Seasonal

Orange, Va. -- Wal-Mart Stores has abandoned its plans to build a Walmart Superstore near a Civil War battlefield in Virginia. The retailer’s lawyers made the announcement Wednesday in a northern Virginia court, where a judge has been hearing a case to block the plan.

With the large amount of excess store space available for lease in 2010, more retailers used pop-up stores this past holiday season than ever before.  This concept is now transforming into a viable strategy that has a life beyond the holiday season rush. In 2011 innovative retailers will employ it as a year-round approach that complements their core business strategy.

Beijing -- China said Wednesday it is fining Wal-Mart and Carrefour stores up to $75,900 for overpricing, expressing concerns about price inflation ahead of the impending Lunar New Year holiday.

A statement posted Wednesday on the National Development and Reform Commission website listed about a dozen stores across the country that engaged in overpricing, noting high charges on items ranging from underwear to dumpling powder.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- Walmart announced that beginning Jan. 30 through Feb. 5, or while supplies last, customers can save up to $560 on a Samsung LED HDTV and Blu-ray disc player bundle. Customers can also enjoy up to $100 savings on additional select HDTVs and up to $40 savings on select home theater systems.

Other HDTV promotions include:

Waltham, Mass. -- The Bon-Ton Stores has selected dynaTrace’s application performance management system to optimize the performance, scalability and stability of its recently implemented IBM e-commerce platform. The deployment comes at a time when the retailer’s online business is growing dramatically.

Washington, D.C. -- The Conference Board said Tuesday that its Consumer Confidence Index reached its highest level in eight months as Americans grew more optimistic about the job market.

The Index climbed to 60.6 this month, up from 53.3 in December. While that reading surpassed expectations, it still falls short of the 90 level that indicates a healthy consumer mindset.

The January figure was the highest since last May's 62.7, and hasn’t been above 90 since the recession began in December 2007.

Online sales soared to new heights this past holiday season even though major retailers had a tough time attracting traffic during December. For example, Target.com during December had 37.3 million unique visitors which sounds like a lot and was enough to earn it the 30th ranking on comScore’s top 50 Web properties report released this week.

CINCINNATI - Febreze teamed up with the Dallas Forth-Worth Salvation Army to collect new and gently used sports equipment and athletic gear at the NFL Experience, an exhibit held at the Dallas Convention Center.

The two will host the first-ever Febreze Game Day Freshness Sports Equipment Drive Jan. 27 to 30, and Feb. 2 to 6. The equipment and gear will be freshened using Febreze products and donated to the North Texas Youth Education Town in Arlington, said Febreze, which is the official air freshener of the National Football League.