January 25, 2012
NEW YORK (AP) — J.C. Penney is permanently marking down all of its merchandise by at least 40 percent so shoppers will no longer have to wait for a sale to get the lowest prices in its stores.
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January 13, 2012
NEW YORK (AP) — Target is teaming up with unique specialty shops to offer limited edition merchandise, from dog biscuits to platform shoes, as it attempts to further distinguish itself from rivals.The company also confirmed reports Thursday that it...
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January 4, 2012
NEW YORK (AP) — A flurry of post-Christmas bargain shopping helped drive sales higher in the last week of December, according to a report today from a shopping mall trade group. Increased gift card use, mild weather and a federal holiday on Monday...
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December 27, 2011
Four new types of American shoppers have emerged this holiday season. There's the bargain hunter who times deals. The midnight buyer who stays up late for discounts. The returner who gets buyer's remorse. And the "me" shopper who self-gifts.
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NEW YORK (AP) — Americans are gaining faith that the economy is on the upswing. An improving job outlook helped the Consumer Confidence Index soar to the highest level since April and near a post-recession peak, according to a monthly survey by The...
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December 20, 2011
NEW YORK (AP) — A trade group for U.S. malls is reporting a sharp increase in sales for the week that ended Saturday, but shoppers are still behind in holiday buying compared with a year ago.
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December 1, 2011
NEW YORK (AP) — Oh, what a difference a weekend can make. Shoppers taking advantage of big discounts and earlier store hours during the start of the holiday shopping season last weekend helped boost retailers' revenue for the entire month of Novembe...
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October 31, 2011
NEW YORK (AP) — Macy's Inc. says it will open all of its namesake stores at midnight following Thanksgiving for the first time, becoming the latest retailer to extend hours on the traditional kickoff to the holiday season.
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October 25, 2011
NEW YORK (AP) — Americans say they feel worse about the economy than they have since the depths of the Great Recession. Consumer confidence fell in October to the lowest since March 2009, a research group said Tuesday — an ominous sign for the...
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October 24, 2011
NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart, the world's largest retailer, announced a new holiday price-matching strategy that aims to pull in procrastinators early by giving them a big incentive: a guarantee they'll get the lowest prices no matter when they buy durin...
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October 21, 2011
NEW YORK (AP) — Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the nation's largest private employer, is scaling back health care coverage for future part-time workers while raising premiums for some full-time workers.
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October 19, 2011
NEW YORK (AP) — Retailers are so desperate this holiday season that they're willing to lose money to get you to spend yours. Take online jeweler Stauer. It's offering a $249 amethyst necklace for free — provided customers pay the $24.95 it cos...
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October 14, 2011
NEW YORK (AP) — Gap Inc. plans to close stores in the U.S., while expanding in China.
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October 12, 2011
NEW YORK (AP) — What Wal-Mart Stores Inc. says about how it's reversing a slump in its namesake U.S. business will be at the front of analysts' minds at the company's annual meeting with Wall Street on Wednesday. The discounter also is expected to o...
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October 6, 2011
NEW YORK (AP) — Americans shopped in September, but only when they thought they were getting a deal. The International Council of Shopping Centers said Thursday that revenue rose 5.5 percent in September as several retailers including Target, Limite...
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September 22, 2011
NEW YORK (AP) — Target is a victim of its own success.
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September 8, 2011
NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart is bringing back something its customers have been asking for since the Great Recession: layaway. The world's largest retailer, which ditched the pay-as-you-go plans in 2006, is rolling out a holiday layaway plan from Oct. 17...
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August 19, 2011
NEW YORK (AP) — Stores are trying everything they can think of to disguise that you're going to pay more for clothes this fall.
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February 14, 2011
NEW YORK (AP) — The era of falling clothing prices is ending. Clothing prices have dropped for a decade as tame inflation and cheap overseas labor helped hold down costs. Retailers and clothing makers cut frills and experimented with fabric blends t...
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January 27, 2011
NEW YORK (AP) — As drugstores increasingly compete with grocers, there's good news for shoppers, especially those living alone.Beyond chips and soda, the offerings at Walgreens, CVS/Pharmacy and other drug store chains now include pantry staples and...
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August 19, 2010
NEW YORK (AP) — A dollar for a 40-ounce bottle of ketchup? Yawn. Four bucks for a 12-pack of Coke? No sale.Even deep discounts on everyday items don't seem to be enough to get Walmart shoppers to bite these days, and other chains are worried America...
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July 21, 2010
NEW YORK (AP) — Santa in the summer?Retailers are pumping still more energy this year into trying to get shoppers to loosen their purse strings early for Christmas with sparkly ornaments, holiday music and special prices. In July.
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June 24, 2010
NEW YORK (AP) — Tired of getting back in line at the store because you forgot shampoo?Many merchants, from startups to big retailers, are getting into the business of selling personal-care basics like toothpaste, deodorant and shampoo online.But buy...
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October 7, 2009
NEW YORK (AP) — With even super affluent shoppers tightening their Gucci belts, luxury retailer Neiman Marcus Group Inc. unveiled its Christmas Book on Tuesday with a nod to this new frugality.
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June 24, 2009
The recession steered a new type of customer to Walmart — deeper in the pockets and suddenly looking for bargains. Now the world's largest retailer has to figure out how to keep that customer when the economy recovers.So Walmart is bringing in more...
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