Holiday window displays are a New York City retail institution, with eye-catchingly elaborate scenes typically highlighting fashion, jewelry, or toys behind the glass. This year, a 60-year-old Greenwich Village specialty staple is turning the spotlight, instead, on cheese.

Passersby on New York City’s bustling Bleecker Street this holiday season have been treated to a cheesy cityscape in the window of Murray’s Cheese, a shop operating in the neighborhood since 1962. The handmade display, unveiled last month, depicts a miniature Murray’s flanked by strolling cartoonish cheese characters. The effort is part of Murray’s “Where there’s cheese, there’s cheer” campaign supporting the shop’s busiest season, as shoppers pick up wares for yuletide charcuterie spreads.

“This is a busy street; people walk fast,” Sheila Haile, head of marketing, brand, and creative for Murray’s Cheese, told Retail Brew, showing off the display. “[The window] stops people. And then they get that, like, ‘Oh, look at that,’ which is what we wanted. We wanted to just capture that little warmth of the holiday.”

The store features a wall-to-wall case filled with specialty cheeses—some wrapped in a spruce binding, covered in bourbon-soaked leaves, or rubbed in Sri Lankan curry powder—helmed by cheesemongers eager to give you recommendations or even a taste for yourself. With its holiday campaign, Murray’s is leaning into community (“We don’t sell cheese; we serve cheese,” Haile noted) and finding sharper ways to engage cheese lovers and novices alike.

Keep reading here.—EC

It used to be that the frenzy of Black Friday and Cyber Monday was tied to a set few days at the end of November.

That’s no longer the case.

The window for holiday-timed sales has crept up earlier and earlier, with major brands like Ulta, Lowe’s, and Best Buy pitching preliminary sales as early as late October this year. Some have leaned fully into the “creep” aspect, releasing ads that nod to the phenomenon.

The result is that, around the time that Black Friday and Cyber Monday come around, a nearly monthlong sales promotion is already in full swing, with shoppers on the hunt for deals and marketers at the ready with ads pitching said deals.

“The fact that we branded it as Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and now it’s Black November for some brands is a little confusing,” Kevin Simonson, CEO at performance marketing agency adMixt, told Marketing Brew.

The extended sales window has changed the nature of the holiday shopping season, and even potentially dimmed its significance, according to ad agency execs, who say that the extended sales period combined with other sales events throughout the year softens the power of Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Keep reading here on Marketing Brew.—KM

The long-anticipated December Federal Reserve meeting is this week, and a big rate decision is potentially coming down the pike. Many economists are expecting the Fed to cut rates in order to bolster an uncertain economy, but no one knows for sure until Fed Chair Jerome Powell speaks about the board’s decision on Wednesday.

Here’s what’s going on in retail this week:

In conferences: From Wednesday to Friday, the Automated Retail and Kiosk Innovation Show—formerly known as the Self-Service Innovation Summit—is coming to Tampa, Florida, to showcase new technologies and trends in vending and self-service retail. Speakers include executives from fast-casual chains, robotics and automation firms, and other industry experts.

On Wednesday and Thursday, the 2025 Commerce Insights Conference is taking place virtually. Formerly known as the Retail Insights Conference, the event looks at emerging trends in the retail industry and provides actionable insights on how to navigate them. Breakout sessions will touch on topics such as channel strategy, emerging health and wellness trends, and pricing tactics, to name a few.

Keep reading here.—AV