RETAIL/CONSUMER

Last full day of shopping before holiday expects £2 billion to pass through the tills in just over 12 hours of trading.

The UK beer market has seen its total market value drop by £2.2 billion over six years, a report concludes.

The travel websiteTripAdvisor has begun trading as an independent company on the NASDAQ Stock market.

Sales are down and losses are bigger at HMV Group, as its interim results show how crucial the festive period will be for the entertainment retailer.

The Swedish car manufacturer Saab has filed for bankruptcy after a court rejected the company’s plea for protection from its creditors.

According to the National Retail Federation study, as of the second week in December, the average person has completed only 46.5 percent of their shopping.

From murders to drug cooking to nudity it’s all going on in the weird world of Wal-Mart

Shoe specialist Barratts Priceless Limited has gone into administration - putting 3,800 jobs at risk.

British advertising regulators have referred Groupon to the Office for Fair Trading over "serious concerns".

Spotify has launched what it is calling a music game-changer by incorporating 3rd party applications from the likes of Rolling Stone and Last.fm into its music player.

Sir Philip Green is said to be trying to renegotiate a better lease deal to save the struggling stores.

The retailer has returned to Paris after previously having pulled out of Europe's fashion capital in 2001.

The supermarket giant believes that competitive pricing and new product launches will boost sales in the Christmas season.

Spearmint Rhino’s UK Vice President, John Specht, has told the IBTimes that it is not rare for bankers and other senior executives to spend tens of thousands of pounds enjoying a night of excess with its lap dancers.

The facility sells 170 products inspired by her style.

Tesco, the UK's biggest supermarket, has launched its festival snack selection named 'Crispas Dinner Collection' meant to capture the consumer delight. The complete meal selection is made of crisps and is available in different flavours.

The shop will be open for five days on an experimental basis during the first week of December.

The fashion chain said profits for the third quarter of its financial year were £1.8 million below last year.

The retailer has posted half-year losses of more than £80 million.

Amazon might be looking into developing a rival to the Siri personal assistant for its Kindle Fire tablet, having purchased a speech recognition company.

Two of Britain's biggest High Street names have posted worrying financial reports.

Anglo American Plc is set to increase its stake in De Beers by buying out the Oppenheimer family’s holdings in the company for a 3.1 billion pounds ($5.1 billion) deal.

Owners of Oceana nightclubs, Luminar Leisure has gone into administration, as the company said its banks would not extend a recent period of leniency, due to end on Friday.

Amazon has announced that it is producing 'millions' more Kindle Fire tablets to meet high pre-order demand for the multitouch device, due out in America next month.

Shares in Debenhams were up on the FTSE 250 in morning trading after the retailer reported a double-digit rise in pre tax profit in the full year ended 3 September 2011.

Shares in ASOS were down on the FTSE AIM 100 in morning trading after the online fashion store reported a rise in sales in the half year ended 30 September 2011.

Retailer WH Smith is to offer the largest ebook catalogue in the UK, offering more than two million titles and two Kobo ebook readers.

Shares in WH Smith were down on the FTSE 250 in morning trading after the retailer reported a rise in profit in the full year ended 31 August 2011.

Shares in Burberry were down on the FTSE 100 in morning trading after the luxury fashion retailer reported a rise in revenue in the first half ended 30 September 2011.