Retailers Slash Selection in Response to Recession

Recession isn't over as far as consumers are concerned

(NEWSER) - If the recession is indeed waning, nobody told consumers. Retailers of every kind reported lousy sales for the quarter ended Aug. 1, the Wall Street Journal reports. Target’s same-store sales fell 6.2%, Home Depot’s dropped 9.1% and Saks’ plummeted a whopping 15.5%. And with unemployment, stagnant wages, and tight credit squeezing shoppers, executives don’t expect to see improvement until next spring. More»

Watchers see ploy to hold on to middle class post-recession

(NEWSER) - Wal-Mart will discount around 10,000 items in the face of dipping sales, even as other retailers report increases in business. The move could be a ploy to hang on to middle-class shoppers, who flocked to the big-box behemoth in the depths of the recession but have been upgrading as the economic outlook brightens, analysts tell the Wall Street Journal . Not so, says Wal-Mart. More»

Consumers not too downtrodden for 5am campouts

(NEWSER) - Economic woes didn’t prevent shoppers from camping out outside stores across the country this morning, as retailers offered especially deep Black Friday discounts. Most opened early as well, with some, including Wal-Mart and many Old Navy stores, opening yesterday to get a jump on things. Toys R Us opened most of its stores at midnight. More»

(NEWSER) - Wal-Mart plans to begin asking suppliers to provide info on the environmental impact of their operations so the store can put so-called green rating labels on its products, the Wall Street Journal reports.The first cards probably won't appear for a few years, but given Wal-Mart's clout as the world's biggest retailer, the move could have a profound effect on the entire industry. Some say it could mean higher prices as well. More»

100 shopping centers could be 'dead' by year's end

(NEWSER) - A half-century-old American standby is ailing as shopping malls around the country struggle to stay afloat, the Wall Street Journal reports. Same-store sales in shopping centers fell 6.5% in the year ending March 31, and the biggest mall operator has seen sales drop 7.3%. Some 100 malls could be labeled “dead” by the end of the year, analysts say—and only one new one has been built since 2006. More»