holiday shopping

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Americans to Spend Nearly $7B on Halloween Stuff
Americans to Spend Nearly $7B on Halloween Stuff
survey says

Americans to Spend Nearly $7B on Halloween Stuff

That's more than double 2005's amount

(Newser) - Apparently, Halloween is more than just a holiday—it’s an economic stimulus package. Americans plan to spend a whopping $6.9 billion on costumes, decorations, and entertainment related to October 31, according to the National Retail Federation—and that’s more than double 2005’s number from the same...

After-Christmas Shoppers Swarm Stores

This holiday season the best for retailers since 2007

(Newser) - The holiday shopping season continued to be a merry one for retailers, as shoppers packed stores yesterday searching for post-Christmas sales. An East Coast snowstorm daunted some—but not all—shoppers; even so, execs weren't concerned. "People will just wait a day to do exchanges and use their gift...

Cyber Monday Sales Top $1B for First Time

It's the busiest day for online shopping in history

(Newser) - Americans jumped on deals and promotions offered online on Cyber Monday, spending $1 billion and making it the busiest online shopping day ever, according to new data. Research firm comScore says revenue rose 16% over a year ago to $1.03 billion on the Monday after Thanksgiving, the first one-day...

US Shoppers Await Bargains on Cyber Monday

But lines are getting blurred with Black Friday

(Newser) - More stores than ever will be offering online sales Monday even as the distinction between Black Friday and Cyber Monday blurs, reports the Christian Science Monitor . About 41% of retailers plan one-day sales on their websites, up from 33% last year. The CSM recommends this aggregator site to get a...

Shopper Cuts Line, Says She'll Shoot Grumblers

Black Friday madness in Madison!

(Newser) - Not a recommended Black Friday shopping strategy: cutting to the front of the line of patiently waiting shoppers ... then threatening to shoot them after they complain. A 21-year-old Wisconsin woman was arrested last night after making just such threats. The incident happened outside a Toys 'R' Us store in Madison...

Who's Spending the Most Today?

People in Austin, Texas, most likely

(Newser) - It's Black Friday, so Americans are out spending money in droves—but who's spending the most? In the Daily Beast , Anneli Rufus gets us a little closer to an answer, by way of 15 spending stats:
  • If you're an online shopper ... you spend 24.6% more than a brick-and-mortar shopper.
...

How to Survive Black Friday
 How to Survive Black Friday 

How to Survive Black Friday

If you're serious about it, start doing your research this very second

(Newser) - For some, Black Friday will actually begin tonight. "I leave the house at 9:30pm on Thanksgiving," one serious shopper tells the New York Daily News . "Everything used to open at 6am, but every year it gets even earlier." With 138 million Americans expected to be...

This Year's Hot Toy: Squinkies
 This Year's Hot Toy: Squinkies 

This Year's Hot Toy: Squinkies

If your kid absolutely needs one, you may be out of luck

(Newser) - Every year, there’s some toy that—often inexplicably—leaps off the shelves long before Christmas. This year, it’s the Squinkies. Toymaker Bill Nichols developed the tiny, squishy rubber characters (which come packaged vending-machine-style, in plastic bubbles) last year, figuring they would sell well in a struggling economy. And...

15 Best Stores to Hit on Black Friday

One will even give you free breakfast

(Newser) - Planning your Black Friday shopping agenda? The Daily Beast rounds up the 15 stores you should definitely hit up, having ranked the largest national retailers based on prices, hours, and extra perks offered. The ones that scored the highest:
  1. Sam's Club: Opens at 5am and offers a free breakfast of
...

On Black Friday, $89 Kindles
 On Black Friday, $89 Kindles 

On Black Friday, $89 Kindles

Amazon.com announces deal on Facebook

(Newser) - There's no need to leave your house to snag a killer Black Friday deal, like the one Amazon just announced: a Kindle e-reader for $89. The site disclosed the deal on its Facebook page, David Carnoy reports for CNET . The only catch: You can only get the previous generation (Amazon's...

Must We Shop on Thanksgiving?
 Must We Shop 
 on Thanksgiving? 
OPINION

Must We Shop on Thanksgiving?

Sears and Kmart will be open, moans Francine Kiefer

(Newser) - Forget the Grinch, or Scrooge: This year's holiday-spoiling honors go to Sears, writes Francine Kiefer. Last year the title went to Kmart, which kept its doors open all day long on Thanksgiving. Sears will join it this year, tempting not-yet-stuffed shoppers from 7am until noon—and it's "enough to...

Walmart Rolls Out Free Shipping

No minimum purchase. Online retailers gulp.

(Newser) - Walmart just got cheaper: The retail giant today rolls out free shipping on its website with no minimum purchase, reports the New York Times. With cost-conscious consumers 55% somewhat likely to back out of a purchase if they have to pay for shipping, the move puts a ton of pressure...

Dow Climbs 27 as Year-End Rally Weakens
 Dow Climbs 27 as 
 Year-End Rally Weakens 
MARKETS

Dow Climbs 27 as Year-End Rally Weakens

Mastercard reports better-than-expected holiday sales

(Newser) - Stocks faltered but managed to reclaim most of the day's gains in the final hour of today's session. The day saw light trading volume and news of a bump in retail sales from MasterCard's SpendingPulse unit, the Wall Street Journal reports.
  • The Dow gained 26.98 points to close at
...

Holiday Sales Up 3.6%
 Holiday Sales Up 3.6% 

Holiday Sales Up 3.6%

Online spending surge fuels modest recovery

(Newser) - Retail holiday sales ticked up this year for a 3.6% improvement over 2008's disastrous showing. The modestly improved overall picture included a 15.5% surge in online shopping, thanks in part to snowstorms that stranded many shoppers at home the week before Christmas, as well as an almost 6%...

This Holiday's Worthy 3rd-World Charities
 This Holiday's Worthy 
 3rd-World Charities 
NICHOLAS KRISTOF

This Holiday's Worthy 3rd-World Charities

Nicholas Kristof's annual list focuses on little-known aid groups

(Newser) - “Tired of celebrating spiritual holidays with crass commercialism?” writes Nicholas D. Kristof, in full pitchman mode. Have no fear: “Nothing says ‘happy holidays’ like donating in Aunt Tilda’s name to build a composting toilet in Haiti.” A sampling of the New York Times columnist’s...

Suspect, 3 Hostages Leave Va. Post Office
 Suspect, 3 Hostages 
 Leave Va. Post Office 
UPDATED

Suspect, 3 Hostages Leave Va. Post Office

Suspect may have explosives taped to body

(Newser) - The suspect in today’s hostage situation at a western Virginia post office looks to have surrendered to authorities, leaving the Wytheville building along with three of his apparent captives. The hostages came out with hands raised, WSLS-TV reports, followed by a man in a wheelchair, whom police with shields...

Credit Reform May Drain $9B in Holiday Sales

Consumer protections result in lower limits, less spending

(Newser) - The impending enactment of new credit card law is poised to rob retailers of $9 billion in holiday sales compared to last year. The law, designed to protect consumers from rates being raised on the sly and sneaky fees, already has led to lower credit limits and more rejected applications...

Attention Procrastinators: It's Free Shipping Day

E-tailers try to lure the laziest of last-minute shoppers

(Newser) - Too lazy to physically go to a store, and such a procrastinator that you haven’t ordered your holiday gifts online already? Then today is a very important day for you, my friend. A group of almost 700 online retailers (complete list here ) have declared today “Free Shipping...

Holiday Shoppers Embrace Price-Comparing Apps

Secure deals with a wave of the smartphone, or go elsewhere

(Newser) - Smartphone downloads of apps designed to help shoppers find the product they want at the cheapest price are way up this holiday season, making it what the Wall Street Journal calls the “first app-powered Christmas.” Particularly useful are programs that utilize the camera of, say, your iPhone to...

Older, Cheaper Gadgets Make Great Gifts
 Older, Cheaper Gadgets 
 Make Great Gifts 
RECESSIONOMICS

Older, Cheaper Gadgets Make Great Gifts

Spend much less, get slightly less, but hey, it's a recession

(Newser) - A bunch of older gadgets—read: last year's models—"work fantastically well yet have been largely forgotten," Farhad Manjoo writes on Slate . What's more, they're relatively cheap, and perfect for the penny-pinching holiday shopper. A sampling:
  • Kindle 1: The design is a bit "off-putting," and the
...

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