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In publishing, they're calling it "the Moses Tablet." Such is the potential seen in Apple's recently released iPad, the bigger version of the iPhone — sans phone. But that potential extends to retailers too, and with its big, shiny, multitouch, high-definition screen, the iPad may be the best visual selling space since catalogs.

The Labor Department reported that 36,000 jobs were lost in February, in addition to the 8.4 million that have vanished since the Great Recession began. The unemployment rate still sits at 9.7 percent. But not every big company has been hunkering down and waiting for the economy to recover--some are expanding right now to gain market share while their weaker competitors flounder. Looking at data from publicly traded companies, Forbes created a top 10 list of publicly traded companies that added the most workers organically in 2009. It includes blue chips like Amazon.com, Comcast and Lowe's. The group is a window into where the recovery will take place.

Brands endear themselves to their customers by creating products that become part of their customers’ lives. Products endear themselves to customers by making their lives easier, simpler or better in some way.

Amazon.com Inc. pulled the plug on its marketing affiliates in Colorado after the state enacted a law that imposes new sales-tax regulations on online retailers. On Monday, Amazon sent an email to members of its associates program, who earn a fee for providing links to the online retailer on their own Web sites. In the email, Amazon informed them it was ending its business with them as of that day. "As a result of the new law," Amazon said, "we have decided to stop advertising through associates based in Colorado." The Seattle retailer added that it would continue to sell to Colorado residents and advertise through other channels.

With an April 15 tax deadline looming, now is the time for businesses to address their tax responsibilities. Here are five tips to help make this a painless - and possibly profitable - experience.

The jury will be out for some time on just how much money can be made directly from social media. But retailers rooted in stores, catalogs and the web have worked diligently to explore ways they can squeeze incremental revenue from this emerging channel.

Cross-channel retail integration can mean many different things to many different people. It can refer to integrating a brand across a variety of channels, such as retail store, website and catalog, for example, which Brent Niemuth discusses in "The Integrated Shopper," beginning on page 13. Niemuth explains that for consumers to really connect with a brand, they must have the same brand experience online, in-store or with its catalog.

Sales tax collection responsibility is an issue that no online retailer wants to hear about for the first time during a state tax audit. In almost every state, the party responsible for payment of a sales tax isn't the company that's made the sale. Ultimate responsibility lies instead with consumers making purchases. When a seller has sales tax nexus in a state, its role is limited to collection and remittance of the tax. If a seller doesn't have sales tax nexus, it has no obligation to collect tax. The consumer in this case is obligated to self-assess a “use tax.”

Making changes to a website doesn’t have to mean spending a lot of money or months overhauling the site and operating platform. Tweaks can be made to increase sales and improve site performance and customer satisfaction that don’t cost a lot, and can be implemented in a matter of weeks. Consider the following three strategies:

For most multichannel retailers, developing marketing plans and budgets for 2010 is a daunting task. After two years of tough economic climates that meant sales reductions and downsizing for many, now’s the time to build a plan for another — perhaps better, yet uncertain — year.