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Sure, go ahead and regift that present your friend bought for you at Wal-Mart, but whatever you do, don't return it. The world's largest retailer is apparently slacking off on giving full refunds to customers with gift receipts, at least according to a recent report by CBS Boston. When a producer from the network attempted to return a TV originally purchased for $248 using a gift receipt, she was only able to get back $228 — the unit's new on-sale price. 

Staples has launched the Staples App Center, an online marketplace for cloud-based business applications. The App Center will allow small businesses to purchase and manage their apps all in one place. The center boasts a selection of...

You won't be alone if you have the winter blues this upcoming Monday. Coined "Blue Monday," Jan. 21 is considered to be the most depressing day of the year, and many people will be seeking mood boosters as a result. A new CouponCabin.com survey finds that one of those attitude adjusters is shopping, as more than one-third (36 percent) of U.S. adults said winter is the season they'd most likely shop in pursuit of retail therapy. 

Shopko has promoted Jill Soltau to president. Soltau will retain her position as the retailer's chief merchandising officer. In her expanded role, Soltau will continue to oversee Shopko's merchandising and product development, while assuming responsibility for marketing, e-commerce, inventory management and supply chain departments. Shopko will look to Soltau to continue focusing on the development and implementation of the company's merchandising strategy across all of its formats — Shopko, Shopko Hometown and Shopko.com — while also uniting branding and marketing strategy under her direction.

Voxware, a provider of voice solutions, yesterday released research highlighting why consumers return items purchased online or by phone and how their experiences with the return process affect their future purchase intentions with retailers.  Highlights from the survey, which collected responses from 600 consumers, include the following:

Best Buy has partnered with Listia, a web and mobile marketplace where customers can trade used items for new ones. According to the agreement terms, Listia will enable customers to trade their used items for new Best Buy products via its Rewards Store.

Helzberg Diamonds is now the exclusive national jewelry retail partner of David's Bridal, a bridal store chain with hundreds of locations in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. The new partnership creates a "unique, one-stop resource for brides-to-be," Helzberg Diamonds said, and will generate additional channels of consumer communication for both companies. Marketing efforts underway include Helzberg Diamonds' in-store signage at David's Bridal and product features on the David's Bridal website. Catalog and email marketing also will come into play.

Corporate marketing departments have added a social component to their marketing strategies, a necessary step in reaching this vast online audience. Smart companies have dedicated time, money and staff to building and maintaining reputable social networking platforms that engage with customers with the click of a mouse. Today's infographic takes us through the top 250 internet retailers on social media. These companies have excelled, creating highly engaging Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google+ and Pinterest pages, allowing their customers to interact with their brand without stepping foot in a storefront.

Stepping up to its rival Apple, Amazon has started a music store for iPhone users. This, clearly, is the online retailing giant’s answer to Apple’s own iTunes. Amazon has designed a web app for iPhones and iPads, which users do not have to download...

Target has debuted six brands that will be available exclusively online. The one-stop shop is not taking its e-commerce site Target.com for granted. While continuing to draw people into its physical stores with sales and other incentives, the retailer acknowledges the need to change as shoppers' habits change. Target divisional merchandise manager Theresa Schmidt recognizes that consumers are going online more often to shop from the comfort of their own homes, and the need to not only draw new consumers to its online site but also retain existing online consumers...