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Retailers, including Walmart and Home Depot, are trying to capitalize on customers who are going big on seasonal decor, even as they watch the budget with other discretionary spending.
Consumers said they planned to spend 9% more on nongift purchases than a year ago, with most of that jump coming from higher spending on holiday decorations, according to Deloitte’s annual holiday survey.
Yet the National Tree Company said sales of artificial trees are slow, after the pandemic bump and due to inflation’s lingering impact.

Arrows pointing outwards

The Milam family turned its front lawn into a holiday-themed putt-putt course. Going all out on Christmas decorations has become a tradition for the Dallas family.
Courtesy: Mike Milam

For the holiday season, the front lawn of the Milam family’s house in Dallas has transformed into a mini golf winter wonderland.
Visitors stop by from nearly sunrise to sunset to admire the Christmas decorations — and to borrow a club to play a round of putt-putt themed around Santa, candy canes, snowflakes and more.

“You can see not just the excitement and wonderment of kids, but also of adults,” said Mike Milam, a firefighter and father of two.
Decking out the front yard has become an annual tradition for the Milam family since the Covid pandemic. The family of four’s elaborate decorations capture a trend that many retailers, including Home Depot and Walmart, have sought to capitalize on in recent years: Some customers are going bigger on seasonal decor, even as they watch how much they spend on other discretionary items.
Consumers are prioritizing decorations and experiences over gifts this holiday season, according to an annual holiday spending survey by consulting firm Deloitte. The survey found that respondents expected to spend a little less on gifts this year – down about 3% year over year. But they planned to spend about 9% more on nongift purchases, with most of that jump coming from holiday decorations.

The Milam family turned its front lawn into a holiday-themed putt-putt course. Going all out on Christmas decorations has become a tradition for the Dallas family.
Courtesy: Mike Milam

Survey respondents said they planned to spend $181 on home-related items, furnishings and holiday decorations, up 22% year over year and nearly 60% more than the pre-pandemic 2019 holiday season.
Holiday decor is providing a boost for retailers, even those like Target, Dollar General and Dollar Tree, which have noticed a pullback in other categories.

Target’s Chief Commercial Officer Rick Gomez said on an earnings call in late November that customers are “looking for ways to add a little bit of seasonal decor,” which drove higher sales of accessories including frames, candles and vases in the most recent quarter.
Dollar General CEO Todd Vasos said on the company’s earnings call in early December that the retailer was pleased by customers’ response to “the discretionary side of Halloween.” He said shoppers’ reactions to that seasonal decor offered “some glimmers of hope” as the dollar store chain headed into the peak of the holiday season.

Christmas decorations are for sale at a Home Depot store on November 14, 2023, in Miami, Florida. 
Joe Raedle | Getty Images

Decor may not save the holidays

Yet holiday decor sales may not look as as jolly as some companies wish.
For example, National Tree Company CEO Chris Butler said sales have been slower in the past two years. He said the New Jersey-based company, which sells online through retailers including Kohl’s, Amazon, Macy’s and Home Depot, expects sales to be flat year over year.
Nearly 70% of the company’s sales typically come from artificial Christmas trees, but it also sells decor like wreaths and garlands, Butler said.
Sales surged in 2020 and 2021 during the pandemic, when consumers had extra stimulus money to spend and more time at home, Butler said. Since then, 2022 and 2023 “have been down years because we’re getting over that the big boom,” he added.
Based on the company’s research, consumers typically get a new artificial tree every five to six years. Pandemic purchasing patterns, and the pressure inflation put on families, stretched that replacement period out longer, he said.
“If you can try and make that tree last one more year, consumers are probably going to do that rather than buy new trees,” Butler said.
Home Depot, a longtime seller of both real and artificial Christmas trees, has leaned more into seasonal decor — especially after its 12-foot skeleton, Skelly, became a viral sensation during the pandemic. It’s selling an eight-foot Santa and an eight-and-a-half-foot reindeer this year, along with a wide range of other decor like animatronic Disney characters.
Yet the home improvement retailer struck a balance to attract customers looking to spend less for holiday cheer after the run of high inflation, said Lance Allen, senior merchant of decorative holiday for the home improvement retailer. He said it bought more low-priced artificial Christmas trees, such as a prelit tree that sells for $49, this holiday season compared to past ones.
He added its “porch greeters” — plastic figurines like a little snowman or a golden doodle in a Santa hat — are also a more wallet-friendly pick at under $40.

At Walmart, red bows, giant nutcrackers and artificial icicles have been popular so far this holiday season, according to Sheila Wiles, lead merchant for holiday décor at Walmart U.S
Melissa Repko | CNBC

Target’s leaders have stressed value, too, as they try to win over consumers who are more discerning in spending on wants rather than needs. The big-box retailer is also tapping into trends, such as pink Christmas decor, mini figurines for mantel landscapes, oversized bows for entryways and walls and nostalgic ceramic ornaments, spokesperson Brian Harper-Tibaldo said.
And to drive sales, Walmart has chased social media-fueled trends while trying to offer value. It debuted a six-foot tall white nutcracker after it noticed that customers were buying its painted large nutcrackers and redecorating them.
The nutcrackers sold out when they first went on sale last year, said Sheila Wiles, lead merchant for holiday decor at Walmart U.S. Walmart doubled its inventory of them this year, but they still were nearly sold out before Halloween, she said.
She said low-priced decor has also been a hit, with customers making their own garlands out of $1.98 red velvet bows and decorating their Christmas trees with 98 cent artificial icicles instead of ornaments.
Home Depot, Target and Walmart declined to share sales figures for holiday decor this season, or say if the category is performing better than last year.

The Milam family has decked out the front yard with themes including Nintendo’s Super Mario.
Courtesy: Mike Milam

Maximizing decor

Though the Milam family created a holiday spectacle, it also wanted to find value along the way.
Instead of buying a lot of decor, the Milam family made most of it. The family spent about $1,000 on its front yard decorations to make the mini golf course, Mike Milam said. Most supplies came from Home Depot, where he bought lumber, paint and other tools. The family of four — Mike; his wife Katie; 12-year-old daughter Merrick; and 10-year-old son Nash — built the putt-putt holes together on nights and weekends starting in the fall.
This year, the family also bought an eight-foot real Christmas tree from Home Depot for $129 and a festive, plastic Christmas chicken for $20 on Amazon.
But most of the Milams’ decor is recycled from past years, Mike Milam said. In his neighborhood, he said most families have put up the same decorations and inflatables in the yard as last year.
Mike Milam said he was “more conscientious” about spending this year. Food and electricity cost more than they used to. Plus, as his kids get older, they have more sports activities that come with a price tag.
“Everything is a little more expensive,” he said.
Despite the expense of decorating, he plans to continue decking out his property — and has plenty of other ideas in mind for the front yard. So far, the family has filled out out the front yard with themes including Nintendo’s Super Mario and a Christmas spin on Steven Spielberg’s classic movie “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.”
As he’s spent more money and time on holiday decorations, he’s cut back on spending on gifts for his kids.
“I’d rather have experiences than stuff,” he said.
Through the projects, he said his children have become handier by learning how to paint, lay AstroTurf and use an electric saw. It’s become a way for the whole family to get creative and bond.
“We have probably 12 to 15 years worth of ideas,” he said. “I’ll do it as long as I work and my kids are around and want to be part of it.” More

Merck on Wednesday said it has snagged the rights to an experimental weight loss pill from Chinese drugmaker Hansoh Pharma, in a deal worth up to $2 billion.
Merck will pay Hansoh $112 million upfront for rights to the drug, with the potential for an additional $1.9 billion in milestone payments and royalties on sales, according to a news release.
Several other drugmakers, including Pfizer and Roche, are racing to develop more convenient obesity pills that can compete with blockbuster injections from Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly.

Exterior view of the entrance to Merck headquarters on February 05, 2024 in Rahway, New Jersey.
Spencer Platt | Getty Images

Merck on Wednesday said it has snagged the rights to an experimental weight loss pill from Chinese drugmaker Hansoh Pharma, in a deal worth up to $2 billion.
The oral drug has not yet entered human trials, and Merck did not specify which diseases it plans to test the drug on first. Still, it boosts the pharmaceutical company’s chances of winning a slice of the booming obesity drug market, which some analysts expect to be worth more than $100 billion a year by the early 2030s.

Several other drugmakers, including Pfizer and Roche, are racing to develop more convenient obesity pills that can compete with blockbuster injections from Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly.
Under the terms of the deal, Merck will gain the exclusive global license to develop, manufacture and commercialize Hansoh Pharma’s HS-10535, an experimental oral drug that targets a gut hormone called GLP-1. Novo Nordisk’s popular weight loss drug Wegovy and diabetes treatment Ozempic similarly target GLP-1 to tamp down appetite and regulate blood sugar.
Merck will pay Hansoh $112 million upfront for rights to the drug, with the potential for an additional $1.9 billion in milestone payments and royalties on sales, according to a news release.
Merck said a pre-tax charge of $112 million, or 4 cents per share, will be included in its fourth-quarter results.
In the release, Dean Li, president of Merck Research Laboratories, said the oral drug has “potential to provide additional cardiometabolic benefits beyond weight reduction.”

Merck CEO Rob Davis early last year said the company was seeking GLP-1 treatments with benefits beyond weight loss.
“I think everyone recognizes weight management is a hard thing to get reimbursed. But if you can show cardiovascular outcome, if you can show diabetes outcome, which you’re starting to see data for, if you can see fatty liver disease benefits…that is an area where we think there’s opportunity,” he said at a conference at the time.
It is the latest transaction involving experimental GLP-1 drugs from China. AstraZeneca last year licensed Chinese company Eccogene’s experimental oral drug, which has since moved into mid-stage development. More

Nissan and Honda plan to enter into negotiations for a merger to better compete in the rapidly changing automotive industry, the Nikkei newspaper reported Tuesday.
Honda and Nissan are considering operating under a holding company, and soon will sign a memorandum of understanding, according to the report.

Makoto Uchida, president and CEO of Nissan Motor, and Toshihiro Mibe, Honda Motor president and CEO, attend their joint press conference in Tokyo, Japan March 15, 2024. 
Kyodo | Via Reuters

DETROIT — Japanese automakers Nissan Motor and Honda Motor reportedly plan to enter into negotiations for a merger to better compete in the rapidly changing global automotive industry, the Nikkei newspaper reported Tuesday.
Honda and Nissan are considering operating under a holding company, and soon will sign a memorandum of understanding, according to the report. They also look to eventually bring Mitsubishi Motors, in which Nissan is the top shareholder with a 24% stake, under the holding company.

The combined Nissan-Honda-Mitsubishi enterprise would equate to more than 8 million vehicle sales annually, according to Nikkei. That would place the company among the world’s largest automakers, but still below fellow Japanese automaker Toyota Motor, at 11.2 million in 2023, as well as German automaker Volkswagen, which last year reported sales of 9.2 million vehicles.
In similar statements, Honda and Nissan neither confirmed nor denied the report: “The reported content was not released by our company,” Honda said. “As announced in March of this year, Honda and Nissan are exploring various possibilities for future collaboration, leveraging each other’s strengths. We will inform our stakeholders of any updates at an appropriate time.”
The merger report follows the two Japanese automakers entering into a strategic partnership earlier this year on shared automotive components and software.
Such a tie-up would be the largest automotive industry merger since Fiat Chrysler joined with France-based PSA Groupe to form Stellantis in January 2021.
Automotive consultants and other experts have recently been calling for an increase in mergers and acquisitions to share costs and better compete against rapidly expanding Chinese automakers as well as U.S. all-electric vehicle leader Tesla.
U.S.-traded shares of Honda closed up about 1% on Tuesday. Over-the-counter shares of Nissan, which is in the middle of a restructuring, jumped more than 11%.

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Grubhub will pay $25 million to settle a lawsuit over alleged unlawful practices that harmed diners, workers and small businesses, the FTC announced on Tuesday.
The complaint claims that Grubhub deceived diners about delivery costs and blocked access to their accounts.
Rising prices among third-party food delivery services has continued to frustrate Americans looking to reduce extra fees.

An app-based delivery worker waits outside of a restaurant in New York City on July 7, 2023.
Spencer Platt | Getty Images

Grubhub will pay $25 million to settle a lawsuit from the Federal Trade Commission and Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul over alleged unlawful practices that harmed diners, workers and small businesses, the FTC announced on Tuesday.
The complaint claims that Grubhub deceived diners about delivery costs and blocked access to their accounts. The company also deceived workers about how much money they would make delivering food and listed restaurants on its platform without their permission.

“Our investigation found that Grubhub tricked its customers, deceived its drivers, and unfairly damaged the reputation and revenues of restaurants that did not partner with Grubhub — all in order to drive scale and accelerate growth,” FTC Chair Lina Khan said in a press release.
Grubhub has had as many as 325,000 unaffiliated restaurants on its platform, more than half of all of the available restaurants on Grubhub, according to the complaint. The company allegedly listed unaffiliated restaurants to drive growth, but diners often had to pay more in delivery fees from those restaurants which, in turn, damaged their reputations.
The complaint further alleged that Grubhub would often avoid removing unaffiliated restaurants off the platform when requested, instead trying to sell them paid partnerships.
As part of the settlement, the food delivery company will stop adding surprise fees that are often labeled as “service fees” or “small order fees,” stop listing unaffiliated restaurants on the platform, be more transparent about driver earnings, notify customers if their account has been blocked and provide more simple methods to cancel memberships.
Rising prices among third-party food delivery services have continued to frustrate Americans looking to reduce extra fees. Between 2022 and 2024, consumers reported higher yearly increases in their total checks on third-party apps compared to orders made directly through restaurant sites, according to Technomic.

The FTC complaint alleged that Grubhub would add on junk fees to delivery costs, often labeled as “service fees” or “small order fees,” despite having advertised that diners would pay a single, low-cost amount for Grubhub’s services tied to deliveries.
“At Grubhub, we’re committed to transparency so that every single day diners, restaurants and drivers can make well-informed choices to do business with us,” a Grubhub spokesperson wrote in a statement to CNBC. “While we categorically deny the allegations made by the FTC, many of which are wrong, misleading or no longer applicable to our business, we believe settling this matter is in the best interest of Grubhub and allows us to move forward.”
The settlement includes a monetary judgment of $140 million, but is partially suspended as Grubhub is unable to pay the full amount, according to the press release. The company will instead pay $25 million, nearly all of which will be used to refund consumers harmed by the company’s conduct. If Grubhub is found to have misrepresented its financial status, the full judgment would become immediately due, according to the press release.
“We believe the FTC agreed to suspend a portion of the judgment because we negotiated with them in good faith and provided extensive details about our business and financial performance,” the Grubhub spokesperson said. “Monetary judgments are not intended to cause irreparable harm or undue hardship for companies.”

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It has been a banner year for America’s unions. In November 33,000 machinists returned to their stations at Boeing having won a 38% wage increase over four years. Their victory followed a seven-week strike that brought the plane-maker to its knees. A month before, 47,000 dockworkers walked out for three days at some of the country’s busiest ports. Teamsters union members at Amazon warehouses in New York are threatening a strike. More

Starbucks Workers United has voted to authorize a strike as the union seeks a contract with the coffee giant.
Both sides are slated to meet for their last scheduled bargaining session of the year.
In late February, Starbucks and the union announced they would work on a “foundational framework” on how to reach a collective bargaining agreement for stores.

A Starbucks worker boards the Starbucks union bus after Starbucks workers stood on the picket line with striking SAG-AFTRA and Writers Guild of America members in solidarity outside Netflix studios in Los Angeles on July 28, 2023.
Mario Tama | Getty Images

Starbucks Workers United said Tuesday that 98% of union baristas have voted to authorize a strike as they seek a contract with the coffee giant.
Bargaining delegates are set to return to negotiations with Starbucks on Tuesday in the last scheduled session of the year with the goal of agreeing on a “foundational framework.” Starbucks and Workers United have spent hundreds of hours this year at the bargaining table, and both sides have put forward dozens of tentative agreements, the union said in a press release.

However, hundreds of unfair labor practice cases still have not been settled, and the union said Starbucks has not yet proposed a comprehensive package that would address barista pay and other benefits.
In a statement to CNBC, Starbucks disputed the union’s characterization and said the company remains committed to reaching a final framework agreement.
“It is disappointing that the union is considering a strike rather than focusing on what have been extremely productive negotiations. Since April we’ve scheduled and attended more than eight multi-day bargaining sessions where we’ve reached thirty meaningful agreements on dozens of topics Workers United delegates told us were important to them, including many economic issues,” the company said in the statement.
The strike authorization shows that relations between the two sides may again be cooling, after thawing in late February when both parties said they found a “constructive path forward” though mediation. Prior to that point, Starbucks had fought the union boom that swept across its company-owned locations for more than two years. The company’s attempts to curb the union movement led to backlash from some consumers and lawmakers, culminating with former CEO Howard Schultz testifying on Capitol Hill.
Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol, who joined the company in September, committed to bargaining in good faith in a letter addressed to the union in his first weeks on the job.

Niccol announced on Monday that the company would double its paid parental leave, starting in March. However, baristas will reportedly receive a smaller annual pay hike next year than they have in previous years, following a sales slump at its U.S. locations.
More than 500 company-owned Starbucks cafes have voted to unionize under Workers United since the first elections that took place in Buffalo three years ago.

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Some Walmart employees are now wearing body cameras in U.S. stores as part of a pilot program.
The tech, widely deployed in law enforcement, is now being expanded into retail to help deter conflict and prevent theft.
TJX Companies said earlier this year that its loss prevention employees are using body cameras in some locations.

The Walmart logo is seen outside of one of its stores in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania.
Paul Weaver | Lightrocket | Getty Images

Walmart has started giving store-level associates body cameras to wear as part of a pilot program at some of its U.S. locations, CNBC has learned. 
It’s not clear how many of Walmart’s stores have the recording devices, but some locations now have signs at entry points warning shoppers that it has “body-worn cameras in-use,” according to witnesses and photos posted online. 

In at least one store in Denton, Texas — about 40 miles north of Dallas — an associate checking receipts was seen wearing a yellow-and-black body camera earlier this month, according to a shopper who shared a photo with CNBC. 
“While we don’t talk about the specifics of our security measures, we are always looking at new and innovative technology used across the retail industry,” a Walmart spokesperson told CNBC. “This is a pilot we are testing in one market, and we will evaluate the results before making any longer-term decisions.”
Walmart, the largest nongovernmental employer in the U.S., is testing the technology after smaller retailers started trying body cameras at their own stores as a way to deter theft. Body cameras and the footage they gather are commonly advertised as a way to prevent shoplifting, but Walmart intends to use the tech for worker safety — not as a loss prevention tool, according to a person familiar with the program.
In a document titled “Providing great customer service while creating a safer environment,” staff are instructed on how to use the devices, according to a photo of the document posted on an online forum for Walmart employees and customers. It instructs employees to “record an event if an interaction with a customer is escalating” and to not wear the devices in employee break areas and bathrooms. After an incident occurs, staffers are told, they are to discuss it with another team member, who can help them log the event in the “ethics and compliance app,” according to the document. 
The body cameras at Walmart come during the thick of the holiday shopping season, when retail employees work long hours and face tough interactions with customers that can be more tense and hostile than usual. 

“There’s too much harassment that goes on throughout the year, but especially during the holiday season … it’s even worse,” said Stuart Appelbaum, president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union. “Everyone is stressed out. If they can’t find the item they’re looking for, they get upset and whom do they blame? They blame the shop worker.” 
However, it’s unclear whether body cameras actually help to deescalate conflict. Appelbaum, whose union does not represent Walmart employees but includes staff from retailers such as Macy’s and H&M, said the RWDSU is concerned that body cameras are more about surveillance and deterring theft than making employees safer.  
“Workers need training on deescalation. Workers need training on what to do during a hostile situation at work. The body camera doesn’t do that. The body camera doesn’t intervene,” said Appelbaum. “We need safe staffing and we need panic buttons.” 
Bianca Agustin, the co-executive director of United for Respect, a workers organization for Walmart and Amazon staffers, said the group has asked Walmart to provide more training for its employees but that the company hasn’t met those demands. She said body cameras could be part of the solution but cameras alone are “no substitute” for proper training.
“There’s a claim that the body cams are going to promote deescalation just organically. We don’t think that’s true,” said Agustin. “You see a lot of violence against workers already at the self-checkout kiosks when they even are attempting to [deter theft] … there’s a potential that this might hurt that [deterrence] … it also could provoke people.” 
Plus, “there’s already cameras in stores,” said Agustin. 

Bodycams from Motorola Solutions are in place at the docking station.
Klaus-Dietmar Gabbert | Picture Alliance | Getty Images

David Johnston, vice president of asset protection and retail operations for the National Retail Federation, the retail industry’s lobbying arm, provided a different perspective. He said the retailers he works with have said body cameras have helped to reduce conflict because people act differently when they know they’re being recorded, especially when those cameras are directly in front of a person. 
“Many of these body-worn cameras have reverse view monitors on them so … there’s a little video screen that you actually see yourself on camera. That in itself can be a very big deterrent,” said Johnston. “The moment that you see yourself is probably [when] you’re going to change your behavior, and that’s what I think the use of a body-worn camera can do.” 
As customers complain about merchandise being locked up in cases, body cameras are another technique retailers are trying out as they look to deter theft and make stores safer, said Johnston. 
“Walmart’s got tremendous exposure,” said Mark Cohen, former CEO of Sears Canada and former director of retail studies at Columbia Business School. “Walmart’s probably got a sales force that is very unhappy about what they’re exposed to … [and] feel like the store is not doing enough to protect the store and themselves. And this is a test to see whether it has any beneficial effects, both on deterring criminals and salving the anxiety and the irritation of their associates.”
Still, it’s not clear whether associates will feel better wearing body cameras. One longtime retail employee, who spent around a decade working at Hot Topic and has since left the industry, told CNBC that being threatened with violence was a regular part of the job, and they’re not sure body cameras would have stopped it.
“With these people, when they’re in our faces and they’re acting like they’re going to hit us or they’re making threats to meet us in the parking lot, they’re not thinking rationally,” said the former mall employee, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “Even with a camera facing them, I don’t think they would care in the moment.”
The former employee said a body camera wouldn’t have made them feel safer in those interactions, either, but having a police presence nearby would have helped.
Last year, the NRF’s annual security survey found that 35% of retailers who responded said they were researching body cameras for retail employees or loss prevention staff. While no respondents said body cameras were fully operational, 11% said the retailers were either piloting or testing the solution. 
TJX Companies is one of them. 
Earlier this year, the off-price giant said it had started using body cameras in its stores, which include its TJ Maxx, Marshall’s and HomeGoods banners. On a call with analysts after the company reported fiscal first-quarter earnings in May, finance chief John Joseph Klinger said the devices had been effective in reducing shrink, or lost inventory.
“One of the things that we’ve added — we started to do last year, late towards the year, wear body cameras on our [loss prevention] associates,” said Klinger. “And when somebody comes in, it’s sort of — it’s almost like a deescalation where people are less likely to do something when they’re being videotaped. So we definitely feel that that’s playing a role also.”
In a statement, a TJX spokesperson said the loss prevention associates who have body cameras have gone through “thorough training on how to use the cameras effectively in their roles.”
“Video footage is only shared upon request by law enforcement or in response to a subpoena. Body cameras are just one of the many ways that we work to support a safe store environment. This includes a variety of policies, trainings, and procedures,” the spokesperson said. “We hope that these body cameras will help us de-escalate incidents, deter crime, and demonstrate to our Associates and customers that we take safety in our stores seriously.” More

There will be fewer designer handbags or high heels under the Christmas tree this year. Spending on personal luxury goods is set to fall by 2% in 2024, according to Bain, a consultancy. Sales of fashion and leather items at LVMH, the world’s biggest luxury conglomerate, have tumbled. Kering, which owns Gucci, has issued a string of profit warnings. Anyone that receives Versace goodies from Santa may feel a little less pleased than usual. The luxury brand is selling 40% of its products at a discount. More