December retail sales down 2.7%

Forbes, US

US retail sales fell deeper than expected during the December holiday shopping season, and by the largest amount on record excluding autos, leading to the first-ever calendar year decline in retail sales, the Commerce Department reported today …

Retail dilemma: reduce margins or spook buyers

The Age, AU

In a week that traditionally marks the end of post-Christmas sales, shopkeepers are grappling with a dilemma over whether to up their prices to improve margins, knowing that they run the risk of scaring off increasingly thrifty shoppers …

Weary retailers muster to fight business tax plan

The Times, UK

A planned 30 per cent rise in local government tax poses a new threat to the survival of beleaguered shop owners, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC). Business rates paid by retailers will rise to £7 billion by 2010, from £5.45 billion in the last financial year, under proposals to be voted on by Parliament today …

Holiday retail sales up

The Vancouver Sun, CA

A report released Friday by Canada’s largest processor of credit- and debit-card transactions indicates people were spending more money this past holiday season than the year before despite the downbeat economic environment …

Girl power is catching on at shopping centre

The Shields Gazette, UK
Girl power is catching over a shopping parade as women join forces to boost their businesses. Female traders at The Nook in South Shields have joined forces to support each other and attract new customers to the area …

2009 will see more advertisers in shopping centres

BizCommunity, ZA

We’ve seen the strip mall format’s popularity increasing in certain areas but it’s still the traditional anything-you-want-in-one-place shopping mall which remains king for those wanting to top-up the empty cupboards, grab a meal and have hours of entertainment at the same time …

Nine in One: Businesses join forces for mall advertising

Voice Tribune, US

Nine local businesses have joined forces and resources in a unique advertising campaign that brings their products and services to potential customers in an unconventional setting – by renting space and setting up full-size floor displays in the middle of Mall St. Matthews …

Wacky ways to bring in extra revenue

Liverpool Daily Post, UK

Shopping centre owners are renting out space for wacky new ideas that bring much needed revenues and footfall. Don’t be surprised to walk through your local shopping centre in Merseyside this week and see some crazy individual performing an excruciating yoga position while getting a record score on a Wii Fit …

Richland Mall used its connections in the community to create a great public relations opportunity this fall.

Baylor University has the oldest and largest collegiate Homecoming Parade in the US, with thousands of students, alumni and local residents attending each fall. By working Chamber of Commerce connections, Richland managed to have the BU mascot and parade leader advertise the mall on his Segway. Not only did their “Treat Yourself” campaign get a leading role in the parade, the footage was also televised and streamed on the campus website.

And Richland didn’t stop there. Realizing that such a unique partnership would be hard to replace, the shopping center invited the BU mascot and his cheerleaders to escort Santa for his arrival at the mall. Hopefully this opportunity will continue to reward the shopping center in the future, too.

With long lineups and grumpy customers, retail workers don’t always have a lot to smile about as Christmas approaches, but happy workers help make happy shoppers. That’s why Crossroads Center, in Iowa, US, is dedicated to putting smiles on the faces of both its shoppers and its retail workers this holiday season.

As part of its “Spread the Cheer” initiative, the shopping center is encouraging shoppers to keep an eye out for store employees that go out of their way to be extra friendly or helpful. Shoppers that put in a good word for an employee (on the mall’s website or at Customer Service) are entered into a draw for a $250 mall shopping spree – and those special employees are entered in a second draw for a $250 shopping spree.

It’s a low-risk idea that may generate plenty of good will this holiday season, so kudos to Crossroads Center.

A few weeks ago, we mentioned the Jump For Wishes charity event. The results are now in – across Australia, over 600 people participated in “star jumping” for charity. Not only did they bring in lots of money for the Starlight Children’s Foundation, but they succeeded at setting the record for simultaneous star jumps – a total of 26,830 jumps.

In other Australian news, Erina Fair is taking advantage of the DIY craze this Christmas. It’s holding a competition for 16 local elementary schools. Teams of students from the schools will be given a $100 gift certificate to a mall crafts retailer, and can spend the money to decorate a Christmas tree in any way they like. The trees will decorate the shopping center over the holidays, and visitors can vote for their favorite with a donation to the Cancer Council NSW. A little bit user-generated and a little bit DIY – that’s a great job of managing trends.

User-generated content is big news right now. More and more, people want to contribute to the design of the products they buy, and more sites and retailers are taking advantage. Earlier this year, we showcased TGV’s user-generated T-shirts, which were a huge hit. So how are you taking advantage of the trend?

If you’re short on ideas, there are some holiday classics that fit right in. Shopping bags are a great place to put creative user designs, as are t-shirts and gift cards. Regent Arcade is on top of this – it’s selling greeting cards for charity designed by local children. But why not take it a step further? Next time your shopping center wants to redesign the now-ubiquitous environmentally friendly shopping bag, take submissions for designs and have your shoppers vote for the designs they want to buy.

How else are you making use of this trend?