Bi-Lo has announced that it has successfully completed its merger with Winn-Dixie Stores. The two banners now will be subsidiaries of privately held parent company Bi-Lo Holding. Bi-Lo and Winn-Dixie will continue to operate under the same banners, and the company does not expect any store closures as a result of the merger.

In its early days, social media meant "connecting with people." That’s still what it’s mostly about. But obviously, we’ve come a long way from those now prehistoric list-servs where we simply posted messages back-and-forth with people of similar interests and pursuits. It’s still about connecting. But now organizations use it for targeted marketing purposes, where once social media was considered the protected domain of the individual. Consumers seem to accept that it has become just another means by which brands are going to try to earn their loyalty.

In an unexpected turn of events, Brian Cornell is stepping down as Sam’s Club president and CEO and will be replaced by Rosalind Brewer, who currently serves as president of the Walmart U.S. East business unit.

An average consumer encounters the same or very similar product mix from retailer to retailer. Unintentionally, we have almost trained them not to expect anything special from their shopping experience. The retailer that does offer something beyond the ordinary shopping experience can score big points with shoppers. Do something unexpected to surprise and delight shoppers, and word will spread – probably quickly. So what is it that really makes consumers tick? I think it boils down to five main things.

Heading into the holiday season, it was widely expected that online sales would enjoy another year of double-digit growth, and now new data from the online measurement firm ComScore confirms those earlier expectations.

Shoppers today are more knowledgeable than ever when it comes to finding deals on their favorite products, and many won't even set foot in a store until they have an idea of their potential savings, according to the Deloitte/Harrison Group annual American Pantry Survey.

U.S. households are expected to spend an average of $497 on gifts this holiday season, the Conference Board reported. Only 7% of consumers said they plan to spend more on holiday gifts this year, while approximately 49% plan on spending less than last year.

One very quiet bit of news worthy of a bit more attention: MinuteClinic is up to 645 clinics. Clinic revenues were up more than 15% during the quarter, and the company expects MinuteClinic will break even as planned by the end of the year. That's important because the third quarter isn't exactly a big cold-and-flu month, which means that patients are starting to use clinics for more than just sick care. Third quarter is back to school, which suggests the clinics likely were busier doing other things, such as vaccinations and physicals.

The week before Christmas will be especially important for retailers looking to come out on top this holiday season, according to new ShopperTrak research released Tuesday.

The National Retail Federation described the 2011 holiday season as "average," projecting that holiday sales will rise 2.8% to $465.6 billion.

Retailers shouldn't be fearful of Halloween, as more consumers are expected to celebrate the holiday this year, the National Retail Federation said.

Amid economic uncertainty and low consumer confidence levels, retail CFOs are expecting a 3% increase in total 2011 sales, according to a recent survey by BDO USA.