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Seattle – Amazon.com will start offering Black Friday deals on Friday, Nov. 21, and adding new deals as often as every 10 minutes for eight straight days. Amazon will introduce three Deals of the Day starting on Thanksgiving at midnight, as well as three more on Black Friday, in addition to thousands of limited-time Lightning Deals.   

NEW YORK - Best Buy on Thursday reported unexpectedly strong and better-than-expected profit and sales for the third quarter, gaining new momentum as it heads into the holiday shopping season.  It was the first time since the third quarter of last year that Best Buy reported positive comparable store sales.

In an effort to create even more buzz for its holiday promotions, Macy’s will give away $1 million in prizes during Black Friday weekend.  

Using the Macy’s mobile app, customers shopping in-store will be able to scan QR codes to enter the giveaway during doorbuster hours, beginning at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day through 1 p.m. on Nov. 28, and then again on Saturday, Nov. 29, from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.

As the pet supply industry continues to experience record growth, Petco is looking to expand its online offerings to include prescription services and more premium products.

Petco has agreed to acquire Drs. Foster & Smith, a Wisconsin-based online pet store founded by veterinarians. Drs. Foster & Smith specializes in pet care and education and is known for veterinary expertise on prescription medications and premium products for dogs, cats, fish, birds, reptiles, horses and small animals.

Retail Strategy: Top Issues Facing Retail CIOs  David Dorf, Oracle   It wasn’t long ago that the main expectations for the retailer CIO were to keep the servers running, desktops patched, and store-based POS systems taking money.  Today, the CIO fulfills a more strategic role, one that impacts the organization’s ability to adapt to changing consumer preferences, preserve margins and serve customers.  Here is a look at the top issues facing retail CIOs today:   

Duluth, Minn. – Specialty fashion retailer Maurices has partnered with interactive video provider Zentrick to upgrade its "How to Wear It" and "What to Wear: Summer 2014" online video campaigns. By integrating interactive elements into six 'look'-inspired videos, Zentrick and Maurices logged 15.2% engagement and a 7.4% click-through rate (CTR).   

New York — BJ's Wholesale Club’s Mastercard program ups the ante in the wholesale club credit card category. The new My BJ's Perks MasterCard will offer members 10 cents off per gallon of BJ's gas, up to 5% back on purchases in-club and at BJs.com, 2% back on eating out and non-BJ's gas purchases, and 1% back on purchases made everywhere else MasterCard is accepted.    

New York - Amazon is once again tops in online customer satisfaction, but its leadership is eroding, according to a study by Answers.com, a provider of  cloud-based customer experience solutions. Amazon is down four points from its 2013 score of 84 (on a 100-point scale), and leads QVC.com and Netflix by just one point.