Heading to the department store for holiday gift shopping is like a trip to the gym.
You sweat trying to find a free parking spot in the sea of circling cars. Running from one department store to another as you make sure everyone is checked off the gift list feels like a good run on the treadmill. Carrying the many shopping bags of goodies for your family, friends and colleagues (plus a couple gifts for yourself ;)) covers weight training.
At this time of year, many department stores and boutiques in North America will begin enticing consumers with holiday sales to start Christmas shopping for others and themselves. Department store email newsletters will often include in-store or online sales and promotion announcements, and perhaps invitations to private family and friends shopping events too. “Family and Friends” shopping events are designed to give loyalty customers advance in-store or online purchase opportunities on sale items or exclusive designer products before the items become available for general purchase.
| Canada | Silicon Valley (U.S.A.) | |
| Discount |
JCPenney Kohl’s Target |
|
| Mid-range |
Hudson’s Bay Sears |
Macy’s Sears |
| High-end |
Holt Renfrew Hudson’s Bay Nordstrom Simons |
Bloomingdale’s Nordstrom |
| Luxury |
Holt Renfrew Nordstrom Simons |
Barneys New York Neiman Marcus Saks 5th Avenue |
Happy Holidays! May your holidays be merry and bright!
“Shopping is my cardio.” — Carrie Bradshaw, fictional character on the HBO TV series Sex and the City
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Related articles:
• New York Times: American Retailers Face Challenges in Expanding to Canada
• Silicon Valley Loonies: Summer Sales, Summer Shopping
• Wikipedia: List of Department Stores by Country
• Vancouver Sun: Canadian Retail vs. American Retail
• Vancouver Sun: U.S. Luxury Department Stores Set to Storm Canadian Market
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