Wal-Mart began cutting prices on toys in its stores yesterday, and will be introducing special price cuts on hot toys each week during October. "It's a little bit earlier and a little bit deeper," says Laura Phillips, Wal-Mart's chief toy officer, about the timing of this year's holiday toy promotions and the size of the price reductions. For example, this weekend Wal-Mart cut the price on the Fisher-Price Kid Tough Digital Camera--one of last holiday season's hottest-selling items--to $54.88 from $64.88. At the moment, this season lacks one dominant hot toy, like last year's T.M.X. Elmo from Fisher-Price. But Wal-Mart …

Macy's is pledging to issue plenty of coupons for the holiday shopping season. For years, the 410 department stores that Macy's acquired and renamed last year--venerable brands like Marshall Field's and Filene's--had relied on coupons to lure people to shop. As part of its reinvention, Macy's tried to wean shoppers off the 15-20% enticements. The tactic backfired as thousands of people from Washington to Los Angeles turned their backs on the chain. CEO Terry Lundgren--who is trying to create a new kind of national department store that will no longer compete head-to-head with lower-priced competitors like JCPenney and Kohl's--says the …