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With national retail sales expected to increase only slightly throughout the entire holiday season, just 10 days will make or break the period for retailers, according to ShopperTrak. The week before Christmas will be especially important this year, as five of the top sales and foot traffic days will occur between Dec. 18 and Dec. 24.

Thrifty isn't just the spending mantra for shoppers these days. It's also the new marketing plan for a growing number of retailers. As the recession squeezed the middle class, many people shifted their preference for buying name-brand goods at the local grocery or department store to seeking cheaper brands, store-brand goods or discount prices.

Amazon’s delivery locker system, which was first tested last month in Seattle, has been activated in New York City. Instead of having a package delivered to your home or business address, people who live near to a locker location can choose to send it there and then collect it at a convenient time using a unique code.

While brick and mortar retailers are trying to figure out if they should open at the strike of midnight on Black Friday — or even jump the gun and get started with sales on Thanksgiving Day — e-tailers don't really need to be concerned, since they follow (outages not included) a 24/7/365 operating schedule. But Amazon.com is not a company to let others get a jump on it and so has launched its very own Black Friday Deals store. Okay, we and everyone else knows it is simply a marketing device, but since someone at Amazon thought of it

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Popular searches on the Internet Wednesday include Google(GOOG) Previously, comments made on Facebook and other social networking sites did not show up in Google searches because search engines were unable to read Facebook's programming automatically. Now, Google will be able to read comments posted on Facebook using Facebook's Connect add-in for other Web sites. If a Facebook account holder signs into another Web site using his or her Facebook account and leaves a comment, that comment can now show up in Google searches. Comments left on Facebook alone are not yet being indexed. Lenovo is

Toys"R"Us and Li & Fung Retailing have established a joint venture for the Toys"R"Us business in Southeast Asia and greater China. Existing Toys"R"Us licensed operations throughout Asia, which includes more than 100 stores and offices across nine markets, will become 70 percent owned by Toys"R"Us and 30 percent owned by Li & Fung Retailing.

Macy's announced plans to invest in a four-year, $400 million upgrade of its flagship store in Herald Square in New York City. The upgraded store will have expanded selling space and be equipped with more technology, including interactive product directories and streaming videos as well as an app for the outlet. Work will begin in early spring 2012 and continue in phases through the fall of 2015. "The excitement, size and scale of this remodel reinforces our conviction that Macy's Herald Square is and will remain a retail store in a class by itself," says Terry J. Lundgren, CEO

As Zellers gears up for the holiday shopping season, the retailer has decided to put its fans in charge of holiday planning during the busiest time of the year. The Festive Finale campaign will see Zellers' shoppers making the tough decisions — choosing the Facebook exclusive coupon each week, picking the in-store music playlist and recording the radio ads for national broadcast.

PLANTATION, Fla. -- Dreams, Inc. (NYSE Amex: DRJ), a technology driven, multi-channel retailer focused on the licensed sports products industry, has generated $9.1 million in revenues through its e-commerce division for the month of October 2011, an increase of 32% over the same month last year. The increase was attributable to organic growth with the company’s flagship site, www.FansEdge.com, combined with an expanding portfolio of web syndication clients. “We continue to see an increase in online purchases from fans who demand a greater range of sports merchandise,” said Ross Tannenbaum, Dreams’ president & CEO. “We are very well

O.co announced that it will offer a free 60-day trial for Club O, its exclusive customer rewards program. The free trial includes free shipping on all products, 5 percent back in Club O Rewards Dollars for every purchase, and access to exclusive shopping events. Anytime during the 60-day trial customers can choose to opt out of the membership.