wal-mart

What to do with the gifts you hate

Every year there's always one or two gifts that prompt you to ask yourself "what were they thinking?" You know it's something you'll never use, and you're left with the question of what to do with it. This year, don't let it sit in your closet collecting dust, and most certainly don't throw it away. Turn that unwanted gift into something you do want, be it cash, a gift card, or another item you'll actually use. Here's a few different ways you can deal with the gift you loathe.

Sell … Read more

Facebook cozies up with Walmart for mobile-ad blitz

Some users may have noticed that on Black Friday, Walmart was ever-present in Facebook's mobile news feed. That's because the massive retailer was trying out an experiment -- it took out 50 million ads on the social network in an effort to drive users to its Web site for holiday deals.

This experiment was Facebook's biggest mobile advertising campaign ever, and it's looking like there will be more to come, according to the Wall Street Journal. The social network is apparently thinking about letting other companies partake in similar experiments.

Walmart's collaboration with Facebook was … Read more

So where will people shop today that isn't Amazon?

Today is expected to be one of the biggest days ever for online shopping, but where will people be making some of their purchases may be surprising.

According to Deepfield, which provides technology to track and analyze network performance, some of the top Internet retailers are the usual suspects, like Amazon, while some others, such as Shopify, are more unexpected.

The company conducted a large-scale study of online shopping infrastructure over the past several months, using data from its ongoing study of Internet backbone traffic.

What it has found is that Amazon, of course, dominates Internet retail. About 14 percent … Read more

How Walmart is going all out with mobile

TUSCON, Ariz.-- Here's the takeaway from a panel called, "Shopping Outside the Box: The Intersection of Data and Dollars," that took place at the Techonomy conference: For all retailers -- that means brick-and-mortar giants -- it's all about the data.

"Data is the weapon," said Dan Schulman, the Group President of Enterprise Growth at American Express.

And, increasingly, that data is coming from mobile devices. The challenges facing brick-and-mortar stores are only growing as online shopping moves from the desktop to smartphones. People look up prices online while they're inside a store. … Read more

Is Thanksgiving Day the new Black Friday?

Forget Black Friday and be sure to slam a Red Bull at the Thanksgiving table this year. You'll need it to offset the effects of that turkey's tryptophan and be primed for some serious shopping following the feast.

That's right. Black Friday is now Black Thursday.

Toys "R" Us is among the retailers that will call employees in on Thanksgiving evening to open its nationwide locations at 8 p.m. and help fulfill shoppers' "hot toy needs," according to a release. HDTVs and tablets like the Tabeo for kids and Samsung Galaxy Tab series are just a few of the hot digital toys the stores will be pushing for a possible second dessert on Thanksgiving night.… Read more

Woman buys iPad at Wal-Mart, gets box of notepads instead

We try never to state the obvious here, because, well, if something's obvious then it surely needs no words.

However, before this weekend begins and you begin to think about the holiday season, it's worth just mentioning one perhaps obvious thing.

When you buy a gadget, it's best to open the box at the store, just to check the gadget is actually in there.

I only mention this because of an ill-starred tale that come from the Lone Star State.

As Houston's KHOU tells it, Bobbi Linden went to Wal-Mart in Sealy, Texas, and bought her daughter an iPad for her 15th birthday.

Or at least she thought she did.… Read more

eBay copies Pinterest in redesign

Wednesday's CNET Update is bent out of shape:

eBay is changing with the times, and these are Pinteresting times. In today's tech news roundup, we look at the the new eBay. The online auctioneer has a redesigned homepage features large images of products in a "feed." Much like Pinterest, there's plenty to scroll through that can catch your eye and suck you into a black hole of browsing. The new look is rolling out over the next 100 days, but you can activate it now by going to ebay.com/feed. Search results and profiles … Read more

Wal-Mart aims to one-up Amazon with same-day delivery

Wal-Mart is testing a same-day delivery service in a bid to outmaneuver Amazon in the increasingly cutthroat retail world.

The Bentonville, Ark., retail giant has been tested the service in Northern Virginia, Philadelphia, and Minneapolis. It will next expand to San Francisco and San Jose, Calif.

The service, called Wal-Mart To Go, is a trial run for the holidays that lets customers order specific items and gifts, which can then be sent to their homes or offices that same day. Orders have to be made by noon, and there is a charge of $10 with no minimum order requirement.

"… Read more

Wal-Mart fires Kindle, kicks it out of its store

Wal-Mart will no longer sell Amazon's Kindle products, highlighting the tensions between the online and physical retail worlds.

The retailing giant confirmed in an e-mail that it would no longer carry the product beyond its current inventory. Reuters earlier reported the decision.

Amazon declined to comment.

The decision to cease selling Amazon's products comes as the online retailer is eating into physical retail chains, also known as brick-and-mortar stores. With more consumers browsing in stores but making purchases online, retailers face the risk of declining sales -- an issue that has shut down companies such as Borders and … Read more