Retail

Host Lisa Napoli speaks with author Jan Whitaker about how the department store shaped the retail picture in the 20th Century.

Holiday shoppers are turning to the convenience of the Internet for their gift-buying needs this season. Online sales are up 25% over last year, Hillary Wicai reports.

Philip Morris is raising the price of its cigarettes by 10 cents a pack starting today. Steve Tripoli tells us how this one got passed on to consumers.

Shoppers are rushing to get those last-minute gifts delivered and thanks to the Internet, a record number of packages will be shipped this week. At FedEx, everyone's pitching in to meet demand. Tanya Ott explains.

A research report this week hinted that iTunes sales aren't so hot, and that digitial music overall might be in for some problems. Josh Bernoff, who wrote the report, talks about his findings with Kai Ryssdal.

The Commerce Department says retail sales for November spurted up a full 1 percent — wildly beyond analysts' best guesses. Why? We asked a couple of economists and some holiday shoppers.

Best Buy's third-quarter profits were up 9 percent in the third quarter and it's selling more. Trouble is, the country's largest electronics retailer is selling more at a discount. Lisa Napoli reports.

Nintendo's Wii gaming console is outselling Sony's PlayStation 3 — but it isn't necessarily because gamers don't want PS3. Alex Goldmark reports.

It's December and stores are awash in warm lighting and shiny baubles to put us in a joyous and generous mood. Commentator Moira Manion takes us behind the scenes for a glimpse of reality.

At its headquarters, Best Buy is editing the word "schedule" from its vocabulary in a quest for worker satisfaction. Annie Baxter reports.