holiday shopping

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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'...

UPS Predicts Record Returns After Big Shopping Season

Most unwanted gifts go back within a month, research shows

(Newser) - It follows that a busy online holiday shopping season would beget a flurry of return shipments. UPS expects to handle 1.9 million return packages on Jan. 2, USA Today reports. That's a 26% jump from last year and would be a record day for the seventh straight year,...

On Cyber Monday, a 'Threat' Has Emerged Against Amazon

Target, Walmart, other retailers could suck share on what's set to be biggest online shopping day yet

(Newser) - Nearly 70 million Americans will be plopped in front of their computers or phones today, and not just because they're back to the grind after the long holiday weekend. It's Cyber Monday, an online extension of the Black Friday sales that have gone on for years, and Reuters...

Costco Pays Dearly for Shopping SNAFU
Costco Pays Dearly
for Shopping SNAFU
the rundown
Nov 29, 2019 2:19 PM CST

Costco Pays Dearly for Shopping SNAFU

Website crashed on Thanksgiving, costing the company an estimated $11M in sales

(Newser) - Black Friday 2019 is winding down, and if there's a quote that sums up the gist of the day's coverage, it might be this one in the Wall Street Journal . "The mad rush isn’t here anymore," says Reila Prose of the San Antonio area while...

This Is the Shortest Holiday Shopping Season Since 2013

More intense scramble predicted

(Newser) - The mad scramble between Thanksgiving and Christmas just got six days shorter. Black Friday once again kicks off the start of the holiday shopping season. But with six fewer days than last year, it will be the shortest season since 2013 because Thanksgiving fell on the 28th—the latest possible...

Dad: 10-Year-Old 'Out of Her Mind' With Christmas List

She wants $4K, plus a lot of other stuff

(Newser) - One 10-year-old girl's Christmas list is being labeled " most extravagant ," " lavish ," and " one of the strangest gift lists any child has ever assembled," among other slightly less benevolent descriptors . The list went viral after the kid's father shared it on Twitter last...

12 Fun Things From Oprah's, Gwyneth's Holiday Gift Guides

It's that time of year, when the world falls in love ... with $88 bath salts

(Newser) - It's the season of giving ... really, really, really fancy things. At least according to Oprah Winfrey and Gwyneth Paltrow, who are out with their 2019 holiday gift guides. If you were to buy all of Oprah's Favorite Things , which number about 80 this year, it would set you...

Got $5K at Your Disposal? This Doll Can Be Yours

Three of these American Girl dolls are available, decked out in 5,000 Swarovski crystals and beads

(Newser) - Don't know what to get for the girl who has everything? How about a doll decked out in thousands of dollars worth of bling? If you've got $5,000 lying around and can make arrangements with an American Girl flagship store in Los Angeles, New York, or Chicago,...

A Guide to the Best Black Friday Guides
The Best Black Friday Guides,
and the 'Nasty Surprises'
the rundown
Nov 23, 2018 10:44 AM CST

The Best Black Friday Guides, and the 'Nasty Surprises'

Top primers on top deals

(Newser) - It's Black Friday, and if you didn't get a jump on your holiday shopping on Thanksgiving itself (or even if you did), there are more deals waiting for you today. The New York Times sums up what products make sense to shop for (video games, "smart" home...

How Toys R Us Has 'Risen From the Grave'

You'll find Geoffrey's Toy Box in hundreds of Kroger-owned stores nationwide

(Newser) - In March Toys R Us announced it was closing for good and leaving 33,000 people out of work. But the Washington Post reports on the toy retailer's "complicated comeback," saying it has come "crawling back" from what looked to be a certain demise. Geoffrey (the...

This Year's Goop Gift Guide Includes an Entire Village

But it's only $173K

(Newser) - It's the most wonderful time of the year: That's right, time for Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop to release its holiday gift guide . This year's guide includes an entire Spanish village that is for sale for $172,910, though, to be fair, that item is included in the...

68.9% Off?! Stores With the Best Black Friday Discounts

WalletHub ranks 35 major stores by average discount

(Newser) - Black Friday is just a week and a half away, and WalletHub has the lowdown on which stores you might want to hit up. The site analyzed Black Friday ads from 35 major US retailers—comprising almost 7,000 deals—and ranked the stores by average discount. That's not...

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