Ho-Ho-Hold on a Minute, Xmas in July?

$41.2B weekend total beats 2008 haul by $1.2B

(NEWSER) - Thanksgiving weekend retail sales totaled $41.2 billion, a .5% jump over last year's $41 billion, but the average shopper spent 8% less than in 2008, $343.31 against $372.57. Discounts, especially on electronics and toys, were the overwhelming attraction as cautious consumers pried open their wallets, Bloomberg reports. Retailers "know they have their work cut out for them to keep people coming back through Christmas," said the head of the National Retail Federation. More»

(NEWSER) - Sears is taking the “Christmas in July” trope to a whole new level. With June retail sales tumbling, the company is looking for a boost by selling actual Christmas products, Time reports. Soon, 372 Sears stores will roll out displays hawking tree ornaments, stocking stuffers, and other decidedly off-season wares. Online, Kmart and Sears invites customers to “Shop Christmas Lane.” More»

Online retailer beat the market with HDTVs, iPods, and Wii

(NEWSER) - The Grinch apparently didn’t sour shoppers on Amazon this year: The company said today the 2008 holiday season was its “best ever,” MarketWatch reports. Amazon sold more than 6.3 million items worldwide on Dec. 15, its peak day, amounting to “a record-breaking 72.9 items per second.” Last year it sold 5.4 million units on its top day. More»

Boots, joke books, comfort clothes score big in recession

(NEWSER) - Christmas shoppers are thinking small this year, and the gifts they're buying reveal how Americans are coping with recession, USA Today reports. Here's a list of today's trends:

• Practical: Nearly half of the most popular items searched for online were boots, according to one mall inventory service. Gifts that help people organize and save time, like USB flash drives, are also popular.

Retailer expects blockbuster season as cash-strapped shoppers seek bargains

(NEWSER) - Wal-Mart is readying for bumper sales while most US retailers brace themselves for a miserable holiday season, the New York Times reports. Squeezed consumers are flocking to the discount chain as the economic downturn begins to bite. The firm is expected to report a modest increase in sales for October, while most retail chains fear a coming "bloodbath" of huge sales slumps. More»