Happy Holidays! Macy's Is Open 24/7 Until Christmas

Happy Holidays! As we inch ever closer to Christmas Day (3 days and counting!), retailers are turning up the heat.

Macy’s recently announced its plans to remain open for 83 hours leading up to the big Christmas holiday. In fact, beginning yesterday, Dec. 21, 14 Macy’s locations are open 24/7 through 6 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 24.

Now, there’s really no excuse to miss out on getting any holiday gifts. Guys, are you hearing us? You can’t bail with the whole, “I ran out of time” excuse. Macy’s just ripped it from you.

In addition, 27 stores will remain open until 2 a.m. on the three nights leading up to Christmas Eve. I’m a bit worried for Macy’s employees, although Macy’s notes that employees volunteer to work these shifts (and surely they’re receiving time and a half pay, right??).

I’m not sure if this is pure craziness or not. I mean, do we really need our retailers to be this available? Or is Macy’s beating out the competition with this ultra-smart (and possibly exhausting) business move? The final holiday reports will show us the results.

In the meantime, happy shopping! Be sure to leave comments below if you shop at Macy’s at 4 a.m. or any other wacky time or have a pulse on whether these extended hours are too much even for crazed holiday shoppers.

May this be your best holiday season yet, and may 2012 shine brightly for you and yours!

-Heather Strang

Arch + Design Makes Job Hunting Easy

Wouldn’t it be cool if there was a one-stop resource for jobs in architecture and design? And wouldn’t it be great if the top brands posted jobs on this resource, and also included career news and tips?

Yeah, we thought so, too.

And that’s why we’re thrilled to announce the start of Arch + Design Job Market, a career resource for architecture and design professionals. Powered by Adicio and launched by Nielsen Expositions Design Group, Arch + Design features more than 5,000 jobs and an audience of more than 100,000 professionals.

Not a bad way to kick off a job site, eh?

Arch + Design intends to provide a connection between hiring companies and recruiters to engage with its brands, such as: Contract, Hospitality Design, Kitchen & Bath Business and the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show, along with the rockin (if we don’t say so ourselves) DDI and GlobalShop. The site not only features 5,000+ jobs, but also the latest in industry news, salary research, a resume builder, writing guide and career tips.

So, are you ready to get your career on?

Check out Arch + Design and let us know what you think. Leave your comments below.

-Heather Strang

When Bad Gifts Happen to Good People

Remember when grandma gave you that extra large fuzzy sweater for Christmas a few years ago or that hard-as-a-rock loaf of fruit cake from Aunt Nancy? While the holidays present an opportunity to get everything we do want, we can also end up with some stuff we would never want in a million years.

Luckily, this happens to everyone, so we can all commiserate together.

In fact, there’s even a survey out by Consumer Reports that tracks what people do when they receive terrible gifts over the holidays. And as far as surveys go, this is one of my favorites; it’s right up there with the top 10 Halloween costumes report.

The survey uncovered something very lovely about human beings. We are far too nice when it comes to receiving bad gifts—40 percent of respondents made the “best of” the lousy gift, while 39 percent hid it somewhere (like the back of the closet or under the bed, perhaps?), and 18 percent donated it to charity. While fairly passive-aggressive options, it’s far better than what some folks choose to do.

There’s a tenacious 2 percent of respondents who actually have the gall to return the gift to the gift-giver. Wouldn’t you just love to be a fly on the wall for that showdown? Yikes!

The report went on to share the culprits of this horrible gift-giving. It’s the usual suspects, of course: in-laws, friends, and grandma and grandpa. However, because we’re so nice, at least 44 percent of respondents believe the thought is more important than anything else—even a bad gift. Aww…aren’t we sweet? But really, I would like grandma to know I wear a medium and that camel is not my color. Ever.

With Americans set to spend $707 each on holiday gifts this year (up 4 percent from last year!), there’s a lot of room for bad gift-giving. We just hope it doesn’t happen to you.

What do you do with your bad/ugly/awful holiday gifts? We hope we’ve at least given you some good ideas, but if not, please share your responses below.

-Heather Strang

Will the Tablet Be Next to Rule the World?

Remember when the iPhone was the biggest thing around? Then, before we knew it the iPad was here and a brand new revolution launched.

Well folks, the evolution of technology is continuing (shocking!), and it has a big impact on how consumers shop and how retailers, well, retail.

A May 2011 report from BizRate Insights / Forrester Research study found that:

• 60 percent of tablet owners use their tablet to shop

• 21 percent of online/mobile commerce is tied to tablets

• Tablet shoppers are five to six times more likely to buy than smartphone shoppers, and nearly two times more than PC shoppers. They also spend 28 percent more on each order than non-tablet users. (What is it about that tablet?!)

• 56 percent of tablet users download shopping apps

The folks at Revel Touch have taken this data and their love of retail/shopping to create an interface that allows users to shop at an optimal level. Anthropologie is one of the first to utilize this new technology for its customers.

When a retailer uses Revel Touch to create its very own app, customers can then have access to the retailer’s entire inventory, and have all of the retailer’s social media and online components integrated in one place. My personal favorite aspect of this new technology is that users can build their entire outfit via the interface.

I love this “build-your-outfit” concept, and I hope more retailers will jump on board. Let me mix and match, and play with different styles on my tablet (when I get one, that is); I’m sure to buy more that way and have a lot more fun. And that means I’ll be telling everyone and their mother about this cool new interface that lets me design my entire wardrobe without having to stand under poor lighting and spend hours taking my clothes on and off. That’s a win-win for everyone.

It will be interesting to see if the tablet becomes the new shopping mechanism for consumers and if Revel Touch will be a bigger part of our online shopping experiences.

Do you love the tablet concept? Shop with yours currently? Tell us about it here!

-Heather Strang

Macy's Makes Us Believe Again—Enter to Win Today!

It’s the most wonderful time of the year.

There, I said it.

And not just because of the gorgeous, sparkling trees, smells of cinnamon and baked treats, cheerful holiday tunes, or cozy romantic nights (the power of white twinkle lights!). It’s also wonderful because of the giving spirit that encompasses both consumers and retailers during the holiday season.

Macy’s is one such retailer.

Beginning Dec. 9, Macy’s will launch its Believe campaign. The campaign is aimed at reclaiming the magic of the holidays (in surprisingly creative and mobile ways), and runs through Dec. 24.

Macy’s has done a fantastic job creating a Believe campaign that’s worthy of our attention. Check this out:

• Stores nationwide, as well as online, feature letter-writing Believe stations and Santa Mail letterboxes.

• For each letter received, Macy’s donates $1 to The Make-A-Wish Foundation (so far they’ve received nearly 550,000 letters!).

• A “Macy’s Believe-o-Magic” app can be downloaded for IOS and select Android users allowing folks to interact with characters from the “Yes, Virginia” holiday classic. Customers can take a photo—which can then be uploaded into a holiday card template—to share via e-mail or Facebook.

• Believe fans will be entered into Macy’s Facebook “Believer of the Week” contest with the chance of being featured as Macy’s profile photo (hint: you need a lot of “likes” for your photo to win).

In fact, Macy’s is so ga-ga about their Believe campaign (and we gotta say, so are we) that they're offering a free Snode Snowglobe to one of our lucky blog readers! Simply write a comment below with your thoughts about the Believe campaign. Can Macy’s lure you into the magic of the holidays? Believe with us!

Happy Holidays!

-Heather Strang

 *Please note: Only one comment per reader.

Holiday Shopping 2011 Is Off To a Successful Start

As if eating enough turkey and pumpkin pie for 10 people all while spending time with the people we love wasn’t enough to make our Thanksgiving 2011 the best ever...Then retail sales skyrocketed on both Black Friday and Cyber Monday (we’re still awaiting word on Small Business Saturday)!

ShopperTrak was right on all the action releasing its Black Friday results the day after the big sales. According to ShopperTrak reports, Black Friday sales increased 6.6 percent over 2010, accounting for $11.40 billion in retail purchases. Retail foot traffic rose as well – jumping 5.1 percent over last year’s shopping frenzy.

Cyber Monday seemed to follow in Black Friday’s footsteps. Forbes reported that an estimated $1.25 billion was spent online, a 22 percent increase from last year (wowza!). Online deals ranging from retail to travel seemed to be getting everyone’s attention – my inbox was practically imploding on Monday with all of the deals offered. Cyber Monday’s success was attributed to not only an increase in the number of consumers shopping online – 11 percent -  but folks also spent 9 percent more than they did last year at this time.

All in all, it’s safe to say that holiday shopping for 2011 is in full swing and that it’s rockin! The prognosis for the rest of the shopping season looks grand, especially with such a strong start. It appears that we’re all ready to celebrate the holidays big this year and give our economy the nudge it deserves.

How did you celebrate Black Friday and Cyber Monday? What’s your retail prognosis? Leave your comments here!

-Heather Strang

*Photo courtesy of Jobsearch on Wiki Commons.