Nov 22, 2010

Holiday survival: Stores get competitive to bring in shoppersBy Vic KolencBusiness-Video.TMCNet.com

The rush is on for retailers, large and small, to get people into their stores for the Christmas shopping season.

Retailers, which make a big chunk of their sales during the holiday season, have various strategies beyond sales for getting shoppers through their doors and to buy this holiday season.

National retailers are opening stores earlier than ever on the day after Thanksgiving for their traditional Black Friday blockbuster sales, and they are giving early looks at Black Friday promotions online and through press releases. Toys R Us is opening at 10 p.m. Thanksgiving. Many retailers are opening at midnight Friday.

JCPenney, Toys R Us and other national retailers are stepping up the use of mobile phone applications to send out electronic coupons and messages to customers’ cellular phones. JC Penney has a new mobile commerce site for people to make purchases from their phones.

“People are relying more on mobile devices for everything, including shopping,” said Jennifer Albano, a spokeswoman at Toys R Us headquarters in New Jersey. Last year, the toy seller saw an increase in customers using wireless devices as shopping tools, she said.

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