Mass Merchant

Costco is adding a bit of digital expertise to its ranks with its latest new board member.

Amazon.com has joined the cadre of retailers weighing in on the hottest toys of the holiday season by curating a list of more than 1,000 toys for kids.

The retailer’s Hot Toy List includes products for kids of all ages and interests. In addition to highlighting Mom Picks and Kid Picks, Amazon’s holiday toy list also features new trend-focused categories: STEM, Movie Favorites, Retro, and Toys That Go.

The world’s largest retailer plans to grow sales by $45 billion to $60 billion in the next three years and spend $20 billion buying back its own shares.

The growth targets, stock buyback program and an $11 billion capital expenditure program, down from $12.4 billion this year, were announced Wednesday morning in New York at the retailer’s annual fall investor conference.

More Americans are planning holiday-related purchases this year than in 2014, and those who plan to shop will spend more over a longer period of time, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers.

Target Corp. has become the first major credit card issuer to convert to cards with PINS, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported. The new cards will be MasterCards and will contain computer chips as well as PINs.

More Americans are planning holiday-related purchases this year than in 2014, and those who plan to shop will spend more over a longer period of time.

That’s according to the International Council of Shopping Centers 2015 Consumer Forecast, which shows that 90% of Americans are planning holiday purchases this season, up from 82% last year. And overall, 80% of shoppers plan to spend the same or more this holiday season than they did in 2014.

Staples is limiting the severance pay of top executives as the resolution of a deal with Office Depot draws near.

Staples announced that its board of directors has adopted a new policy stipulating that the company will not pay any severance benefits that exceed three times the sum of an executive’s base salary plus target annual cash incentive award, without seeking shareholder approval.

In addition, CEO Ron Sargent has elected to amend his severance agreement to align with the terms of the new policy.