The fashion retailer has a new CEO, is expanding in the U.S. and will soon open a flagship in New York City. It just wants you to know it exists. Primark is making moves.  The fashion company last week appointed a CEO, Eoin Tonge, who had been acting as its interim for the past year.  The Dublin-founded retailer also recently celebrated its 10-year anniversary in the U.S., has been expanding its nationwide presence with new locations in Texas, Illinois, Tennessee and Florida, and is eyeing a flagship store opening in New York City’s Herald Square this spring.  Rene Federico, Primark’s U.S. head of marketing, is just ready for more people in this country to know about the company.  “We talk about ourselves as the best kept secret in amazing retail,” she said in an interview with Retail Dive this fall. “We don’t want to be such a kept secret anymore.”

QR codes are expected to play a key role in holiday shopping this year. Roughly three-quarters (74%) of consumers say they are likely to scan a QR code during Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping, according to a new report from Uniquode. Forty-four percent of consumers are more likely to scan a QR code during the two shopping holidays for the promise of a deal, while more than half (56%) shoppers say they will do so for a promotional offer. Nearly 50% of millennial and Gen Z respondents are “very likely” to scan QR Codes during retail sales, and 46% of Gen X say they are driven by deals by scan. Gen Z (41%) and millennials (40%) are also driven by discounts and deals, followed by faster checkout. More than a third (36%) of all consumers are not “entirely sold” on scanning QR codes.

The firm predicts that sales between November and January could reach $1.62 trillion, with e-commerce sales projected to grow up to 9%. Holiday sales in the U.S. are expected to increase between 2.9% and 3.4% this coming season, according to a Deloitte forecast. Deloitte projects holiday sales from November through January will total between $1.61 trillion and $1.62 trillion, up from $1.57 trillion last season, as recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau.  E-commerce holiday sales growth will continue at a clip of between 7% and 9%, similar to the previous year. Total e-commerce sales are projected to reach between $305 billion and $310.7 billion, up from $285 billion in the 2024 season.