Wal-Mart to sell HP laptop for $298, Thanksgiving dinner for eight people for $20

Retail giant Wal-Mart announced more holiday price reductions today, including a $20 Thanksgiving dinner for eight people.

For one week starting Saturday, Wal-Mart stores will hold an electronics savings event which includes an HP laptop with 3GB of memory for $298; a Sharp 52-inch flat-panel television for $898 and a Sony Blu-ray player for $148.

"It will be evident through the coming weeks that this year Wal-Mart will offer more opportunities for our customers to save than ever before," said Gary Severson, senior vice president of entertainment for Wal-Mart.

The world's largest retailer has promised new markdowns every week until Christmas. Customers can find more information about the chain's price reductions and holiday savings here.

-- Andrea Chang

Kmart announces "Better than Black Friday" deals

After introducing an online layaway program last month, Kmart today announced "Better than Black Friday" specials.

The weekly doorbuster deals start Nov. 6 and include markdowns on electronics, apparel and tools. New deals will be available each Friday through Nov. 20.

A sample of deals include:

$15 Protégé Boys Basketball Shoes
50% off Little Letters Learning Laptop
$6.99 Men’s Basic Editions Jeans   
25% to 33% off General Electric Trees

Kmart also announced that select stores would be open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day.

-- Andrea Chang

Toys R Us releases list of hottest toys for holiday season

Toys R Us today released its list of the 36 hottest toys for the holidays, including "Toy Story" talking action figures, Bakugan Battle Brawlers and Barbie dolls.

The retailer said it compiled its Holiday Hot Toy List by testing the best products throughout the year and taking into account "outstanding value in quality, price and play."

"There are so many great new toys, games and kid-friendly electronics available this year that we had a difficult time narrowing down the items on the list," said Karen Dodge, senior vice president and chief merchandising officer of the company’s U.S. division. "With toys spanning every price point, parents will have lots of affordable fun options to choose from this holiday season."

Following is the Toys R Us "Fabulous 15," a subset of the 36 toys on the Holiday Hot Toy List:

• Bakugan Battle Brawlers New Vestroia Maxus Helios 7 in 1 from Spin Master
• Chixos Pink Design-A-Luxury Loft from Spin Master
• Color Me a Song from Crayola Beginnings
• Disney Netpal from ASUS
• Disney•Pixar Toy Story Interactive Buddies Talking Action Figures (Buzz and Woody) from Thinkway
• Disney Princess: Just One Kiss Princess Tiana Doll from Mattel
• Fast Lane JLX Oover Drive Radio Control All Terrain Vehicle from Toys R Us
• Laugh & Learn Learning Farm from Fisher-Price
• Little Mommy Baby Ah-Choo from Fisher-Price
• Mindflex from Mattel
• Nerf N-Strike Raider Rapid Fire CS-35 from Hasbro
• "Star Wars" Fan's Choice Anniversary Edition Home One Mon Calamari Star Cruiser from Lego
• "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" Construction Devastator from Hasbro
• Wii Sports Resort from Nintendo
• Zhu Zhu Pets Hamster from Cepia

-- Andrea Chang

Photo: The Construction Devastator is on Toys R Us' 2009 Holiday Hot Toy List. Credit: Craig Ruttle / Associated Press

FTD Good Neighbor Day brings free flowers

Hundreds of participating FTD florists around the country are offering free bouquets for the 15th Annual Good Neighbor Day today.

Since 1994, the company has encouraged customers to give their neighbors flowers in hopes of creating a friendlier and more compassionate environment.

The free blooms are available while supplies last.

-- Tiffany Hsu

Hershey’s online gifts service is going dark

The Internet just got a little less sweet. 

Hershey Co. announced today that it was closing its Hershey's Gifts online service at the end of the month. If customers want the nation's second-largest candy maker’s products, they’ll have to visit local stores. 

"Hershey's is making the strategic decision to exit the online retail business," said Kirk Saville, a Hershey spokesman. "The current business model is not sustainable."

Saville said that the company was looking into other e-commerce options, including strategic partnerships and licensing agreements. He declined to say how much revenue the online service was bringing in or if it was losing money. 

The website sells a wide assortment of Hershey's products including chocolate-covered Macadamia nuts. It features packaging for special occasions, such as graduations, birthdays and weddings. Prices are as low as $10 and as high as $150, depending on the item.

Because of the site's closure, Hershey is offering a customer appreciation promotion: 25% off of every item.

Saville said about 12 Hershey’s Gifts employees would lose their jobs because of the decision. Hershey hopes to find them jobs with the Hershey, Pa.-based company, he said.

-- W.J. Hennigan

Lakers gear aplenty, mostly knockoff, along parade route

The Los Angeles Lakers' 15th NBA championship has led to record-setting sales of official team merchandise. It's also resulted in lots of happy bootleggers.

Swarms of vendors selling unlicensed Lakers T-shirts, caps, flags, horns, posters and other merchandise cashed in today as 150,000 fans came out to cheer on the "Lake Show" during their victory parade from the Staples Center to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. 

Many used the city's sidewalks and public benches to hawk their wares.Others set up shop in retail parking lots, trying to attract the surging purple-and-gold-clad crowd.

Stan Davis of Long Beach was among the dozens peddling unauthorized Lakers items in Exposition Park -- a popular spot for bootleggers near the stadium today.

"The Lakers have enough money to pay for half of this parade, I think they're doing just fine," Davis said. "But I'll do anything to make a buck in this economy."

Davis sold T-shirts, at $10 a pop, featuring a graphic of Kobe Bryant on the front. Davis said he knew the merchandise he was selling wasn't officially licensed.

"I'm a delivery driver for a printing company and I got the shirts from a guy I know through that," he said. "This is my first time doing this."

Despite a fairly heavy presence of police surrounding the Coliseum and parade route, Davis said law enforcement officials appeared to be leaving vendors alone.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa estimated Tuesday that the parade would provide a $15-million economic benefit for the city.

-- Andrea Chang, Nathan Olivarez-Giles and Tiffany Hsu

Photos: Vendors try to cash in on Lakers mania. Credit: Andrea Chang / Los Angeles Times

Americans expected to scrimp a bit on Father's Day

Despite the recession, dads can still expect dinner and neckties for Father's Day this year.

According to a National Retail Federation survey, Americans are expected to spend an average of $90.89 on gifts for dad this year, down slightly from $94.54 in 2008. Total spending is expected to reach $9.4 billion.

The survey found that people will spend the most ($1.9 billion) on special outings such as dinner or a sporting event, but clothing still ranks high among gift-givers, who are expected to shell out $1.3 billion on new socks, slacks and ties. Others will treat dad to a gift card ($1.2 billion), electronics ($1 billion) books or CDs ($548 million), home improvement items ($522 million) and sporting goods ($502 million).

"Along with the usual ties, gift-givers will be looking into items that dad can enjoy with the whole family,” saidTracy Mullin, president of the National Retail Federation. “Retailers will offer specials on new grill sets, sporting and gardening equipment and even electronics as the holiday rolls around.” 
 
Discount stores and department stores will be popular shopping destinations this Father’s Day as 33.9% of Americans plan on shopping at discounters and 33.7% will shop at department stores. Others will head to electronics and home improvement stores (26.8%), online (17.9%), specialty clothing stores (6.1%) or buy from a catalog (2.8%).
 
When it comes to who is getting gifts this year, the majority of people said they will buy only for their father/stepfather (51.1%). Husbands (28.6%), sons (7.6%), grandfathers (4.7%) and brothers (5.1%) will also see gifts from family members. 
 
-- Andrea Chang

Businesses prep for a slightly slower Mother's Day

The estimated 83 million mothers in the U.S. will be getting smaller and cheaper gifts on Sunday, but -- we hope -- no less love.

Americans are expected to spend an average of $123.89 a person on Mother's Day, down from $138.63 last year, according to a National Retail Federation survey.

More than 80% of Americans celebrate Mother's Day, and most will buy presents for their mothers, stepmothers or wives. They'll try to save money by cutting out goodies for their daughters, friends and godmothers.

But total spending for the holiday, estimated at $14.10 billion, should exceed the money dropped on Easter. In a thrifty mindset, 30% of shoppers will visit discount stores.

Flowers will dominate the purchases, with nearly 67% of consumers putting down $1.9 billion on the blooms. Another $2.7 billion will go to dinners or brunches, an option for nearly 55% of Mother's Day celebrants.

Retailers also can expect $2.3 billion to be spent on jewelry, $1.5 billion on gift cards, $1.2 billion for clothing and accessories and $1.1 billion on personal services such as spa treatments. Consumers also will focus hundreds of millions of dollars on electronics, housewares and books.

For FedEx Corp., Mother's Day ranks with the December holiday season and Valentine's Day as one of the year's busiest delivery times. Express deliveries boom about 10% between April 27 and May 9.

If you want your mother to actually receive your gift(s) in time, today is last day to ship using FedEx Ground. Use FedEx Express by Friday.

That new refrigeration unit at LAX, covered by Nathan Olivarez-Giles in early April, should come in handy right about now.

-- Tiffany Hsu

Photo: Flowers top Mother's Day purchases. Credit: Associated Press

Valentine's Day gift ideas from Image, with love

V-Day is next Saturday, the 14th, so if you're lucky enough to have a love in your life and want to mark the holiday, our friends over in the Image section have come up with some ideas. From retro cards to bacon, they've got  suggestions to suit a wide variety of sweethearts and budgets.

Check out the Image Valentine's Day gift photo gallery.

Online sales decline 3% during holiday season

Nervous consumers weren't just skipping trips to the mall this holiday season -- many also were scaling back their online purchases.

Online spending reached $25.5 billion during the Nov. 1 through Dec. 23 period, down 3% compared with the year-earlier period, according to a ComScore report released Tuesday. The data tracker, which had been expecting flat sales, said it was the first time it had seen negative growth rates for the holiday season since it began tracking e-commerce in 2001.

"The combination of having five fewer shopping days between Thanksgiving and Christmas and the severe economic headwinds faced by consumers has made this a really tough season for retailers, both offline and online," ComScore Chairman Gian Fulgoni said.

Online shoppers may have spent less, but more of them went window shopping at some websites during the month, through Christmas Eve. Such sites as Amazon.com and Walmart.com saw year-over-year increases in the volume of unique visitors to their websites, ComScore said. EBay.com recorded a 4% decline in the number of visitors compared with a year earlier, but it remained the most-visited retail site, with 85.4 million visitors.

The data tracker also found that the heaviest shopping day of the season was Tuesday, Dec. 9, with $887 million in sales.

-- Andrea Chang