Holiday ‘pop-up’ stores are going upscale

For two months this holiday season, an empty jewelry store in midtown Manhattan has been magically transformed into a toy train shop, complete with a Christmas tree and electric engines chugging along miniature tracks.

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Big companies party like it’s 2009

Caviar and cocktails are out, while casseroles and cookie trays are in as many employers scale back holiday party plans this year in recognition of an economy still struggling through a deep downturn.

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Consumers are changing, but are retailers?

The recession has dramatically changed many Americans’ shopaholic habits, at least temporarily and perhaps forever.

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Retailers tiptoe between Christmas, holidays

Two things stoked Erin Nash’s anger when she trolled the malls last year. First, most stores trumpeted their “holiday” sales. Second, every sales clerk robotically wished their customers “Happy holidays.” The word “Christmas,” Nash felt, had been discarded by the retailers like a wad of crumpled wrapping paper.

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Sears faces tough test this holiday season

The holiday season is expected to be difficult for most retailers, but it could prove especially tough for one of the nation’s most storied brands: Sears.

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Brawl in aisle 9? Not this holiday season

Add another item to the long list of woes already facing retailers: the dearth of must-have items expected to fly off the shelves this holiday season.

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Are you cutting back this holiday season?

The weak economy, massive job losses and stock market drops have left many retailers wondering whether this will, in fact, be a year in which the Grinch stole Christmas.

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UPS Inc., the world's largest shipping carrier, expects to deliver roughly 22 million small packages on its busiest day this year - projected to be Dec. 21.

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Wal-Mart Stores is confirming some of the deals it will be push to draw crowds for the day after Thanksgiving.

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Some of the nation's large companies - and particularly those that have received government funding -are reining in their 2009 holiday party plans.

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FedEx forecasts it will ship 13 million packages on Dec. 14, which it expects to be its busiest day this year, up more than 8 percent over last year

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Robotic toy hamsters, the latest Barbie dolls and stylish boots are disappearing from store shelves as holiday shoppers start to get serious.

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Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is upping the ante heading into the holiday season, trimming the online preorder prices of some upcoming DVDs following last month's price cut on books.

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A look at what would look good under the tree or in a stocking

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As holiday shopping season begins, some analysts are already worried that too many retailers are taking a business-as-usual approach to an era that is anything but usual.

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For MSNBC.com's holiday season toy test, we gave 2,000 kids a chance to play with 100 new toys for two weeks. Here are the winners in the educational toy category. By ConsumerMan Herb Weisbaum.

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When it comes to holiday shopping, Americans have been great at saying they were going to cut back - but not so good at actually doing it. This year appears to be an exception.

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When it comes to holiday shopping, Americans have been great at saying they were going to cut back - but not so good at actually doing it. This year appears to be an exception.

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There's holiday joy and post-holiday blues, but for America's retailers it's all been one big downer.

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Last-minute shoppers headed to the nation's stores and malls on the day before Christmas, looking for good deals - but for retailers, the season was essentially over long ago.

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Looking for a holiday bargain? You may only have to ask. With sales shaping up to be the lowest in years, retailers say they're taking consumers' demands for good deals seriously.

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Swirling snow, packed parking lots and massive markdowns greeted many shoppers across the country this weekend as retailers tried to woo consumers to open their wallets.

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Steep discounts on clothes, toys and electronics enticed shoppers to stores this weekend but they still are making fewer purchases leading into the final stretch of the holiday shopping season.

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As American shoppers embark on their annual shopping binge , a prickly marketing question splits American consumers and stores: "Christmas" or "holiday"?

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As American shoppers embark on their annual shopping binge , a prickly marketing question splits American consumers and stores: "Christmas" or "holiday"?

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After the high-profile recalls of millions of lead-contaminated toys last year, a watchdog group said that its tests found fewer toys with high levels of chemicals in them this year.

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As American shoppers embark on their annual shopping binge , a prickly marketing question splits American consumers and stores: "Christmas" or "holiday"?

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The holiday season is expected to be difficult for most retailers, but it could prove especially tough for one of the nation's most storied brands: Sears.

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The holiday season is expected to be difficult for most retailers, but it could prove especially tough for one of the nation's most storied brands: Sears.

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Given the economic downturn, even the most romantic might balk at the $86,609 price tag for the items in the carol, "The Twelve Days of Christmas."

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