Retail Stores

In case you haven’t noticed the changes taking place in retail stores across the country, I'm here to report that orange is out and red and green are in. That’s right, the holiday season has officially begun. From tinsel to snowflakes, stores are already decked out in their holiday finest hoping to entice shoppers to open their wallets and spread some cheer.

eBay announced plans to open its first physical store in London next month. The shop will feature display models of the shopping site’s 200 most popular items, all embedded with QR codes to allow shoppers to instantly find the item online.

It appears that J.C. Penney is a leading yuletide marketing warrior based on the Promoted Tweets it's purchased with terms involving competitor Target with Black Friday only four days away.

The Occupy Wall Street movement is setting its sights on Black Friday, with the goal of "hitting the 1 percent where it hurts — right in the wallet," according to its website StopBlackFriday.com.

Staples announced that it's working with Gazelle, a consumer electronics re-commerce service, to launch an electronics trade-in program. Through the program, Staples will accept the trade in of used electronics from more than 20 product categories regardless of where they were purchased, according to the company.

Thanks to e-gifting, instant delivery through Facebook, personalized video and even mobile options, gift cards have become unique gift ideas in their own right. According to the National Retail Federation's 2011 Holiday Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey conducted by BIGresearch, holiday shoppers are expected to spend an average of $155.43 on gift cards, the highest amount since 2007 and up from $145.61 last year.

While thousands of people her age are busy camping out in various Occupy movements around the country, a Florida woman decided to occupy the sidewalk outside her local Best Buy in order to be the first person to be disappointed by the Black Friday offerings on Nov. 25.

How will holiday shoppers find the best prices or the most unique gifts? Will they flip through a circular, find it online, through email, or browse store floors? As the holiday shopping season kicks into gear, companies that demonstrate an understanding of customers’ preferences are likely to pique more interest.

New York & Co. reported that its loss widened in the third quarter to $6 million from $4 million last year. Sales dropped to $216.7 million, compared with $238.2 million a year earlier. Same-store sales decreased 5.2 percent.

Though there are already plenty of great deals on everything from e-readers and smartphones to apparel and toys, Americans know there's only one Black Friday — and the best is yet to come.