Consumer Electronics

New York -- Best Buy is moving about 2,000 loss-prevention employees in its U.S. locations to focus on selling, Bloomberg reported.  

Employees who greeted shoppers entering Best Buy  stores and checked receipts when they left will join the ranks of the company’s sales force, according to the report.

GRAPEVINE, Texas — The struggling video game category should see a much-needed boost with the arrival of Nintendo's Wii U.

GameStop is wasting no time getting in on the buzz by announcing that it has begun taking pre-orders for the platform along with many popular Wii U games, including "Call of Duty: Black Ops II," "ZombiU," "New Super Mario Bros. U" and "Batman: Arkham City: Armored Edition."

New York -- Ritz Camera & Image LLC plans to go out of business after 94 years and close its remaining 137 stores after it failed in a bankruptcy auction to find a buyer to keep the camera chain afloat, the Chicago Tribune reported.

U.S. bankruptcy judge Kevin Gross in Wilmington, Del., approved a plan to turn over most of Ritz's assets to Gordon Brothers Retail Partners LLC and Hilco Merchant Resources LLC.

Orlando, Fla. -- The nation’s chain retailers lead the nation when it comes to commercial solar energy use, according to a report released Wednesday by the Solar Energy Industries Association and Vote Solar Initiative advocacy group.

New York -- Microsoft Corp. will open 32 pop-up stores in the United States and Canada in time for the holiday shopping season.

Although the company did not say when the stores would open, it did provide a list of the locations, which include Roosevelt Field Mall, Garden, City, N,Y.; Time Warner Center: The Shops at Columbus Circle, New York City; Perimeter Mall, Atlanta; Oakridge Centre, Vancouver, B.C.; Dadeland Mall, Miami; and San Francisco Centre, San Francisco, to name a few.

New York -- There is a new opportunity for retailers to market beyond the technology savvy and often male consumer pool to a larger group of less technology informed with customer service programs that provide basic device educational training around devices and product bundling to ease the buying experience,  according to a survey by Cisco Internet Business Solutions Group (IBSG).

Cranston, R.I. -- Boston-based The Wilder Cos. said that LA Fitness will make its Rhode Island state debut at Garden City Center, located in Cranston.

The 38,000-sq.-ft., two-level facility will be located next to Office Max; a former Borders will be demolished to make way for LA Fitness.

Construction will begin in January 2013 with a late December 2013 or early 2014 opening set.