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The gloves are coming off this holiday season, with retailers announcing unprecedented Thanksgiving openings and "Black Midnight" entering into the lexicon. Now Kohl's is making sure its efforts will be very well-funded.

Economic conditions have always had an impact on impulse purchases, habitual purchases and switch considerations. Consumers will rely more on “real-time” relevant communications, real-time reinforcement of purchase decisions, smarter search and comparison services, more flexible payment options, and most importantly, an uncanny ability to synchronize the experience from store to web.

London-based apparel brand Topshop is launching a new service to target busy shoppers this holiday season. Topshop’s personal shopping team will handpick gift items, based on a buyer’s requirement, and wrap each item individually. If the buyer approves of the selection, the wrapped presents will then be shipped out and arrive at the receiver’s doorsteps on Christmas Day.

If Halloween didn’t scare you enough this year, the fact that holiday shopping has already begun is sure to be a hair-raiser. Over half of polled shoppers fresh off of their sugar highs have taken to the internet to search for holiday gifts this season.

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In anticipation of the holidays, Performics has been tracking key paid search metrics for an aggregate group of retailer clients through the fourth quarter. Compared to the same week last year, retailers are dedicating significantly more budget to paid search leading up to Black Friday 2011.

J.C. Penney has innovated the traditional holiday gift tag by making it possible for customers to attach personal voice recorded messages to their purchases using QR codes.

WalmartLabs plans to open a 100-employee software-development center in Bangalore, India, by year-end. Wal-Mart Stores' digital division will create social and mobile applications, including apps that help in-store customers pinpoint the location of items they seek.

NEW YORK - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will be kicking off the official start to the holiday shopping season with special deals starting on Thanksgiving night. It's the latest retailer to woo crowds earlier than last year in a bid to get a jump on the competition. The world's largest retailer said that it will be offering discounts on toys, home accessories and clothing starting at 10 p.m. on Thanksgiving. That will be followed by midnight deals on electronics. Starting at 8 a.m. on the day after the holiday, it will expand the specials for the entire family that will

Groupon’s bid to expand into the Chinese market has hit a snag after discovering it had linked up with a company selling counterfeit luxury watches. The daily-deal giant has pledged to refund all customers who bought the Tissot watches after discovering they were fake.