Consumer Electronics

Bentonville, Ark. – Starting Sept. 21, consumers will be able to receive immediate credit toward the purchase of a new smartphone when they trade in their current smartphone at more than 3,600 participating Wal-Mart stores and Sam's Club locations across the U.S. Wal-Mart's trade-in program offers an immediate credit from $50 to $300 for more than 100 smartphones.

Walmart has announced plans to launch a smartphone trade-in program on the same day Apple announced the iPhone 5s, featuring an all-new A7 chip and a 64-bit desktop-class architecture for fast performance, as well as the iPhone 5c, which builds on the iPhone 5 and comes in five different colors. 

San Diego — Brixmor Property Group has leased approximately 45,000 sq. ft. to Smart & Final Extra! at Brixmor’s San Dimas Plaza in San Dimas, Calif. The supermarket/warehouse store will take over the space formerly occupied by Ralphs. NAI Capital represented Smart & Final.

T.J. Maxx anchors the 119,157-sq.-ft. San Dimas Plaza alongside national retailers Rite Aid, Payless ShoeSource, Sprint and RadioShack.

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — Electronic Arts has entered into a multi-year endorsement deal with the captain of the U.S. Soccer National Team, Clint Dempsey. As part of the deal, Dempsey will serve as EA Sports Football Ambassador. 

Dempsey, attacking midfielder and member of the Seattle Sounders, will make his FIFA franchise debut in a FIFA 14 GameStop commercial. The full 30-second ad spot features Dempsey coaching a fan through various post-goal celebration moves. 

WASHINGTON — The National Retail Federation confirmed that the retail industry added 43,600 jobs last month, particularly in general merchandise, electronics and clothing.

The numbers were based on calculations from the NRF, out of a total 169,000 jobs that the Bureau of Labor Statistics said the economy added in August, bringing the country's unemployment rate down to 7.3%.

Shopper activity increased last month, in line with ShopperTrak’s predictions. Total retail store shopper traffic increased 11% this August compared to the previous month, which corresponds with recently reported positive month-over-month retail trends. In addition, shopper traffic for August 2013 increased slightly compared to the same month last year by 0.7%.

Philadelphia -- Five Below will expand its presence in Texas by opening 11 stores in the Dallas-Fort Worth area on Sept. 12, 2013. The teen retailer’s entry into Dallas follows four successful store openings in Austin, completed in August of this year.

Washington, D.C. -- The National Retail Federation calculated retail industry job gains at 43,600 in August, with marked increases in clothing, general merchandise and electronics stores.