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As you rush into the holiday shopping season, you may catch a whiff of cookies baking at the mall or find a note from a roving elf on your iPhone or get a coupon by text message. Complete Story...
Victoria's Secret is hoping a new push-up bra intended to boost women's busts as much as two sizes also will enhance its bottom line this holiday season.
As if the last months of 2008 weren't bad enough, January and beyond are expected to be a lot tougher for retailers. Here are some worrisome signs of consumer behavior:
In a Dec. 21 story about holiday shopping, The Associated Press reported erroneously that Kim Rardon was searching for gifts Saturday at Crabtree Valley Mall in north Raleigh, N.C. She was at the mall on Friday.
The deals were there and, by most accounts, so were the shoppers. But at the close of the final holiday shopping weekend, consumers confessed they were still nervous about buying.
'Twas the week before Christmas and despite all the sales, fewer presents were shipping to shoppers by mail.
The pressure on retailers is escalating as shoppers take their time completing their holiday shopping, according to two key measure of retail sales. That's making it more likely that stores will see a rare drop in holiday sales from a year ago.
Like their counterparts at the malls, online merchants finally got some relief with the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season, spurred by a bevy of deals and free shipping offers. But the stronger-than-expected bump in online sales Monday couldn't cancel out a lackluster November.
Many retailers are offering online deals not only for the day they have dubbed "Cyber Monday" — when people return to work after Thanksgiving and shop from their desks — but for the rest of the week or longer. Here is a sampling:
Shoppers, who had snapped their wallets shut since September, turned out in force Friday to grab early morning deals and hard-to-find items like Elmo Live and the "Wii Fit" exercise game, but many said worries about the economy have them focusing on fewer gifts and less expensive, more practical items.
Gift cards — the once-hot item stores could count on — appear to be losing some cachet amid a deteriorating economy and shoppers' lack of confidence in merchants. And that's another big worry for retailers who desperately need that extra bounce in the post-Christmas season when shoppers typically return to malls to redeem the plastic.
With Black Friday just around the corner, two new forecasts Wednesday pointed toward a tough holiday season for retailers and offered evidence that consumers simply may not be in a spending mood.
Following a lukewarm shopping weekend, the nation's stores are now focusing their attention on the final week leading to Christmas, as consumers seem to be postponing more of their buying to the last minute compared to a year ago.
After what appeared to be a strong start to 2007 holiday shopping, retailers are hoping customers will keep buying in a season some forecasters say will be the weakest in five years.
After what appeared to be a strong start to the 2007 holiday shopping season, the nation's merchants are now hoping that shoppers will continue to keep buying until Dec. 25.
As consumers hold tight to their wallets, online retailers will work harder this year for their share of the holiday gift list.
The nation's retailers had a robust start to the holiday shopping season, according to results announced Saturday by a national research group that tracks sales at retail outlets across the country.
Shoppers — shrugging off a spate of lead-tainted toy recalls and higher prices for food and gas — jammed stores before dawn Friday to grab discounted TVs, toys and the hard-to-find Nintendo Wii, for the official start of the holiday season, expected to be the weakest retail showing in five years.
That $3.20 latte at Starbucks or the $300 handbag at Coach may no longer be affordable luxuries. Feeling squeezed by gas prices and weak credit, the nation's shoppers are increasingly trading down to lower-price stores or cheaper items.
Bargain hunters and latecomers flocked to stores this weekend as the retail industry made its last big push for pre-Christmas sales with increased discounts and other come-ons.
After what appeared to be a strong start to the 2006 holiday shopping season, the question is whether shoppers will have the same zeal for shopping between now and the end of the season when the discounts may not be as steep.
Dense fog didn't stop shoppers in Michigan from climbing into their minivans and SUVs and heading to stores and malls in search of bargains. No way — not on the day when thousands of other deal-seekers around the nation stormed electronics retailers and discounters in the pre-dawn chill, even as leftover turkey and stuffing cooled in refrigerators.
Support a Soldier with the gift of Fly TyingWhen you make purchases through J. Stockard this Holiday Season, they will match...dollar for dollar...the amount of your purchase with donated fly tying kits sent to deployed soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Last-minute Web sites to save your holiday Well, look at that, you've done it again. The holidays are here and you are behind in your shopping. Don't worry, the Internet is here to save you.
Regiftable.com: How to Regift!Humorous website on the financial and personal aspects of regifting. Includes "Regifting 101" (with matters to consider such as the condition of the gift and keeping the regifting secret), user-submitted regifting stories, and a blog.
Each year the shopping craziness starts the day after Thanksgiving. For most retail it is called "Black Friday" and is the break even day for their books.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday: Shoppers Win This Year Some good news for online holiday shoppers: Bargain-hunting binges could drive prices down as Web-based retailers compete to offer bigger discounts, two marketing researchers predict.
It's do-or-die time for mallsNEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- In five short days, it could be the beginning of the end for some of the nation's malls.
Increased Fraud Concern This Holiday Season Underscored in Survey of Leading E-Commerce Fraud Professionals41st Parameter conducted the survey during a joint webinar with the Merchant Risk Council on November 19, 2008, which included two FraudNet customer panelists.
The Gift Card Comes Wrapped in Growing Risk Just this year, consumers lost about $100 million in gift cards that they could not use when major retailers went out of business, Mr. Riley said. The trouble is, there is no standardized procedure for handling gift cards after a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.
Consumer Reports: Many will cut back on holiday spending Consumer Reports has conducted it s third annual survey of Americans' plans for spending this holiday season. As expected, people plan to spend a lot less, especially on electronic gadgetry.
Stores stay open 24 hours, offer deals for last-minute Christmas shoppersWith the clock running out, holiday hustlers on both sides of the checkout counter are in a frenzy as shoppers hunt for blowout bargains and merchants slash prices to the bone Monday to salvage a lackluster season.
How to beat the shopping crunchHoliday shopping can be an enormous pain, especially amid a busy workweek jampacked with special events, parties and end of the season loose ends.
Saturday, December 08, 2007 I know what I am going to write may not be popular and may sound apologetic, but I believe that a question needs to be asked. Are we, as a society, creating mass-shooters?
Top secrets to beating retailers at the holiday-shopping gameRetailers are loath to let consumers in on their super-secret plans for big sales or tip their hand as to holiday-time markdown strategies -- for "competitive reasons," they insist -- but there's plenty of information out there for navigating the year-end shopping season.
Seven Ways to Save a Fortune on Your Holiday ShoppingWe know, we know – it's not even Thanksgiving yet. You're still worried about what to cook on Turkey Day that won't poison your gluten-intolerant nephew, and whether your cousin will show up with yet another uber-tattooed biker boyfriend.
BestBuy Black Friday Ad PostedWe just received a copy of the BestBuy Black Friday ad. Some of the highlights of this ad include a Panasonic 42" 720p Plasma TV for $899.99, a Sony Laptop w/1GB of memory and a 120 HD for $399.99, and an Intel Celeron 420 Desktop w/17" LCD for $199.97.
Home furnishing holiday shoppingFurniture XO online furniture retailer is well prepared for holiday shopping with a large selection of home furnishings products - bedroom furniture, dining rooms, living rooms, furniture for home office and kids as well as a wide range of accessories for any room in your home.
Gingerbread House Kits For the Holidays - Associated Content - Associated ContentThe article tells viewers where they can find and purchase Gingerbread House kits online and in stores.
Holiday Advertisers Seek Coveted Dicktard DemographicThe advertising blitz before the holiday shopping season seems to come earlier and earlier, and this year is no exception, with more retailers than ever seeking to tap into the seemingly limitless spending power of the highly desirable dicktard demographic.
How to Buy NothingIn O. Henry's classic Christmas story The Gift of the Magi, Della Young sells her most prized possession, her long, beautiful hair, in order to buy a Christmas present for her husband, Jim.
With the holiday shopping season approaching fast the retail shopping world is preparing for an unprecedented spike in at-home consumer spending. This growth also seeds a new era of savings for the online shopper - coupon codes.
PC World - Vista-Ready Products for the HolidaysVista-Ready Products for the Holidays
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