blackfriday

Consumers can expect a holiday shopping season heavy on promotional offers as stores offer sweet bargains on all manner of products amid a still-sluggish economy -- good news for buyers of tablet computers, smartphones and video games, all predicted to be big gift items this year.

Target is getting a head start on the biggest online shopping day of the year. The cheap-chic discounter sent out an email blast on Sept. 26 touting "Cyber Monday in September." "Lucky You. These Cyber Monday deals couldn't wait until November. Better hurry," coos Target.com.

Consumers will spend a bit more this holiday shopping season, but there will be fewer of them in stores, predicts research firm ShopperTrak. It forecasts that national retail sales will rise 3% during November and December compared to the year before, but foot traffic will fall 2.2%.

When it comes time for children both naughty and nice to make their holiday shopping lists and check them twice, they may have a few things in common. Click inside for a peek at why Toys R Us thinks these will be some of the hottest toys of the 2011 holiday season.

Toys R Us took the wrapping paper off its strategy to "win" this Christmas season, unveiling a raft of exclusive merchandise, such as new toy line Moshi Monsters, based on the online children's game, and a beefed up e-commerce operation to better serve shoppers.

Anyone who's seen a headline declaring that $3 appliances will be on sale at Target on Black Friday 2010, might think it was referring to major appliances, like dishwashers or stoves. But don't get too excited, Target's Black Friday ad is referring to small kitchen appliances like toasters and hand...

Outlet malls may not be able to compete with traditional department stores once Black Friday hits, but a smart outlet shopper can get a head start on savings if they know how to spot a bargain in those stores. If you are savvy about how outlet store prices work, then you know that the longer an...

National Layaway Week has already come and gone (Oct 4- Oct 8 according to Kmart, which invented the event), a full seven weeks before Black Friday and 11 weeks before Christmas. But it's not too late to do your shopping now and have enough time to make the payments to get your items out of hock by...

Zhu Zhu Pets have been this year's Beanie Babies: toys that are so ridiculous in concept, so cheap and simple in execution that you knew they were going to cause long lines and incredible prices on the Black Friday back-alley aftermarket. This year being as it was, retailers were accused of...

Over the Thanksgiving weekend, I swiped my debit card to get on the light rail and was billed for a bus ticket the machine wouldn't give me. I had to pay $1.50 again to get my oldest son onto our next connection. I know! Frustrating. As someone who's always living on the very edge of black in her...