NEW YORK (AP) — Searching for toys this holiday season? Youwon’t have to look far.

Barnes Noble and other retailers have been quick to expandtoy offerings this year. That’s because toys have proven to berelatively strong sellers despite the uncertain economy.

Barnes Noble Inc. said Thursday it is experimenting with3,000-square-foot toy boutiques in five test stores in theNortheast.

The areas will offer toys like Legos, LeapFrog educational toys,Crayola andAmerican Girl crafts.

The bookseller, based in New York, also said it has expandedsmaller toy departments in stores nationwide.

In the toy boutiques Barnes Noble is testing, there willbe a station to let kids play with Barnes Noble’s new Nookcolor electronic book reader and its children’s books.

Barnes Noble isn’t the only store expanding is toyselection. Borders Group Inc., the nation’s second largestbookseller, said in September that it’s expanding its assortment ofeducational toys and games and will start to sell Build-A-Bearcraft kits.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the nation’s largest retailer, isincreasing the amount of space it devotes to toys by about 15percent starting this month. In December, Walmart said it willnearly double the amount of space it has dedicated to toys comparedwith last year and offer about 4,000 toys.

Meanwhile, Toys R Us, the largest independent toy retailer, isopening 600 temporary stores in malls and shopping centers to selltoys during the holidays.

– Retail Writer Mae Anderson

New ways of gifting

NEW YORK (AP) — Facebook and other social media sites arechanging how Americans receive and buy gifts.

Sears Holdings Corp., which operates Kmart and Sears, Roebuckand Co. stores, announced Thursday the launch of “eGifting” on itsFacebook pages. With this program, the company said consumers canpurchase eGift cards in $5 increments up to $25. These eGift cardswill be posted on the recipient’s Facebook wall or personal e-mailaccount.

“We’re making gift giving easier than ever this holiday seasonby offering our fans the opportunity to purchase gifts directly onFacebook from any computer or mobile device,” Susan Ehrilich,president, of Sears Holdings’ financial services division, said ina statement.

For those who want people to chip in for a gift, there’s alwaysgroup gifting. Online retailer eBay.com launched an online groupgift-buying service to make it easier to stretch your budget andspread the gifting around this holiday season.

It works like this: go to the eBay site and specify yourrecipient and the gifting occasion — and then invite friends fromyour Facebook list. Then decide how much you’ll contribute andshare your PayPal e-mail address so your friends will know where tosend their contributions.

– AP Retail Writer Anne D’Innocenzio

Bright lights, big city

NEW YORK (AP) — This holiday season, New York’s Times Squarecould give even swank Fifth Avenue a run for its retail money.

In recent months, Times Square, which looks like daylight evenat night because of all the neon lights, has seen a slew ofretailers opening mega-stores, most recently a new Disney store.Others include Forever 21; Aeropostale Inc.; Levi, Strauss Co.; and American Eagle Outfitters.

About 1.5 million people stroll through the area daily, andanalysts believe there could be bigger crowds in coming weeks asforeign tourists take advantage of the cheap U.S. dollar.

“Times Square could rival Fifth Avenue,” says Faith HopeConsolo, chairman of retail leasing and marketing at PrudentialDouglas Elliman. “Times Square has it all — shopping, familydining. It’s one-stop shopping.”

As befits the city that never sleeps, Times Square’s stores keeplate hours. Most of the shopping takes place between five p.m. andmidnight. That’s why Walt Disney Co., which officially openedits 20,000-square feet store on Tuesday, is testing closing itsstores at 1 a.m, instead of the planned midnight. Forever 21′sdoors close at 2 a.m.

– AP Retail Writer Anne D’Innocenzio