’s Play Communications, was presented for the first time at the eighth annual Marketing to Moms Conference in Chicago, held from October 23 to 24.

Child’s Play reached out to the 1200 moms in its Social Savvy research network–almost all of them regularly active on blogs and social networks–to explore five key questions:

  • What social media platforms do moms currently favor?
  • How has that changed?
  • Why?
  • What social media platforms are impacting purchasing decisions?
  • What products are moms buying as a result of social media recommendations?

Among the study’s findings:

  • Facebook, Twitter, and blogs were the three most popular social media platforms among moms surveyed
  • Pinterest was the platform that most moms (63 percent) tried for the first time this year
  • Instagram topped the list of technologies moms (28 percent) were likely to try next
  • Polyvore and Olioboard were among the new services these early adopters were exploring
  • Moms are spending more time on Facebook than in the past (64 percent of moms) and less time on Twitter (33 percent)
  • Of all social media platforms, blogs impacted moms’ purchasing decisions more than any other (80 percent)
  • Toys were the No. 1 kids’ product purchased by moms as a result of social media recommendations

Child’s Play Communications specializes exclusively in public relations, social media, and word-of-mouth communications for products and services targeted to moms. Based in New York City, the agency has launched an array of proprietary services to engage this influential market through traditional media, online, and in-person, including the award-winning Team Mom, the agency’s own network of mom review-bloggers. For additional information, visit their Web site, blog, like them on Facebook, or follow them on Twitter or Pinterest.

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NRF Survey: Shoppers Will Remain Conservative With Holiday Gift Budgets

October 19, 2012 By

Consumers are prepared for a holly, jolly holiday season, though it’s evident most will take a conservative approach with their gift-giving budgets. According to NRF’s holiday consumer spending survey conducted by BIGinsight, the average holiday shopper will spend $749.51 on gifts, décor, greeting cards, and more, up slightly from the $740.57 they actually spent last year. NRF is forecasting holiday sales will increase 4.1 percent to $586.1 billion.

According to the survey, the biggest portion of shoppers’ budget this year will go towards gifts for family members with the average person planning to spend $421.82 on children, parents, aunt, uncles, and others. Additionally, people will spend $75.13 on friends, $23.48 on co-workers, and $28.13 on others, such as pets and community members. Consumers will also spend on food and candy ($100.76), greeting cards ($28.66), and flowers ($19.55.) When it comes to decorations, the average person will spend $51.99, up from $49.15 last year and the most in the survey’s history. Total spending on holiday décor will reach $6.9 billion.

Click here for complete survey data. For more information about NRF, visit www.nrf.com.

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New PriceGrabber Survey Serves Up Holiday Shopper Stats

October 16, 2012 By

PriceGrabber has released additional results of its first winter holiday shopping survey, revealing that 54 percent of consumers plan to spend $500 or more on gifts this season, slightly higher than last year. Conducted from August 31 to September 12, the survey includes responses from 2,235 U.S. online shopping consumers. Click either photo below to view the full-size infographic.

[Read more...]

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Report: More Shoppers, More Money Spent this Black Friday Weekend

November 29, 2010 By

According to a National Retail Federation (NRF) survey conducted over the weekend by BIGresearch, 212 million shoppers visited stores and websites during the Black Friday weekend, an increase from 195 million shoppers reported last year. The NRF also reports that consumers spent more during the weekend, spending an average of $365.34 per shopper, up from last year’s $343.31. Total spending for the weekend is estimated to be $45 billion.

More Black Friday shoppers hit stores in the early hours of the morning; nearly one-fourth of the day’s shoppers (24 percent) were in stores by 4 a.m. and 9.5 percent of Black Friday shoppers began their shopping at midnight, triple the number in 2009 (3.3 percent). Additionally, the number of Thanksgiving Day shoppers has doubled over the past five years, from 10.3 million in 2005 to 22.3 million in 2010. Online shopping jumped from 28.4 percent last year to 33.6 percent this year.

Among the top type of stores were department stores (52 percent of the weekend’s shoppers this year vs. 49.4 percent last year) and clothing stores  (24.4 percent vs. 22.9 percent). The percentage of people who shopped at discounters declined to 40.3 percent from 43.2 percent last year.

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Holiday Spending Expected to Rise Slightly This Year

October 19, 2010 By

According to another NRF survey, 2010 Holiday Consumer Intentions and Actions, U.S. consumers plan to spend an average of $688.87 on holiday-related shopping, a slight rise from last year’s $681.83. More than 60 percent of shoppers said the economy would impact their spending, down from last year’s 65.3 percent, but shoppers plan to compensate by spending less (81.5 percent), comparison shopping online (30.9 percent), shopping for sales (54.1 percent), and using more coupons (40.6 percent). The most important factors when shopping this holiday season, said survey respondents, were sales and discounts (41.8 percent).

As in years past, most holiday gift-givers will spend most of their budget on gifts for family ($393.55), followed by friends ($71.45), and co-workers ($18.26). Total spending on gifts ($518.08) is expected to increase 2.1 percent from last year. Other holiday purchases will include decorations ($41.51), greeting cards and postage ($26.10), candy and food ($86.32), and flowers ($16.86).

For more results, click here. This survey was conducted by BIGresearch.

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