big box

Men, who have endured slightly higher unemployment rates than women, have been taking on more of the household shopping, according to a recent report. The trend hasn't boded well for stores: On average, men spend less than women on each trip.

Thrifty shoppers looking for low prices on basics are frequently passing up the big boxes of Walmart for the tighter aisles of their local dollar stores. The cheaper upstarts have replaced no-name products with nationally known brands and revamped their interiors to lure in a new crop of bargain hungry customers.

The mammoth retailer plans to increase the number of its smaller-format stores and trim down the SuperCenters in new markets. The goal: To boost sales, especially among the lower-income households it considers its base.

Retailers are adjusting to an increasing number of customers buying food with food stamps. Some stores have had to change they way to do business to accommodate shoppers on food stamps, who flood the stores on the first day of the month, when the benefits arrive.

Best Buy has snapped up Circuit City's list of store cardholders and welcomed them to the fold. If you're on the list of cardholders who were invited to swap, Dan Ray, editor-in-chief of CreditCards.com, which wrote about the switcheroo, says take the new card and be grateful.If you didn't get the...