retail

Earlier this week, I discussed how utterly appalled I was at the (lack of) value a local Circuit City store offered me in my area during its "liquidation" sale. But that's not the whole story.

Right across the street from that Circuit City is a Best Buy. For years, I have gone back and forth to get the best price out of both stores. More often than not, it was Best Buy that would earn my business, thanks to its salespeoples' greater willingness to match the best prices of any competitor in the area.

Competition breeds results. I liked that CIrcuit City was across the street from Best Buy because it kept both stores' managers on their toes and more willing to do whatever they could to keep me in the store and ensure that they earned my business.

But now, that competition is gone. I'm starting to worry that Best Buy may not be as willing to match pricing any longer. I'm starting to worry that Best Buy will get complacent and stop doing everything it can to earn my business. Most importantly, I'm starting to worry that Best Buy won't be able to compete on any level with the Web.… Read more

I remember when "liquidation" meant something. There was a small electronics store in my area that was closing down a few years back. Signs all over read "Liquidation Sale." In the store, I found prices slashed considerably. Some good stuff was 75 percent off. It was a fire sale, and it was fantastic. That was a going-out-of-business sale done right. What Circuit City is doing now, though, I don't get.

The company is shutting down, as we all know. But I was still shocked when I went into Circuit City this past weekend and found a store that was a shadow of its former self. The signature red shirts on employees were ditched in favor of jeans and sweatshirts; DVD sales racks that were once barely browsed were overrun by customers who couldn't help but dive in to the store's 50 percent off DVD sale. But the real bargains that Circuit City claimed we all would love weren't so sexy after all.

I need a new HDTV. Usually, I buy my HDTVs from Amazon.com because I've found it has the best prices and delivery service. But since I knew Circuit City was going out of business, I decided to make a trek down there to see if there were any hidden gems at a good price. Signs said the TVs were 30 percent off, and when I looked around, I realized the inventory wasn't picked over, as I had feared. There were some nice Sony LCDs on the shelves, as well as Panasonic plasmas.

I was drawn to the Panasonic TH-58pz800u, which was on sale for approximately $2,600 at the store. I own the 50-inch model of that plasma and couldn't be more pleased with its quality. So when I saw it offered at such a discount, the wheels started turning and I was thinking about how I was going to be able to fit it into the back of my SUV.… Read more

Somehow, CIO.com's Shane O'Neill divines that Apple's customers are dumping it in droves now that the global recession has kicked in. His evidence? A 6-percent retail sales drop in January compared to January 2008, according to NPD Group:

Apple, welcome to Earth in 2009, where premium pricing doesn't cut it anymore...We live in a time where cheap is trumping cool, and probably will until this economy turns around. That's bad news for Apple, which has no Netbook (that we know of).

This is a bold statement to make on one month's worth … Read more

Jobs, taxes, and travel captured the interest of U.S. Internet surfers in January, marking double-digit to triple-digit gains over the previous month, according to a ComScore report released Thursday.

The number of unique visitors heading to tax sites climbed 176 percent to 24,703 in January, as users geared up for the upcoming tax season, according to ComScore.

Travel sites, meanwhile, posted a 46 percent increase to 13,028 visitors last month, as users took advantage of falling fuel prices and a desire to plan ahead for their vacations, while job search sites climbed 42 percent to 26,702 … Read more

The team working on Microsoft's portable media player has been divided in two and put under Windows Mobile hardware and Media Center software and services. What will this mean for the future of the device? CNET News reporter Ina Fried talks about where the Zune is headed.

Also in today's podcast: It's 1234567890 day! Nerds rejoice! Plus, the gadgets that broke our hearts, and a cheap take on smartphones.

Today's stories:

Microsoft reshuffles Zune team

Midway Games presses reset with bankruptcy

Microsoft follows Apple into retail business

iPhone too pricey? Think smartphone-lite… Read more

After years of brushing off the notion, Microsoft said on Thursday that it will open up its own line of retail stores.

Without detailing the plans, Microsoft said it has hired David Porter, a 25-year Wal-Mart veteran, to lead the effort. Sources say that Porter's mission will be to develop the company's retail plans and that the effort is likely to start small with just a few locations.

Porter, who will start next week, will report to Microsoft COO Kevin Turner, also a Wal-Mart veteran. Most recently, Porter was at DreamWorks Animation, heading that company's product distribution … Read more

Apple has started rolling out a major redesign of its retail stores in order to focus on software and switchers.

IfoAppleStore, which tracks the Apple retail operation almost as closely as Cupertino does, first noticed the switch. It's already underway at the downtown San Francisco Apple store, with signs placed near the front of the store designed to entice new converts to the Mac with slogans like "It's easy to love a Mac" that highlight the differences between Windows PCs and Macs.

Apple's retail operation is a very important part of its marketing strategy, beyond … Read more

NEW YORK--It involved three shopping districts, two subway lines, and a whole lot of walking in the freezing cold. But I completed my mission to hit up all three Manhattan Apple stores to see if it was true that the retail outlets' computer stations had blocked access to Facebook because too many people were using the popular social network to waste time. (Editors' note: at publish time, the link above was experiencing a network time-out error.)

The verdict: An Apple Store representative told me in a phone call later on Friday, "We have not blocked Facebook from our stores.&… Read more

Dell's middle-of-the-road 15-inch Inspiron laptops have long been an excellent go-to choice for basic computing, especially if you take the time to configure a system to your needs via Dell's online configurator. Fixed configuration versions available in retail stores have been more hit-or-miss, sometimes undercutting the price of built-to-order versions, but also missing some key features.

The $649 Dell Inspiron I15-157Bgives you a powerful combo of an Intel Core 2 Duo CPU and 4GB of RAM for not too much more than a decently configured Netbook. At the same time, it's about as stripped down as a … Read more