Order Fulfillment

For over two decades, Americans bought big, bought more and stocked up. They were confident that bulk shopping, often on credit, provided the best value for their money. But the long recession — with its high unemployment, plummeting home values and depleted savings accounts — altered the way many people think about the future.

In addition to expanding online sales and opening more boutiques, the new CEO of Betsey Johnson LLC, Susan Falk, says she plans to expand the range of the label's dresses, which she feels have been looking too young and "a little too short."

Hot Topic Inc. posted a lower quarterly profit, hurt by lower sales and gross margin, and the retailer said it would close stores and cut jobs to lower costs. Hot Topic, which has mostly underperformed its peers over the past few quarters as it struggled with an unappealing merchandise mix, will reduce about 14 percent of its home office and field management positions and close 40-50 underperforming stores.

Wal-Mart reported a 9.3 percent increase in profit for its fiscal third quarter on Tuesday, but said an important measure of U.S. sales fell as customers of the retail giant continue to watch their spending.

In its latest survey on e-commerce shipping practices, Stamps.com found that 64 percent of respondents report that free shipping is the most effective promotion they can offer during the holiday season.

Photo shoots needn't be painful. Good planning can turn them into a pleasure. Here's a six-step prescription for making your photo shoots pain-free.

Wal-Mart Purchasing Chief Hernan Muntaner has a dream: teaming the giant retailer with soda and snack maker Pepsi to buy potatoes jointly for a lower price than either company can get on its own. That would allow both to earn more money on the chips and spuds they sell in Wal-Mart's supermarkets. So far, Pepsi isn't playing along.

J.C. Penney's third-quarter earnings rose 63 percent as the department store operator benefited from fewer charges, but high merchandise levels and indications of poorer profits from the products it sells raised eyebrows.

U.S. coffee shop operator Starbucks has said that it plans to end its distribution deal with Kraft Foods to gain greater control over its retail offering.