Shoppers

A group of five men robbed a 14-year-old boy of his shopping bag outside Arundel Mills mall after he walked out of a Bed Bath & Beyond store about 2 a.m. Friday, Anne Arundel County Police said. The victim told police the men accosted him on the sidewalk just outside the store, one of them punched him and another stole a bag containing merchandise he had just purchased. The suspects, who the boy described as black men aged 17 to 21 wearing black North Face jackets and jeans, ran away toward the mall's Bass Pro Shops entrance.

Consumers have come to expect the deep discounts that define Black Friday, but retailers hope to entice shoppers this year with more choices in how and when they buy. Responding to what they say is consumer demand, retailers have pushed store openings into Thanksgiving evening as people are finishing their holiday feasts and replaced door buster opening events with waves of timed sales targeting different consumers. For some of the nation's biggest chains, that means turning Thanksgiving Day into the new "Black Friday," sparking a backlash from some consumers and employees.

Hundreds of Baltimore-area shoppers packed into the newly reopened Boscov's on Friday morning, welcoming back the department store as if they were greeting an old friend. "We're so glad you're back," customer after customer told store employees and Boscov family members on hand for the retailer's reopening at White Marsh Mall. The nearly 200,000-square-foot store opened in the same anchor spot the chain vacated four years ago amid the recession. The newly remodeled and restocked Boscov's drew hordes of shoppers Friday, all of whom had bought $5 tickets for the preview day. Proceeds went to local causes.

For some tips on fall clothing deals, check out ShopSmart magazine's October issue. The Consumer Reports publication will feature a "Six Steps to Score Big Savings on Clothes," guide, the non-profit product testing organization said. "This issue of ShopSmart will help you make sure you're working all of the angles to save on clothes," Lisa Lee Freeman, editor-in-chief of ShopSmart, said in a release. "Even if you think you know all the tricks, you need to read this just to make sure you're not missing out on any discounts.

Shoppers seeking to spend their rainy Tuesday running errands at the Walmart in Glen Burnie will be confronted with a 10-foot tall inflatable pig, standing in a cage and showing open, bleeding wounds. The animal rights organization Mercy For Animals is protesting Walmart's use of pork suppliers who confine pregnant pigs in tiny crates, where they are unable to lie down or turn around. According to Mercy For Animals, the practice is banned in nine U.S. states and the entire European Union.

McCormick World of Flavors, the only retail venture by the Hunt Valley-based spice company, is now open in Harborplace's Light Street Pavilion, offering shoppers grilling, baking and cooking products alongside interactive displays such as "Guess That Spice. " Shoppers will find tins of Old Bay placed amid platters, bowls and crab mallets stamped with the Old Bay brand name, tables of Grill Mates marinades and rubs and shelves full of Thai Kitchen rice noodles, fish sauce and sweet red chili sauce.

Shoppers in Maryland showed up at area malls and other retail outlets in large numbers Sunday, the first day of the state's Tax Free Week. The holiday from state sales tax for most clothing and footwear priced under $100 was an incentive to spend and an added bonus this time of year, said parents goingback-to-schoolshopping with their kids. "I say every dollar counts," said Kristin Ganoe of Hagerstown, who was shopping atMacy's at the Mall in Columbia with her husband, Roman, and daughter Gabriella, who's going into the third grade.

A small Annapolis shopping district is trying to relinquish its status as a well-kept secret. New bright-pink banners along Rowe Boulevard trumpet the little shopping area's presence. The splashy type announces the Village of West Annapolis Shopping District - an updated name to go with the new look. The idea is to spark more interest in a quiet shopping area that looks like a step back in time, said Lynne Sherlock, president of the 39-member West Annapolis Business Affiliation and owner of Tara's Gifts and Parties of Distinction, "The shops are unique.

It's the height of summer, but inside many Baltimore-area stores, fall has arrived. While shoppers sorted through racks of discounted shorts and tank tops, retailers at White Marsh Mall began displaying school backpacks and uniforms. Area Target stores offered plenty of summer picnic gear but devoted extensive display space to notebooks, pencils, folders and glue. And while some consumers said they can't think about school purchases until after family vacations, office supply stores such as Staples began promoting back-to-school computers, laptops and iPads.

Shoppers Food & Pharmacy workers at some Maryland and Virginia stores ratified a new, two-year contract Thursday that increases wages, maintains pension benefits and funds health benefits without raising workers' costs, the union local representing the workers said Thursday. The collective bargaining agreement between United Food & Commercial Workers Local 400 and Shoppers, a division of Minneapolis-based Supervalu, applies to 2,500 grocery workers at Shoppers in Northern Virginia and in Montgomery, Prince Georges, Calvert, St. Mary's and Charles counties.