Check out the grim unemployment numbers from the U.S. Labor Department on Friday, a day after dozens of retail chains reported lackluster October sales.

U.S. employers cut a deeper-than-expected 190,000 jobs in October, driving the jobless rate to 10.2 percent, the highest in more than 26 years.

Analysts polled by Reuters had expected the monthly unemployment rate to edge up to 9.9 percent from 9.8 percent in September.

While job losses have been mounting for months, some analysts and economists say 10 percent unemployment could deal a new psychological blow to U.S. consumers who might previously have felt that the economy was beginning to stabilize.   

Just last week, news that the U.S. economy had returned to growth instilled hope for a rebound in consumer spending. But the latest reports on retail sales and joblessness suggest that such a result may be further down the road.

So, no matter what gimmicks retailers resort to – be it $10 DVDs or upscale wines – the customer, spooked by an almost daily dose of gloomy economic data, may still be unwilling to open their wallets.

Also in the basket:

Target fights Wal-Mart with $10 offers on DVDs

Hermes outshines rivals, optimistic about Christmas

Kraft in waiting game as Cadbury deadline nears

(Photo/Reuters)

Some of my friends have bought Blu-ray disc players recently and brag about the breath-taking picture quality on their big flat TVs. Sales of Blu-ray recorders have outstripped those of regular DVD recorders by almost seven to three in recent months in Japan, research firm GfK Marketing Services Japan says.

But some Blu-ray users complain that movie rental stores don't have much of a selection in the format. Tsutaya, Japan's largest movie rental chain and a unit of Culture Convenience Club, says some of its stores carry as many as 300 Blu-ray titles, but that's barely a fraction of the average 40,000 DVD titles available.

It's perfectly understandable that it takes stores time to replace their old movie collections in the new format -- some have only recently finished the switchover from video cassettes.

But even for new releases, rental stores are unlikely to keep their Blu-ray movie collections abreast of their DVD line-ups anytime soon because of the gap in the number of titles produced for each format. There were 494 DVD movies released for rental in Japan in June, the Japan Video Software Association said. The association doesn't collect data for Blu-ray rental movies, but an official said only 10-20 percent of the 168 new Blu-ray releases that month were thought to be available for rental.

An industry insider said Hollywood studios are more aggressive about promoting Blu-ray than others, but some Japanese makers have been hesitant to commit to the new format until it becomes more widespread.

I guess I'm a laggard though, as I don't have a Blu-ray recorder yet. My dream is to have a home theatre, complete with powerful surround speakers, and a Blu-ray machine would definitely have to be at the centre of the system. High-definition or not, though, it's rare that anything gets me as excited as when I watched "Back to the Future", "Star Wars" and other movies on a small old telly in the living room when I was a kid. Or am I just being sentimental?

Photo credit: REUTERS/Nicky Loh

Twilight was a big box office hit. 

Now Wal-Mart hopes the teen vampire sensation will amp up its sales.

The Twilight movie DVD is slated for nationwide release March 21.

Instead of simply selling the DVD in its electronics department, Wal-Mart is opening “Twilight Shops” within each of its 3,500 U.S. discount stores starting in mid-March. 

Wal-Mart will be selling the Twilight DVD movie and CD soundtrack along with Twilight clothes, posters, jewelry, bags and key chains. 

Fans can also pre-order the Twilight DVD on Wal-Mart’s website . 

But Wal-Mart is not the only retailer looking for a Twilight boost.

Hot Topic has seen brisk sales of its Twilight T-shirts, sweatshirts and jewelry. Its website is also taking early orders for the Twilight DVD.

Perhaps retailers should be looking to Hollywood and not DC when searching for ways to get consumers spending again.

(Photo/Reuters)