“Even before the school bells are ringing for many families, retailers are sounding sleigh bells. Yes, that’s right. With 120-plus shopping days left, stores are already talking up their holiday offers. You might not be feeling the time pressure yet, but retailers are. Success in the fourth quarter is often key to annual performance, and in tough economic times the competition for customer dollars is fierce, said Dave Cheatham, managing principal of Velocity Retail Group. ‘Retailers are determined not to be left on the sidelines,’ he said. ‘They’re reinventing the rules on how to do holiday shopping.’”
