Target, Inc.

The price wars among the nation's leading retailers has taken a new turn just ahead of the critical holiday selling season. On Friday, Target revealed in a blog post on its website that it had lowered prices on "thousands" of items, from cereal and paper towels to baby formula, razors, bath tissue and more. The discounter said the move would help end shoppers' uncertainty over the timing of discounts on certain products, and make for "more consistent savings."

Online mattress start-up Casper is getting more upfront with shoppers.   The fast-growing company plans to open some 15 pop-up shops in cities across North America, including New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. The pop-ups are scheduled to launch in October 2017, and will remain open through spring of 2018.  

Target is losing another key executive.   Jackie Rice, Target's chief risk and compliance officer, announced she will be leaving the company at the end of the month. Rice announced that leaving is a personal decision, and she wants to be closer to her family who lives outside of Minneapolis, according to the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal.  

Walmart is making a bold move as it continues to seek out ways to distance itself from Amazon.   The discount giant is investing in Nvidia chips. These high-level graphical processing units (GPUs) will be the foundation of a robust cloud network where Walmart data scientists can build out AI systems, reported Geek Wire.  

VEREIT’s Cole Credit Property trust has acquired a thriving, value-oriented Wichita-area center.   The 100,000-sq.-ft. Derby Marketplace in Derby, Kansas, features Ross Dress for Less, TJ Maxx, and Hobby Lobby. It is shadow-anchored by Target and Dillons Marketplace.   Mid-America Real Estate brokered the sale in cooperation with RH Johnson on behalf of the seller, a private developer.

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Target Corp. is giving Trader Joe's some competition — albeit at a slightly higher price — when it comes to bargain-priced wine.    On September 3, Target will launch its own line of wines at more than 1,100 stores nationwide. The line, called California Roots, consists of five different blends, with two whites and three reds. And each will sell for $5 a bottle.  

Target is using an unconventional way to send a message to Amazon.   In a move to take greater control of its infrastructure — and stop financing its rival — the discounter is scaling back its use of Amazon Web Services, reported CNBC.    Target plans to “aggressively” move e-commerce activities, mobile development and operations away from AWS through the end of the year and into 2018 — a plan it alluded to back in October, according to the report. 

Expect an Amazon-dominated holiday retail season among U.S. consumers this year, with the e-commerce giant being the top destination for shoppers.