holiday shopping

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Holiday Shopping, Now With More Bots

Big retail sites are rolling out AI shopping assistants to help you check off your list

(Newser) - When you're stumped by what to get Aunt Myrtle this holiday season, there's a bot for that. Although AI-powered purchases are in early stages, the shopping assistants and agents rolled out by the likes of Walmart, Amazon, and Google can do more than the chatbots of holidays past,...

For Thieves, Black Friday Is 'Super Bowl'

High-value items are out while crowds offer cover, says former detective

(Newser) - Stores may not be as crowded as they once were on Black Friday, but you can still expect busy aisles and distracted employees—an ideal atmosphere for theft, a former NYPD detective tells Fox News . Patrick Brosnan, who now runs a security consulting firm, warns that organized retail theft is...

Black Friday Isn't What It Used to Be

But retailers are hoping for a 'holiday halo effect'

(Newser) - Black Friday bargains no longer tempt people to leave Thanksgiving tables for midnight mall runs. Brawls in store aisles over toys and TVs with limited-time discounts are spectacles of holidays past. Online shopping and retailers launching discounts weeks before the turkey feast have subdued that kind of fervor, the AP...

Walmart Numbers Suggest Affordability Still a Big Worry

Chain reports strong sales as consumers chase deals

(Newser) - Walmart is often seen as a bellwether for consumer sentiment, and the chain's strong new sales numbers suggest Americans continue to worry about affordability. Walmart reported a 4.5% rise in comparable store sales, reports the New York Times . The chain also raised its financial forecast for the full...

Target Bets $5B on Store Makeovers as Sales Slide
Target Has $5B
to Lure You Back
Nov 19, 2025 9:46 AM CST

Target Has $5B to Lure You Back

Retailer plans store upgrades, new tech partnerships to get shoppers back as sales slump

(Newser) - Target plans to invest $5 billion next year to reverse its ongoing sales slump, company executives announced this week. The move is part of a turnaround strategy outlined by incoming CEO, Michael Fiddelke, who emphasized that the company's top priority is returning to growth. He said the retailer would...

Blame Tariffs for Meager Black Friday Deals

Retailers describe already slim margins as holiday discounts shrink

(Newser) - Holiday bargain hunters are finding fewer deals this year, as companies scale back Black Friday discounts in response to tariffs and rising costs. Last year, items like Ash Harbor's whiskey dispensers and ThinkFit's meal prep containers could be found at 10% to 20% off, Bloomberg reports. This year,...

Amazon Offers Thanksgiving Meal for $5 Per Person

It's joined other retailers offering affordable meals

(Newser) - Amazon has joined other companies offering affordable Thanksgiving meals. The company is offering a five-person meal for $25, including an 8-pound frozen Butterball turkey, People reports. The company says the offer includes multiple premade side dishes, along with a choice of pecan, pumpkin, or sweet potato pie. Amazon says it...

Retailers Have a Joyous Season
Retailers Have a Joyous Season
Dec 26, 2024 7:00 PM CST

Retailers Have a Joyous Season

Sales during holiday period climbed 3.8%, exceeding forecasts, Mastercard reports

(Newser) - Driven by promotions and discounts, retail holiday shopping increased 3.8% this year over last, according to data released Thursday. The finding tops forecasts from Mastercard and the National Retail Federation, the Washington Post reports. The Mastercard SpendingPulse measured online and in-store sales, involving various forms of payment, from Nov....

Looking for a $200 Sex Pillow? Goop's Gift Guide Has Got You

Holiday shopping is in full swing, and Paltrow's company features its usual 'outrageous' offerings

(Newser) - It's (supposedly) the most wonderful time of the year, and to help boost the frenetic shopping season, Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop is out with its annual holiday gift guide (or, rather, guides, as the site breaks things down into various sub-guides for all the special people in your life)....

Tastes Just Like Chicken: KFC's Wrapping Paper

The 'lickable' gift wrap is sold out, though

(Newser) - Count on KFC to come up with possibly the weirdest wrapping paper you've ever heard of. The fast-food fried chicken chain likes to say its food is "finger-lickin' good," and apparently the wrapping paper is, too—they call it "lickable," and, per its description , it...

'Not the Old Black Friday That We Used to Know'

Retailers tried to entice shoppers with sales, but energy level doesn't seem the same as in years past

(Newser) - Retailers used giveaways and big discounts to reward US shoppers who ventured out for Black Friday, even as earlier offers, the prospect of better bargains in the days ahead, and the ease of e-commerce drained much of the excitement from the holiday shopping season's much-hyped kickoff. Frequent deals throughout...

Holiday Sales Takeaway: 'The Consumer Showed Up'

Sales were up 3.1% in November and December

(Newser) - The holiday shopping season is in the books, and retailers will likely be relieved, the New York Times reports. Retail sales were up 3.1% compared to last year between Nov. 1 and Dec. 24, according to stats released by Mastercard SpendingPulse. "This holiday season, the consumer showed up,...

Online Shoppers, Today Is Your Big Day

With Black Friday, it's on to Cyber Monday, wrapping up 5-day Cyber Week for holiday shopping

(Newser) - Consumers are scouring the internet for online deals as they begin to cap off the five-day post-Thanksgiving shopping bonanza with Cyber Monday. Even though e-commerce is now part and parcel of our everyday lives and much of the holiday shopping season, Cyber Monday—a term coined back in 2005 by...

Retailers Boost Discounts to Lure Hesitant Shoppers

Economic uncertainty is affecting spending habits on Black Friday

(Newser) - Stores stepped up discounts and other enticements on Black Friday to entice shoppers holding out for the best deals. But retailers worry those may not be enough, per the AP . Consumers are coming under pressure as their savings dwindle and credit card debt grows. And although they've gotten some...

Retailers Steel for What May Be a Holiday Mixed Bag

Consumers seem set to spend on Black Friday, but how much, how long after that remains a question

(Newser) - The holiday season is a critical one for many US retailers, and with Black Friday just two days away, it appears consumers are gearing up for a shopping spree: According to the National Retail Federation, about 182 million people are expected to open their wallets online and at brick-and-mortar stores...

Inflation Affects Walmart, Target Holiday Strategies

With prices going up, retailers expect shopping to start earlier

(Newser) - This fall, it won't just seem like the holiday shopping season is starting early. Walmart and Target on Thursday announced an earlier-than-normal launch as part of their holiday sales strategy. As CNN puts it, "Halloween is still a month away, but Walmart is ready for Christmas." Anticipating...

Don't Buy Anything New This Holiday Season
Don't Buy Anything
New This Holiday Season
OPINION roundup
Nov 8, 2021 11:05 AM CST

Don't Buy Anything New This Holiday Season

Columnist says shopping secondhand is better for the world, and more fun

(Newser) - We may be barely a week past Halloween, but the holiday shopping season is already upon us—and in the New York Times , Annaliese Griffin suggests you don't purchase any new presents this year. The reasons for buying secondhand gifts are numerous: the global supply-chain delays are causing shortages...

Online Sales Rise Most This Season
Online
Sales Rise
Most This
Season
Dec 26, 2020 4:30 PM CST

Online Sales Rise Most This Season

Holiday spending increases modestly overall

(Newser) - Holiday shoppers spent more this year than last, though the totals were still below what had been forecast by the retail industry. Mastercard SpendingPulse said Saturday that sales were up 2.4% between Nov. 1 and Dec. 24 over the same stretch last year, the Wall Street Journal reports. Online...

Walmart: Here's Our New Black Friday Plan

For one thing, its deals will be spread over 3 weekends

(Newser) - Walmart says it will spread out its traditional one-day Black Friday deals over three weekends in November in an effort to reduce crowds in its stores during a pandemic, the AP reports. The nation's largest retailer said Wednesday that more of its doorbuster deals will be reserved for online,...

COVID Changing Big Retailers' Holiday Plans

Target joins Walmart in closing for Thanksgiving

(Newser) - The coronavirus is already causing big retailers to modify their holiday shopping season. On Monday, Target said it would close its stores on Thanksgiving for the first time since 2011, reports USA Today . The move comes after Walmart announced that it, too, would close on Thanksgiving, the first time that'...

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