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Retail employees launch Change.org petitions against Black Friday sales starting on Thanksgiving, saying it cuts into family celebrations.

It used to be just called Thanksgiving. Now the day is increasingly called Black Friday Eve or Black Thursday, as retailers double down on ever-earlier opening hours for the kickoff of the holiday shopping season.

I know you don’t want to hear this, but Christmas is less than 75 days away. It will be here in a blink of any eye. Right now is a great time to sit down to create a plan for your holiday gift shopping without accumulating a pile of debt.

Target Corp. is reporting a 5.2 percent drop in earnings for the fourth quarter, as the retailer pushed big discounts to get tight-fisted shoppers to buy during the holiday season.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc won over shoppers during the holiday season, with its Walmart U.S. division posting a 1.5 percent rise in sales at stores open at least a year.

A study of a widely used system to provide security for Internet shopping, banking and other services showed that it failed to work correctly in a small number of cases.

U.S. retail sales rose less than expected in January as consumers cut back on car purchases and did less online shopping.

A research firm says U.S. sales of consumer electronics fell 5.9 percent this past holiday season, as smartphones cannibalize sales of standalone gadgets like cameras, camcorders and GPS navigation devices.

Struggling Sears Holdings Co., which controls the Kmart and Sears chains, has posted a list of 79 stores that will be shuttered after a disappointing holiday season.

A mall trade group says that last minute shoppers gave merchants a solid lift during the final week before Christmas. Sales at stores opened at least a year rose 0.9 percent for the week ended Saturday compared with the previous week and was up 4.5 percent compared with the same period a year ago, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers-Goldman Sachs Weekly Chain Store Sales Index, released Wednesday.