General Merchandise

NEW YORK — Even decades of social change haven't changed one thing: women's continued dominance of the retail marketplace, according to a new study.

BEL AIR, Md. — The risk of Lyme disease in dogs will be "extremely high" this year, an expert group has warned.

MINNEAPOLIS — Target will feature electronics picked by the editors of Wired magazine, under a deal between the two announced Monday.

Target said the custom-curated assortment of products would include four products available for the first time at Target, including personal fitness, photography, digital music streaming and others.

MINNEAPOLIS — Target Corp. will renovate libraries at more than two dozen schools in need across the country this year under a program that will also include book donations and technology upgrades, as well as the option to have a Target-supported food pantry built, the mass merchandise retailer said Wednesday.

FORT WORTH, Texas — RadioShack Corp. has ended its mobile phone partnership with Target Corp. amid slumping sales, the electronics store chain said Tuesday.

RadioShack said it had stopped operating its Target Mobile centers before the end of last month. The company had operated mobile phone kiosks inside Target stores. The company posted first quarter 2013 quarter sales of $849 million and a loss of $43 million, compared with $913 million last year and a loss of $8 million.

DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — Polaroid unveiled its new concept, Polaroid Fotobar, here, in February, with plans to open at least 10 locations this year. The 2,000-sq.-ft. store is positioned both as a place to shop and a center for recreation and entertainment, allowing customers to release "trapped" photos and display them as premium-quality art. Customers can select pictures taken with their phones and wirelessly transmit them to a bar-top workstation for ordering prints or instantly uploading them to Facebook, Instagram, Picasa and other platforms.

Technology has certainly changed the landscape of the drug channel's general merchandise department. As categories shift, electronic accessories have become a crucial addition to the mix.

Nearly 40% of all consumer electronic spending in 2012 was on tablets, smartphones, laptops and notebooks, according to the Consumer Electronics Association. "Accessories for these products are the growth drivers for the category," said Chris Ely, a spokesperson for the organization. "They also are margin makers."

CINCINATTI — Procter and Gamble's Bounty unveiled a new cloth-like disposable paper towel designed to be used in place of dishcloths. P&G research shows that reusing dishcloths can redeposit millions of germs after just one use. Switching to disposable Bounty DuraTowel is a cleaner alternative. The DuraTowel is made with a durable, fiber-rich design and can be used for cleaning countertops, sinks and small appliances. The new product is available now at a suggested retail price of $3.19.