holiday shopping – News Stories About holiday shopping - Page 5

OPINION

Dec 29, 2011 1:02 PM CST

Skip the Gift Cards: Just Give Money

Too many of the cards go unused: New York Times

(Newser) - Someone on the New York Times editorial board must have gotten some crappy gift cards under the tree this year: The newspaper today proselytizes against the ever-growing trend and suggests that people give cash instead. Too many cards get lost or forgotten, and considering Americans spent $27.8 billion on...

Mall of America Fight Leads to 10 Arrests

10 Busted in
Mall of America
Brouhaha

Dec 27, 2011 9:57 AM CST

10 Busted in Mall of America Brouhaha

10 teens arrested as melee breaks out

(Newser) - Retailers were hoping for a big day yesterday, but Minnesota's Mall of America might have preferred something smaller than a mob of hundreds of kids who wreaked havoc. At least 200 teens were involved in an hour-long melee that had shoppers scrambling and stores closing, some for the remainder...

100 Kmart, Sears
Stores to Get the Ax

Dec 27, 2011 6:40 AM CST

100 Kmart, Sears Stores to Get the Ax

Same-store sales are down 5.2% for the quarter

(Newser) - It seems that the Kardashian Kollection alone wasn't enough to save Sears from a horrible holiday season. Sears Holdings Corp. today announced that it will close between 100 and 120 of its approximately 2,200 Kmart and Sears full-line stores, reports the Wall Street Journal . It expects the sale...

Man Robs Store on
'Shop With a Cop' Night

brainiac dept.

Dec 26, 2011 8:44 AM CST

Man Robs Store on 'Shop With a Cop' Night

It didn't go well for David Sherman, 49

(Newser) - We don’t want to imply that there’s a right time to shoplift, but there’s definitely a wrong one, and that wrong one is on "Shop With a Cop" night. David Sherman, 49, tried to make off with a $79 DVD player from a Nebraska Walmart on...

'Tis the Season to ...Shoplift $1.84B of Stuff?

'Tis the Season to ...
Pinch $1.84B Worth of Stuff?

Dec 23, 2011 3:57 PM CST

'Tis the Season to ... Pinch $1.84B Worth of Stuff?

Retail theft in 4 weeks before Christmas expected to be 6% higher than 2010

(Newser) - In the four weeks before Christmas, shoppers will steal an estimated $1.84 billion in merchandise—a 6% spike over the same timeframe last year, according to a survey of retailers around the globe. The bump in shoplifting may be explained by dipping wages and high unemployment, reports the AP...

Slashed Prices
Signal Retailer
Worries

Dec 23, 2011 2:11 AM CST

Slashed Prices Signal Retailer Worries

Chains hoping deep discounts will move merchandise

(Newser) - While store bargains may have shoppers saying "ho, ho, ho," they've got retailers thinking: "Oh-oh." Heavy discounts in the last days before Christmas are a signal companies are worried they'll be stuck with inventory that isn't moving off the shelves. Retailers had high...

Best Buy Warns Customers That Not All Online Orders Will Be Filled

Best Buy: We Can't Fill All These Online Orders

Dec 22, 2011 3:16 PM CST

Best Buy: We Can't Fill All These Online Orders

Company says some customers are out of luck

(Newser) - If you're waiting on Best Buy to ship a last-minute Christmas gift, better check your email. The retailer is informing customers that it can't fill all online orders, reports the Chicago Tribune . It's not clear yet how many will be affected. One analyst chalks it up to...

15 Worst Gifts
on Amazon

Dec 18, 2011 3:41 PM CST

15 Worst Gifts on Amazon

Includes wolf urine, ladybugs, and uranium ore

(Newser) - Sure, shopping on Amazon saves you from braving wintry winds and annoying customer lineups. But beware the bizarro products that Amazon peddles on its digital superstore. CNNMoney lists 15:

Thoughtful, Pricey Gifts
Are a Waste of Time

OPINION

Dec 18, 2011 11:39 AM CST

Thoughtful, Pricey Gifts Are a Waste of Time

For recipients, it just doesn't matter, say researchers

(Newser) - Are you the kind of person who spends hours fretting over the perfect holiday gift? Or who tries to impress by spending big? Don't bother, because it's not helping your cause, writes John Tierney in the New York Times . In fact, price matters a lot more to the...

Feds Grab 150 Websites
in Counterfeit Case

Nov 28, 2011 4:45 PM CST

Feds Grab 150 Websites in Counterfeit Case

Online sellers 'lured in holiday shoppers': official

(Newser) - Buyers of online counterfeit goods may find their favorite websites are under federal lock-down, NPR reports. Authorities have impounded the domain names of 150 websites suspected of selling pirated or counterfeit items, they said today. That includes sellers of DVD sets, golf equipment, and professional sports jerseys. "For most,...

Retailers Gear Up for
Huge 'Cyber Monday'

Nov 28, 2011 12:47 PM CST

Retailers Gear Up for Huge 'Cyber Monday'

Don't worry, it's not too late to get deals

(Newser) - Happy Cyber Monday , the day when people who didn’t feel like braving Black Friday can still get half off a Kitchenaid mixer on Amazon. Last year was a huge hit , and analysts don’t expect today to be any different, as Cyber Monday has become more successful each year....

Black Friday
Sets $11.4B
Record

Nov 27, 2011 5:32 AM CST

Black Friday Sets $11.4B Record

Consumers shrug off unemployment, pessimism, and spend

(Newser) - Holiday shoppers put their economic fears on layaway on Friday, and instead bought and charged their way to a record huge Black Friday, reports Bloomberg . With $11.4 billion spent at retail stores and malls on Friday, spending was up 6.6% from last year, the biggest one-year gain since...

Yep, 'Black Midnight' Worked

UPDATED

Nov 26, 2011 8:18 AM CST

Yep, 'Black Midnight' Worked

Analysts say earlier hours could become the norm

(Newser) - Despite outcry and even protests beforehand, it appears the strategy of opening as early as 10pm Thursday night worked for Black Friday retailers, meaning “ Black Midnight ” or even “ Black Thursday ” will likely become the norm. The Los Angeles Times reports that Toys R Us, Sears, and...

Black Friday Shoppers Riot Over $2 Waffle Makers

plus more videos

Nov 25, 2011 5:00 PM CST

Black Friday Shoppers Riot Over $2 Waffle Makers

Plus, more pepper spray

(Newser) - The Black Friday craziness continues: Mashable points to a truly terrifying video of Walmart shoppers completely losing it over a display of $2 waffle makers. Mediaite , meanwhile, spotted the second video in the gallery below, in which police officers reportedly deployed pepper spray on over-enthusiastic Walmart shoppers in North Carolina....

Tea Partiers Want You to 'BUYcott Black Friday'

Nov 25, 2011 11:21 AM CST

Tea Partiers Want You to 'BUYcott Black Friday'

Activists fight back against Occupy Black Friday movement

(Newser) - There may be some common ground between the Occupiers and the Tea Partiers, but apparently not when it comes to Black Friday. The Tea Party is fighting back against Occupy Black Friday with its own campaign, BUYcott Black Friday, CNBC reports. As opposed to the Occupiers, who would rather you...

Scenes From Black Friday:
Gunshots, Pepper Spray

Nov 25, 2011 10:16 AM CST

Scenes From Black Friday: Gunshots, Pepper Spray

... and some shopping, too

(Newser) - The American holiday shopping season has begun in earnest. Early signs point to bigger crowds than last year, but the violence keeps mounting on Black Friday (especially at Walmarts):

Let's End
Black Friday
Craze With
6-6-6 Plan

OPINION

Nov 24, 2011 12:51 PM CST

Let's End Black Friday Craze With 6-6-6 Plan

Writer suggests special tax for goods bought during the madness

(Newser) - Like a lot of people, economics professor Robert H. Frank hates that Black Friday is now creeping into Thanksgiving Day itself. Unlike most, he's got a suggestion to stop the madness. With apologies to Herman Cain, he proposes a 6-6-6 plan: a 6% national sales tax on stuff bought...

Forget Black Midnight:
Now It's Black Thursday

Nov 22, 2011 8:29 AM CST

Forget Black Midnight: Now It's Black Thursday

And analysts warn more stores will jump on the bandwagon

(Newser) - Black Friday became “ Black Midnight ” this year—but analysts say it’s actually “Black Thursday,” as many stores are planning to open on Thanksgiving itself. Walmart, Toys R Us, and Kmart are among the chains barely giving customers a chance to digest their turkey dinner...

Send a Message on 'Black Midnight': Stay Home

OPINION

Nov 16, 2011 12:31 PM CST

Send a Message on 'Black Midnight': Stay Home

Let's not sacrifice Thanksgiving for a big sale: Michelle Singletary

(Newser) - Now that big retailers are opening on the night of Thankgsiving to extend the Black Friday shopping madness, Michelle Singletary has a request: "People, please stay home," she writes in the Washington Post . Black Friday is crazy enough as is, and opening the doors even earlier is yet...

Target Worker Fights 'Black Midnight' Hours

Nov 15, 2011 10:28 AM CST

Target Worker Fights 'Black Midnight' Hours

Shifts start at 11pm on Thanksgiving, to employees' dismay

(Newser) - If you rolled your eyes at the news that some stores are opening at midnight on Black Friday, imagine how the employees of those stores feel. Target parking attendant Anthony Hardwick says that for his Black Friday shift—which starts at 11pm on Thursday—he’ll “have to go...