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TJX Companies Inc announced that it has acquired Sierra Trading Post, an off-price Internet retailer based in Cheyenne, Wyoming. The purchase price of approximately $200 million, which is subject to customary post-closing adjustments, was paid in cash and...

Many frontline customer service reps are judged on how quickly they can get a customer off the phone, a metric we've repeatedly pointed out leads to customers’ issues going unresolved. But the folks at Zappos.com apparently aren't as clock-minded, with one record-setting call crossing the nine-hour mark. In fact, that endurance test of a phone call was closer to 10 hours, clocking in at nine hours and 37 minutes.

The U.S. Postal Service has announced a strategic alliance for Metro Post with 1-800-FLOWERS.COM. Metro Post is a same-day delivery service trial that launched yesterday in San Francisco, just in time for last-minute gift ideas during the holidays. Metro Post will be available for purchases involving four of 1-800-FLOWERS.COM's gourmet gift brands, including popcorn and specialty treats from The Popcorn Factory; cookies and baked gifts from Cheryl's; premium chocolates and confections from Fannie May fine chocolates; and gift baskets and towers from 1-800-Baskets.com.

Sometimes it pays to procrastinate. Millions of us still need to buy holiday gifts, and retailers want that business. So they've lowered prices to attract last-minute shoppers. "Retailers are definitely slashing prices," said Chris Garlotta, co-founder of ZingSale.com, a site that monitors prices for more than 10,000 products sold by hundreds of merchants on Amazon.com. "We found aggressive discounts that are often significantly better than Black Friday deals."

H&M may have pledged not to “knowingly” use Uzbek cotton in its clothes, but labor-rights campaigners say the Swedish apparel giant isn’t doing enough to support an end to state-sponsored child labor in the Central Asian nation. Because Uzbekistan is one...

The first one lands before the sun comes up: "Sale! Our buyers' favorite picks up to 50% off." An hour later, there's another: "4 deals inside and everything ships free!" By the time you get to work, even more: "Exactly What She Wants: Chic Shoes and Handbags on Sale Now!" In the avalanche of messages hitting inboxes this time of year, retailers' emails work extra hard to stand out, with painstakingly-crafted sales pitches that nudge you through a desired progression that starts with opening the email, reading it, clicking through to the website and, finally, the holy grail, making the purchase.

If you've visited Google Shopping recently, you might confuse the search giant for a retailer. Despite the visual cues, said Sameer Samat, Google Shopping's vice president of product management, in an interview with AllThingsD, the company has no aspirations to open a store. "We aren't planning on being a retailer," he said. "We don't view being a retailer right now as the right decision."

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Dec. 20, 2012 -- /PRNewswire-iReach/ --Posted on by gsrpbs For years we have watched as most mom and pop stores and franchises have gone out of business. The local hardware store became Home Depot and Builder's Square. The local...

BOCA RATON, Fla. -- Office Depot (NYSE:ODP), a leading global provider of office supplies and services, announced today that it has entered into an agreement to sell its Office Depot Hungary business to Central Fund Venture Capital Fund. The transaction...

You need to enable Javascript to play media on Bloomberg.com With President Barack Obama endorsing sweeping gun restrictions in the wake of the school shootings in Newtown, Connecticut, prices for handgun magazines are surging on EBay (EBAY) and...