Online retailers are poised for a record $43.4 billion holiday sales season as shoppers increasingly rely on social networks and mobile devices to find and buy merchandise. more

Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin is warning Rhode Islanders to protect their identities on Cyber Monday, Nov. 26, and offering tips, including making sure their anti-virus software is up to date. more

Gasoline prices in Rhode Island dropped another 1 cent this week, marking the seventh consecutive week of decline, according to AAA Southern New England. more

Falling between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Saturday, Nov. 24 will be the third annual “Small Business Saturday.” more

Target Corp. took some flak for opening stores on Thanksgiving because doing so would give employees less celebrating time with their families. Still, the earlier start attracted more parents and their kids. more

As part of a nationwide Black Friday protest, Walmart workers and community allies plan to gather at Walmart retail stores across Rhode Island and Massachusetts on Black Friday. more

Gasoline prices in Rhode Island dropped another 5 cents this week, marking the sixth consecutive week of decline, according to AAA Southern New England. more

Providence is part of a growing regional industry for bicycle-frame manufacturing. There are at least four commercial bicycle-frame makers in the city and close to a dozen across New England. Above, Mickey Denoncourt of Spooky Bikes in Bellows Falls, Vt., stands behind one of the company’s mountain bikes at the New England Bike Builders Ball Oct. 5 at the Providence Biltmore Hotel. more

Retail sales fell in October as American consumers pulled back after a three-month shopping spree and Superstorm Sandy slammed into the East Coast, shutting malls and auto showrooms. more

The Olde China Trader antique shop in Bristol takes its name and inspiration from the Rhode Island merchants who sailed to the Far East and brought silk, tea and pottery back to 19th-century America. more