Target

1962 was a very big year for discount retailing, with the opening of the very first Target, Wal-Mart and Kmart locations.

Shoppers will continue to spend more this year, spurred by a slowly improving job market and an uptick in income, but enough shoppers are still struggling with their finances that any increase will be modest, a retail industry expert said.

Retailers appear to have overestimated the spending momentum of consumers and are delivering December sales numbers that show the poor economy still has the upper hand.

CrossView has announced the results of a study of some of the country’s largest retailers’ return policies. The study evaluated 88 U.S. retailers and found significant variations.

Top U.S. retailers including Wal-Mart and Target are battling to limit a new federal law that could force them to report whether their store-brand goods contain minerals from war-torn Central Africa.

Target posted a better-than-expected 23 percent increase in third-quarter profit after the discount retailer more than doubled its credit-card segment income and expanded its fresh-food offerings to boost sales.

Target is focused on helping customers “find, learn and buy,” and has taken 2010 to remodel its strategy, stores and messaging.

While Walmart and Target fight over toys, retail consultant Howard Davidowitz says the outcome of their battle will be decided in the electronics section, not the toy aisle. Christmas creep gets dialed back a notch — most retailers waited until now to begin their holiday push in earnest. And one of the few economic reports of the week takes the consumers' pulse. Listen to MarketWatch News Break.

While Wal-Mart and Target fight over toys, retail consultant Howard Davidowitz says the outcome of their battle will be decided in the electronics section, not the toy aisle.

The annual battle for the minds and wallets of toy-buying parents has gotten off to a particularly fierce start, with Wal-Mart Stores Inc. slashing prices in an effort to keep Target Corp. from being the low-cost leader this holiday shopping season.