holiday shopping – News Stories About holiday shopping - Page 3

Dec 1, 2014 8:44 AM CST

Black Friday Spending Drops 11%

But holiday shopping is 'marathon, not sprint': analyst

(Newser) - This year's Black Friday sales, it seems, weren't as tempting as last year's. Spending was down 11%, according to the National Retail Federation. The group had expected some 140 million shoppers this year, but the number ended up closer to 134 million, Businessweek reports. But the group...

Average Cost of Gwyneth's Holiday-Guide Gift: $511

Nov 14, 2014 10:02 AM CST

Average Cost of Gwyneth's Holiday-Guide Gift: $511

But lots of them are close to $100

(Newser) - Gwyneth Paltrow's 2014 holiday gift guide is out, and it's about as ridiculous as you'd expect. E! and ETOnline both added up the total cost of all the items in it (not including those listed as "price upon request"), and E! came up with $109,...

Radioshack
Bleeding, Will
Close 1 in 5 Stores

Mar 4, 2014 9:55 AM CST

Radioshack Bleeding, Will Close 1 in 5 Stores

Company announces dismal holiday sales numbers

(Newser) - Radioshack released an absolutely grisly quarterly report today, and on its heels came plans to close as many as 1,100 stores—or about 20% of its total, the Wall Street Journal reports. The company said it had lost $191.4 million over the holiday quarter, a huge jump from...

Target Had One Other
Holiday Shopping Oops

Dec 31, 2013 11:32 AM CST

Target Had One Other Holiday Shopping Oops

A very small number of gift cards aren't working

(Newser) - The credit card hack Target suffered at the start of the holiday shopping season will go down as its biggest blow of Christmas 2013 ... but it won't enter the history books as the only shopping mishap. CNNMoney reports that some of the Target gift cards purchased over the holiday...

Height of Crystal Lamps Sold on Amazon: Tall as Everest

holiday shopping

Dec 27, 2013 6:57 AM CST

Height of Crystal Lamps Sold on Amazon: Tall as Everest

And other quirky shopping facts from this holiday season

(Newser) - Last year, Amazon revealed it sold so many Christmas Story Leg Lamps over the holiday season that, if stacked, they'd reach the top of Mt. Everest. It seems 2013's hot lamp was the Himalayan Crystal Lamp , which, if stacked, would also make it to Everest's peak. It'...

Francis Crashes Posh Rome District, Prays for Poor

Pope Francis Crashes
Posh Rome District

Dec 8, 2013 10:00 AM CST

Pope Francis Crashes Posh Rome District

Reminds of 'cries of poor' as Christmas shopping season kicks off

(Newser) - Pope Francis, in the heart of Rome's fanciest shopping district, has prayed that the poor are never forgotten. His appearance today at the foot of the Spanish Steps follows a papal tradition of public prayer before a statue representing Mary on Dec. 8, a church holiday honoring the mother...

Victoria's Secret Targets Awkward Guys: Employee

Men will apparently buy anything to get out of the store

(Newser) - Men, do you feel weird about going into Victoria's Secret? Well, rest assured, the employees have noticed. They're trained to wring money out of uncomfortable guys, a former employee tells Business Insider . "The general feeling about men is that they would buy anything in order to get...

Black Friday a Bit of a Dud

Dec 2, 2013 7:03 AM CST

Black Friday a Bit of a Dud

Holiday weekend shopping down 3% year over year

(Newser) - It wasn't exactly the Black Friday of retailers' dreams: Shoppers forked over about $1.7 billion—or 3%—less this holiday weekend, per the National Retail Federation. That figure is in spite of about 1% more people hitting the mall or Internet with their wallets open: Roughly 141 million...

Discounts Are Kind Of ... a Lie

Nov 29, 2013 2:54 PM CST

Discounts Are Kind Of ... a Lie

Most items that are 'on sale' were designed to sell at that price

(Newser) - If you couldn't bring yourself to rush out and do battle on Black Friday, no need to feel like you missed out: The discounts you'd be seeing if you were at the mall right now are what the Wall Street Journal calls "retail theater." Stores are...

Chill Out, Activists:
Working Black Friday Is Fun

OPINION

Nov 29, 2013 1:48 PM CST

Chill Out, Activists: Working Black Friday Is Fun

There are other ways to fight for retail employees: Angela Harmon

(Newser) - People like to hate on Black Friday and its gradual encroachment onto Thanksgiving, often "offering righteous indignation on behalf of retail workers who can’t spend the holiday with their families," writes Angela Harmon on Salon . But as a former retail employee who volunteered to work the midnight...

What Stores Are
Doing to Prevent
Black Friday
Freakouts

Nov 29, 2013 1:27 PM CST

What Stores Are Doing to Prevent Black Friday Freakouts

Tickets, Segways, live bands aim to keep shoppers calm

(Newser) - Ever since a Walmart worker was trampled to death five years ago on Black Friday, the chain has increased its efforts to ensure safe shopping. Now, a range of top retailers are trying everything from live music to off-duty police hires to prevent a recurrence of the tragedy. Among their...

Hate Crowds?
Shop Dec. 4

Nov 29, 2013 8:53 AM CST

Hate Crowds? Shop Dec. 4

Wednesday will be least-busy holiday shopping day: analysts

(Newser) - If you're willing to sacrifice a deal or two for some peace, Dec. 4 is the holiday shopping day for you. Wednesday will be the quietest day of the season, says ShopTrak, a firm that tracks shopping across 750 top brands. The deals are particularly plentiful on Black Friday...

Do Not Buy
These 6 Things
on Black Friday

Nov 29, 2013 6:29 AM CST

Do Not Buy These 6 Things on Black Friday

24/7 Wall St. lists the worst deals of retail's busiest day

(Newser) - You may be looking to spend less this holiday season—a Gallup poll says buyers will shell out an average $704 on presents, down from $770 last year—so 24/7 Wall St. wants to help you out. In order to get the most bang for your buck this Black Friday,...

Sears Owner Defies
Thanksgiving Order

Nov 28, 2013 10:32 AM CST

Sears Owner Defies Thanksgiving Order

The day is for family, she tells head office

(Newser) - If you want to go appliance shopping on Thanksgiving evening, forget about doing it at the Sears Hometown store in Plymouth, New Hampshire. Franchise owner Holly Cassiano says it only took a couple of seconds for her to decide to angrily reject the head office's order to open at...

Here's How to Fix
'Black Thursday':
Stay Home

OPINION

Nov 25, 2013 11:07 AM CST

Here's How to Fix 'Black Thursday': Stay Home

Just ... don't ... shop. It's pretty simple: Ellen Galinsky

(Newser) - Based on the Facebook outrage and all the online petitions, a huge chunk of America is pretty upset about the growing trend of stores opening on Thanksgiving Day. But, uh, the way to fix this has nothing to do with signing a petition and posting it on your Facebook wall,...

In Gwyneth's
Holiday
Gift Guide:
$100 Slingshot

Nov 15, 2013 8:30 AM CST

In Gwyneth's Holiday Gift Guide: $100 Slingshot

Entire guide would set you back $23K

(Newser) - Gwyneth Paltrow has released her GOOP holiday gift guide , and let us start by reminding you that this is the woman who brought you the $90 white T-shirt and who considers $970 glitter boots to be an "essential" wardrobe item. The gift guide is predictably amusing, and E! runs...

Height of All Leg Lamps Amazon Sold: Tall as Everest

holiday shopping

Dec 28, 2012 12:22 PM CST

Height of All Leg Lamps Amazon Sold: Tall as Everest

Amazon shares its quirkiest holiday shopping stats

(Newser) - Holiday spending may have been Scrooge-like , but it's not like we didn't shop at all. In fact, Amazon sold an eye-popping 26.5 million items on Cyber Monday alone, according to a post-Christmas press release that gives us a peek at the company's seasonal sales. The Wall ...

Not Very Merry:
Holiday Spending
Was Scrooge-Like

Dec 26, 2012 6:45 AM CST

Not Very Merry: Holiday Spending Was Scrooge-Like

Shoppers eying fiscal cliff, storms sat on their wallets

(Newser) - With Christmas officially in the rearview, the first snapshot of holiday spending is rolling in and the picture isn't too pretty: In the two months leading up to Christmas, sales of popular gift items like electronics and apparel grew only .7%—a measly increase well below analysts' expectation of...

Earthly Riches Abound
at Vatican's Duty-Free Store

Dec 23, 2012 8:39 AM CST

Earthly Riches Abound at Vatican's Duty-Free Store

Opulent, little-known department store sits behind St. Peter's Basilica

(Newser) - Money might not buy you a ticket to heaven, but at the Vatican's duty-free store, $3,840 can buy a 65-inch Samsung TV for that devout Christian on your list who has everything. The AP takes a look at the little-known three-story commercial haven that sits mere steps away...

Stop Giving 'Disgusting' Grapefruit as a Holiday Gift

OPINION

Dec 10, 2012 2:00 PM CST

Stop Giving 'Disgusting' Grapefruit as a Holiday Gift

This terrible tradition needs to die: Katy Waldman

(Newser) - It's the holidays, which means some clueless older relative is sure to force a grapefruit or 12 upon you. Giving grapefruit as a holiday gift started up during the Great Depression, because people wanted their gifts to be "nourishing" during such tough times. But the tradition—the absolute...