Coupons/ Rebates/ Pricing

Amazon.com has unveiled its 2013 holiday toy list which features, for the first time, top toy picks voted on by Amazon Mom fans and an enhanced Holiday Gift Finder that allows shoppers to filter by age, gender, interests, brands and price points.

Ann Arbor, Mich. -- Black Friday shopping may be on the decline, according to a new study by CFI Group, a customer satisfaction technology and analytics firm. The company’s 2013 Holiday Retail Spending Report found fewer than 25% of consumers plan to spend more than half of their total holiday shopping budgets during the Black Friday/Cyber Monday period. But 45% said they will begin before November, with 61% indicating they'll finish their shopping completely by early December

New York — More than half (54%) of shoppers who used a coupon during purchase would not have made the purchase without the deal; in addition, 55% of these shoppers were inspired to shop because they received a coupon. Those are some of takeaways from a recent survey by Tada.com, which offers deals and coupons from more than 5,000 retailers.

Kmart is kicking off the holiday shopping season with the launch of a new lease-to-own program in time for Black Friday.

Kmart said it would launch the program through Whynot Leasing and make it available nationwide starting on Nov. 22. Sears, also part of parent company Sears Holdings, also is launching the program, making it available for more than 95 million items via Sears Marketplace, including electronics, home goods, jewelry and tools, as well as major brands and boutique items.

Woonsocket, R.I. – CVS is reportedly offering a new program to its ExtraCare loyalty program members, called myWeeklyAd, which creates a personalized profile with targeted product offers based on previous purchases. According to Wall St. Cheat Sheet, CVS spent about $7 million on the omnichannel program which is available on PC, tablet and smartphone.

The opening of two new Stein Mart stores in New Jersey and California this month will round out the discount department store operator's 2013 capital expansion program and give it a year-end total of 264 units.

The opening follows four new stores last month in El Paso, Texas; Buford, Ga.; Elk Grove, Calif.; and Colorado Springs, Co., as well as a September comparable-store sales increase of 5% and a total net sales increase of 7.3% for the month.

PetSmart is leveraging a Halloween costume contest to drive traffic to stores. The specialty retailer is holding the contest Saturday, Oct. 19 at stores nationwide, as well as locations in Canada and Puerto Rico.

As added incentive for pet parents to take their costumed furry friends to stores to participate, PetSmart is offering the first 50 pets in costume at each store between 9 and 11 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 19 free treats from Dentastix and Temptations, plus a coupon for $1 off a Bret Michaels Pets Rock toy purchase.

Richfield, Minn. – Best Buy is reportedly planning a major promotion to boost sales of the iPhone 5c and 5s the week of Oct. 13. According to TechnoBuffalo, an internal corporate memo indicates that consumers who trade in select smartphones that week will receive a $100 credit that can be used to cover the down payment on a new iPhone 5c or 5s.