Walmart

Minneapolis -- Target Corp. said Friday that it will open its stores across the country at midnight on Thanksgiving for the first time in the retailer’s history.

Stores opened at 4 a.m. on Black Friday last year.

Target, which said its move was in response to customer demand, said its stores will stay open for 23 hours and close at 11 p.m. Friday, Nov. 25.

Last year, most Walmart stores opened by midnight on Thanksgiving.
 

Chicago -- The third annual Mobile Audit, released Thursday by e-commerce and digital marketing company Acquity Group, found that mobile adoption is on the rise. In fact, the percentage of retailers with a mobile site reached 37% in 2011, up from 12% in 2010 and only 4% in 2009 – a 210% increase over the past year alone.

Atwater, Calif. -- Jacksonville, Fla.-based Regency Centers said that Dollar Tree has leased retail space in Atwater, Calif., at Applegate Ranch Shopping Center.

Dollar Tree leased 9,264 sq. ft. and is now open. The 464,136-sq.-ft. shopping center is anchored by a Super Target, Walmart, Marshalls and Petco.
 

Citigroup found that toy prices at both Walmart and Target fell by 4% and that the price gap between the two retailers on toys has narrowed since its first survey.

According to Ciitgroup, retail prices of a basket of “hot” toys for holiday 2011 are now 30 bps cheaper at Walmart than at Target, compared with 50 bps cheaper at Walmart in its previous survey. However, taking into account Target’s 5% rewards discount, the basket of toys became 470 bps more expensive at Walmart, compared with 450 bps more expensive in the previous survey.

San Francisco -- Four months after the Supreme Court tossed out a huge class-action lawsuit by female Walmart employees who claimed they were discriminated against by the world’s largest retailer, a smaller, regionalized group of employees has regrouped to file another gender-bias claim against Wal-Mart Stores.

After two years of being in New York City in order to be closer to the center of the fashion industry in the United States, Walmart is moving its apparel office back to Bentonville, Ark.

Wayne, N.J. -- Toys “R” Us will again give its loyalty rewards members 10% back on holiday purchases.

The offer, whereby members of the chain’s rewards club get 10% back in “R Us” dollars for each dollar spent on qualifying purchases, is available from Oct. 30 through Christmas Eve. The promotional dollars will be sent to customers via email in January and can be used on future in-store purchases.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Walmart announced that it has donated $5 million to the Smithsonian Institution to support the construction of the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) in Washington, D.C.

The NMAAHC was established in 2003 by Congress, making it the 19th Smithsonian Institution museum. It will be the only national museum devoted exclusively to the documentation of African-American life, art, history and culture.