NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Retailers scaled back discounts and shoppers were less frenzied on Saturday, a day after the mad rush for “Black Friday” bargains kicked off the holiday shopping season.

Easing up on discounts makes sense considering the strong kick-off to the busiest selling season of the year and as retailers have almost a month to sell their goods before Christmas Day, analysts said.

NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 27 (Reuters) – U.S. retailers
scaled back discounts and shoppers were less frenzied on
Saturday, a day after the mad rush for “Black Friday” bargains
kicked off the holiday shopping season.

Easing up on discounts makes sense considering the strong
kick-off to the busiest selling season of the year and as
retailers have almost a month to sell their goods before
Christmas Day, analysts said.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Online spending this holiday is now expected to rise by 11 percent over last year, comScore said on Tuesday, marking the second time the analytics firm has raised its closely watched view.

The increased bullishness over e-commerce sales comes as retailers both on and offline ready for the key Thanksgiving weekend when holiday shoppers head to stores or to their computers in search of deals.

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 23 (Reuters) – U.S. online spending this
holiday is now expected to rise by 11 percent over last year,
comScore said on Tuesday, marking the second time the analytics
firm has raised its closely watched view.

The increased bullishness over e-commerce sales comes as
retailers both on and offline ready for the key U.S. Thanksgiving
weekend when holiday shoppers head to stores or to their computers
in search of deals.

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 23 (Reuters) – He’s a fixer-upper, a
turnaround king and a true connoisseur of the finely-knit
Italian cashmere sweater.

Millard Drexler, head of J Crew (JCG.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and apparel retail
darling, has been on the receiving end of many accolades in his
career, mostly for his knack for fashion. Industry watchers now
say a surprise announcement to sell the upscale clothing chain
to private equity, even as sales slump, may be his latest coup.
[ID:nN23136502]

CHICAGO/SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 23 (Reuters) – J Crew Group Inc
(JCG.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) agreed to a $2.86 billion buyout as its sales slump,
but some on Wall Street expect the U.S. apparel retailer with a
devoted following will attract higher bids.

Under the proposed deal, TPG Group and Leonard Green &
Partners LP will buy the company for $43.50 a share, a premium
of more than 15 percent compared with J Crew’s share price
before the deal was announced.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Wal-Mart Stores Inc said it will match rivals’ prices on Black Friday and Amazon.com said a new price-comparison app for the iPhone would highlight its own holiday deals, raising the stakes as the year’s most important shopping season begins.

Black Friday, the day after U.S. Thanksgiving, is the kick-off to the holiday shopping season and a gauge of how overall holiday retail sales will shape up.

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 21 (Reuters) – Free shipping is the
must-have deal for online gift givers this holiday season, so
retailers who don’t have the scale to compete will have to
differentiate to inspire shoppers.

At the same time, the popular holiday promotion of free
shipping is unsustainable over the long term, analysts say.
Creative retailers will need more tools, whether it is
flexibility on price or first-rate customer service, to lure in
shoppers.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Free shipping is the must-have deal for online gift givers this holiday season, so retailers who don’t have the scale to compete will have to differentiate to inspire shoppers.

At the same time, the popular holiday promotion of free shipping is unsustainable over the long term, analysts say. Creative retailers will need more tools, whether it is flexibility on price or first-rate customer service, to lure in shoppers.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Gap Inc (GPS.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) stood by its 2010 profit outlook in advance of the key holiday selling season after posting a slight decrease in quarterly net profit that met Wall Street estimates, even with tepid sales growth.

The owner of the Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic chains — which has been waiting to see sales at its domestic stores perk up on a sustained basis — repeated a 2010 earnings range of $1.77 to $1.82 per share first issued in May. Wall Street has been expecting earnings of $1.82.