Home Depot will take over a four-story, 120,000-square-foot retail space in New York City when Bed Bath & Beyond's lease on the space expires next year. The store will be the home improvement retailer's third retail space in Manhattan.

Lululemon Athletica has unveiled 12 goals aimed at creating pay equity, promoting diversity and inclusion, and protecting the environment. The workout wear retailer plans to hit full pay equity by 2022, spend $75 million on well-being programs over the next five years and manufacture all of its products with sustainable materials within a decade.

J.C. Penney has finalized a deal to sell its operating and retail assets to mall owners Simon Property Group and Brookfield Asset Management, an agreement that's expected to let the retailer emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The agreement also calls for a group of the retailer's lenders to take possession of the company's real estate.

IKEA describes the return on its 45 shopping malls in Europe, China and Russia as robust under the circumstances, though traffic had dropped by nearly 25% in the 12 months ending in August. The company says, though, it still plans to expand into the US in 2021 with a mall in San Francisco.

Women are spending more on larger, more expensive handbags that are less likely to be discounted, according to Kate Spade and Coach parent Tapestry, which saw its revenue per purse grow upwards of 25% during the first quarter. Consumers are probably buying bigger bags to hold bottles of hand sanitizer and other anti-coronavirus supplies, SW Retail Advisors' Stacey Widlitz said.

Demand for Halloween costumes was delayed this year because of the pandemic, but it hit in a sudden spurt in August and Morris Costumes, a North Carolina company that supplies costumes to retailers, is mailing out about 30,000 daily packages, co-owner Scott Morris said. In a sign of the times, many plan to dress up as hand sanitizer, coronavirus and rolls of toilet paper, he said.

Classic toys including Tonka trucks, Legos and Hot Wheels are soaring in popularity during the coronavirus crisis and the category is expected to be a hot one this holiday season, according to analysts. US gift shoppers are forecast to spend $650 on average this year, according to NRF, and parents typically put kids at the top of their shopping lists.

NRF joined the US Chamber of Commerce and other business groups in signing a letter urging Americans to be patient as votes are tallied across the US starting next week. "Taking some of that tension down when it comes to the election process, and reminding everyone that we do have a system with a high degree of integrity, is a healthy activity," said David French, NRF's senior vice president for government relations.

Retailers are planning for an earlier start to the holiday season and have the inventory and sales in place to meet consumer demand. They're also planning for more online and omnichannel orders this holiday season compared with last year. Read more about how this holiday season will be different.

Consumers plan to spend a total of $8 billion on Halloween this year. Source: Prosper Insights & Analytics.

Many retailers recognize the importance of this election and have doubled down on their efforts to encourage citizens to vote. Levi Strauss & Co.'s "Time to Vote" campaign encourages companies to give their employees time off to vote. Patagonia and J. Crew are closing their stores, offices and distribution centers on Election Day, while others including Walmart, Apple, Levi's and Gap Inc. give employees a few hours of paid time off to vote if their schedules do not allow for it. Read more.

McDonald's restaurants nationwide will put the limited-time McRib sandwich on the menu on Dec. 2, the biggest rollout of the cult favorite since 2012. The pork sandwich, which launched in 1982, comes back every year but typically on a smaller scale, and the chain has created a locator app to help fans find it.