PORT WASHINGTON

Retailers Thursday began trying to salvage what has been a lackluster 2013 holiday shopping season, offering deep discounts on everything from clothing to toys, televisions and Christmas decorations. Shoppers seemed to be responding; many parking lots at Smith Haven Mall in Lake Grove, for example, were nearly full by noon Thursday. Some stores on Long Island opened as early as 5 a.m. "The post-holiday business has become an important part of the equation," said chief retail analyst Marshal Cohen of the

Port Washington, N.Y. -- The majority of consumers intend to spend the same as or more than last year, with fewer saying they plan to spend less, according to The NPD Group’s Holiday Spending Survey,...

Last month lululemon athletica opened a store in Durham, N.C. Three weeks later Athleta, Gap's answer to Lululemon, opened in the same mall. The pattern of lululemon opening a store only to see an Athleta shop pop up nearby is happening nationwide as Gap mounts the most potent threat so far to the Vancouver-based yoga powerhouse. Athleta is borrowing from its rivals playbook, then undercutting the chain on price. Like lululemon, Athleta is hooking up with local yoga instructors and sponsoring classes such as Mommy & Me Yoga. 

As part of its continuing efforts to shore up its online offerings, Sears says it is launching Sears.com Shoe Experience Website, a 450-brand emporium that it will push through social marketing efforts.

The NPD Group, Inc., a leading market research company, released the results of its annual survey of consumers’ holiday spending intentions. Thirty percent of consumers surveyed told NPD they ‘plan to spend less’ this holiday, which is a four point increase over last year’s results.