...suppliers well beyond normal deadlines. While deadlines vary, retail strategist Amy Klaris at consulting firm Kurt Salmon Associates estimates that merchants are now ordering goods from three to six months ahead instead of four to seven months...

...folks will go down the street," said Jack Horst, a grocery specialist and principal at retail consulting firm Kurt Salmon Associates. He said it's part of the trend of grocery stores trying to draw shoppers in with Web sites, recipes, cooking...

...Almost every brand has a product that competes with Frizz-Ease," says Monica Tang, a retail strategist with Kurt Salmon Associates. "Straight hair is still all the rage these days." And frizz remains the No. 1 complaint among women, according...

...grocers. "Everybody in the world seems to be offering grocery items," said Jack Horst, grocery analyst for the Kurt Salmon Associates consulting firm, David B. Dillon, the chief executive of Cincinnati-based Kroger, said the business is being...

...with 10.3 percent in the corresponding period in 2004. According to a poll of 1,200 shoppers conducted by Kurt Salmon Associates from Nov. 30 to Dec. 5, half of respondents said they plan to take advantage of the post-holiday sales.

...benefitted from some of the national economic trends, said Karl Bjornson a strategist at retail consulting firm, Kurt Salmon Associates. "I don't predict it to be a dismal Christmas but it certainly isn't going to be a Christmas like we saw...

...goods close to Christmas Day, not earlier, which would hurt revenues, said Madison Riley, a strategist at Kurt Salmon Associates, a consulting firm. He estimates that holiday inventories are up anywhere from 3 to 5 percent. Mr. Riley said...

...naturally have the biggest impact. "It's challenging for everyone," said Michelle Bogan, retail strategist at Kurt Salmon Associates, a global consulting firm. "Whenever Wal-Mart scales back, it is hard for suppliers to be flexible enough...

...but I still think that consumers are being careful with their shopping," said Madison Riley, a strategist at Kurt Salmon Associates. "The holiday season won't be a disaster. It will be solid, but it won't be a home run." Michael P...

...for the total weekend, starting from Thursday through Monday," said Michelle Bogan, a retail strategist at Kurt Salmon Associates. She noted that Thursday had "always been a protected day, a day that people spend with family." But with...