NEW YORK — Retailers from discounter Target to department-store chain Macy’s reported better-than-expected sales in March in the latest sign that Americans are feeling better about the economy. A combination of warm weather and high demand for spring fashions boosted ...

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And more power to them. I happened upon this New York Times article over the weekend: How Companies Learn Your Secrets. The gist (it’s about 7,000 words, but it’s a quick read) is that Target hires statisticians to increase revenue. ...

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NEW YORK — Retailers reported mixed sales results for January in a sign that American shoppers are continuing to be cautious about when and where they spend their money in the shaky economy. Of the 12 merchants reporting monthly sales ...

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WASHINGTON — Retail sales barely rose in December, but the gain was enough to lift sales to a record level for 2011. It marked the largest annual increase in more than a decade. Sales inched up 0.1 percent in December ...

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NEW YORK — Many retailers delivered solid sales gains for December, but heavy discounts needed to get shoppers to buy exacted a high price, clouding the holiday shopping season. Merchants had to mark down coats and other gifts to get ...

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NEW YORK — A flurry of post-Christmas bargain shopping helped drive sales higher in the last week of December, according to a report Wednesday from a shopping mall trade group. Increased gift card use, mild weather and a federal holiday ...

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ATLANTA — Are you ready to “Respect the Roll?” Kimberly-Clark is looking to shake up the toilet-paper accessory category with toilet roll covers from designer Jonathan Adler. To boost awareness about a new formulation of its Cottonelle toilet paper that ...

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Who doesn’t enjoy a good love story? The “engagement” of two of Baltimore’s beloved icons was the most-read Maryland Business blog post in 2011. Other popular posts included the rebirth of a legendary Baltimore restaurant, new development in Canton and ...

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NEW YORK — The holiday shopping season turned out to be two seasons split by a big lull. A surge in buying in the two weeks before Christmas coupled with a record-breaking Black Friday gave retailers a solid season. The ...

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ATLANTA — Best Buy has alerted some customers that it will not be able to fill their online orders, just days before Christmas. The largest U.S. specialty electronics retailer said late Wednesday that “overwhelming demand for some products from Bestbuy.com ...

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