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Chicago -- A majority (88%) of retailers are using social media as part of their 2013 holiday marketing blitz. But they still remain divided about mobile marketing, with only 38% using it this year, down from 50% in 2012.

The 80 million strong Gen Y is a retail force to be reckoned with

A generational shift is afoot that’s about to upend the retail landscape.

By Ike Boruchow, analyst, Sterne Agee, New York

This year, Black Friday gave us a taste of what to expect for the remainder of the holiday selling season: intense competition, deep discounts, and choppy mall traffic. Earlier store openings drove heavy traffic, which dissipated and then bounced through the day.

New York - Companies seeking to get closer to their customers simply need to remember and acknowledge their birthdays. A new online survey conducted by analytics and marketing technology provider Fulcrum finds that nearly three-out-of-four (74%) consumers who received birthday messages from a company they do business with thought more positively of the company afterward.

CommonKindness president and co-founder Sarah Schloemer has been named the winner of a Silver Stevie Award in the Young Entrepreneur of the Year category in the 10th annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business.

The Stevie Awards for Women in Business are the world’s top honors for female entrepreneurs, executives, employees and the organizations they run. All individuals and organizations worldwide are eligible to submit nominations: public and private, for-profit and nonprofit, large and small. The 2013 awards received entries from 18 nations and territories.

Chef Boyardee is driving sales by partnering with Microsoft to offer customers a chance to win the highly coveted Xbox One.

Five daily winners will be selected between now and Feb. 18, 2014. Participants must visit www.winwithchef.com and enter the eight-digit code found on specially marked cans and microwave cups of Chef Boyardee.

The holiday season has officially kicked off and Clorox is anticipating the messes that will need cleaning. The brand is teaming up with actress Busy Philipps for the third annual Bleach It Away sweepstakes.

Philipps and the Messy Melodies, Clorox's own band of comedic holiday carolers, will hit the streets of New York City to bring holiday “bleachable moments” to life through song.

San Francisco – U.S. retailers are showing cautious optimism for the upcoming holiday shopping season. According to a survey of 77 U.S, retailers in July 2013 with annual revenue of less than $20 million to $5 billion by e-commerce technology provider Baynote, 38% of respondents project an 11 to 20% year-over-year increase in online sales, with 22% predicting an increase of 21% or more.

Free food, double pay and generous merchandise discounts are available to the more than one million Walmart employees called upon to work Thanksgiving weekend.

Walmart on Wednesday highlighted some of the benefits workers at its store will receive this weekend, including a 25% discount off an entire purchase, a Thanksgiving meal throughout Black Friday shifts and double pay for employees willing to endure the madness of Black Friday events scheduled for 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day.

Meijer is extending Cyber Monday into a weeklong sales event on Meijer.com, offering customers deep discounts and free shipping on orders of more than $75. The Midwestern retailer will offer Cyber Week savings from Sunday through Dec. 7.