Content about Christmas

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — In a survey of more than 6,200 consumers collected during the peak holiday shopping season between Thanksgiving and Christmas, Amazon scored highest among 25 of the top mobile commerce companies in terms of customer satisfaction, according to a report released Tuesday by ForeSee. 

ATLANTA — The incidence of influenza continued on an upward trajectory heading into the Christmas holiday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Friday. Nationwide for the week ending Dec. 22, 4.2% of patient visits reported through the U.S. Outpatient Influenza-like Illness Surveillance Network were due to influenza-like illness, above the national baseline of 2.2%. 

On behalf of the editors and publishers of Drug Store News, Happy New Year to all! Drug Store News is closed for New Year's Eve and Day. The website and DSN A.M. enewsletter will resume publishing on Jan. 2.

DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens will keep stores open on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to allow last-minute Christmas shopping, the retail pharmacy chain said Wednesday.

This includes 1,600 24-hour locations that will be open around the clock, while most Walgreens stores will stay open until midnight through Dec. 23, and nearly all stores will be open during regular hours on Christmas Eve, including pharmacies, which will be open from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. On Christmas, non-24-hour stores will be open from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m., and pharmacies will be open at 24-hour stores.

PLYMOUTH, Wis. — Sartori Cheese has started a special promotion on Facebook in anticipation of the holiday season, the company said Thursday.

Sartori announced the launch of its "12 Days of Christmas" campaign, which will present Facebook fans of the company with a new challenge or activity each day ranging from recipe creation to trivia about the company. Prizes will be awarded daily, varying from small collections of wedges to limited-edition gift boxes and half a wheel of the company's "Classic Parmesan" cheese.

Analysis by Shopper Sense founder Lily Lev-Glick, a 20-year shopping behavior analyst and researcher, has revealed holiday shoppers fall into one of three distinct categories: Scrooges, Ho Ho Happy Go Lucky and On a Merry Mission.

ARLINGTON, Va. — More than half of U.S. adults plan to buy holiday gifts during Thanksgiving weekend, according to a new survey from the Consumer Electronics Association.

The survey found that 60% will buy gifts during Black Friday weekend, with the average adult planning to spend $218 between Thursday and Monday, compared with $159 last year. At the same time, the "fiscal cliff" may affect their holiday spending. Overall, consumers plan to spend $842 on gifts this year.

CHICAGO — According to a recent BDO USA survey, chief marketing officers at leading U.S. retailers expect a 3.7% increase in holiday comparable store sales, marking the survey’s most optimistic forecast since 2007, when CMOs projected a 5% increase in comparable store sales.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — More than half of consumers say they plan to spend $500 or more on gifts this holiday season, slightly more than what they planned on spending in 2011, according to PriceGrabber’s winter holiday shopping survey.

The survey of online shopping consumers, conducted from Aug. 31 to Sept. 12, revealed that 75% planned to shop with online retailers, 74% said they’d shop at discount stores and 49% planned to shop at traditional department stores.

WASHINGTON — The air is getting colder and retailers are already gearing up for the Christmas season, but before they do that, they will have to get through Halloween.

According to a recent NRF consumer spending survey conducted by BIGinsight, Halloween will be a big deal this year, with seven in 10 Americans saying they plan on celebrating the holiday. Consumers are expecting to spend more too; the average person will spend $79.82 on decorations, costumes and candy, up from $72.31 last year, with total Halloween spending expected to reach $8 billion.

AUSTIN, Texas — It seems that consumers' outlook on the economy is influencing how they will shop this upcoming holiday season, according to a new survey.

Sioux Falls, S.D.-based Lewis Drug aims to be its customers’ “first stop for everything,” and the “Four Seasons” department in its newest store helps the chain fill that role.


The 4,000-sq.-ft. environmentally controlled room is a setting in which the chain can maximize its seasonal offerings throughout the year. In the winter months, Lewis kept the room at 45 degrees and displayed live Christmas trees and stands, wreathes, pine cones and twig dogwood branches, as well as shovels, snow blowers and other seasonal merchandise.