holiday shopping

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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
Dec 12, 2009 7:58 AM CST

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
...

Feds: Zhu Zhu Pets OK
 Feds: Zhu Zhu Pets OK 
UPDATED
Dec 7, 2009 9:06 PM CST

Feds: Zhu Zhu Pets OK

Chemical levels don't violate standards

(Newser) - Zhu Zhu Pets robotic hamsters—one of the holiday season's hottest toy crazes—do not violate safety standards, federal toy regulators say after a consumer group raised concerns over the presence of a heavy metal on one model. The toy "is not out of compliance," says a spokesman...

Zhu Zhu Pet Maker: Get Off Mr. Squiggles!
Zhu Zhu Pet Maker: Get Off Mr. Squiggles!
damage control
Dec 7, 2009 5:17 PM CST

Zhu Zhu Pet Maker: Get Off Mr. Squiggles!

Watchdog site used cheap equipment to back chemical claim

(Newser) - The maker of Zhu Zhu Pets is aggressively defending one of its toy hamsters against claims by a watchdog group that Mr. Squiggles contains unsafe levels of a dangerous chemical. Tests by an independent lab show the toy does not contain dangerous levels of antimony, as claimed by the GoodGuide...

Dangerous Chemical in Zhu Zhu Pet: Watchdog

Maker denies stuffed hamster contains unsafe level of antimony

(Newser) - The manufacturer of Zhu Zhu Pets is defending Mr. Squiggles against charges the stuffed hamster contains unsafe levels of a dangerous chemical. The robotic toys are the big hit of the holiday shopping season—or they were, before GoodGuide said one model has more than the permitted level of antimony,...

DVD Box Sets of TV Shows Are Pure Evil

Even the best programs will end up seeming superficial

(Newser) - This holiday season, have some pity on your friends and relatives—spare them the DVD box sets of their favorite TV shows. "The DVD box set is the newest and most terrifying form of ritualistic abuse we inflict on one another," writes Grady Hendrix. Not only are we...

Sales Rise Even Though Shoppers Spend Less
 Sales Rise Even Though 
 Shoppers Spend Less 
thanksgiving weekend
Nov 29, 2009 4:58 PM CST

Sales Rise Even Though Shoppers Spend Less

$41.2B weekend total beats 2008 haul by $1.2B

(Newser) - Thanksgiving weekend retail sales totaled $41.2 billion, a .5% jump over last year's $41 billion, but the average shopper spent 8% less than in 2008, $343.31 against $372.57. Discounts, especially on electronics and toys, were the overwhelming attraction as cautious consumers pried open their wallets, Bloomberg reports....

Black Friday Sees Strong Crowds, Picky Shoppers

Early reports suggest a decent start to the holiday retail season

(Newser) - It will take a few days for the Black Friday sales numbers to be crunched, but early indications show a decent, if unspectacular, shopping day. A retailer trade group reported "strong crowds" across the board, notes Bloomberg , with high-def TVs, laptops, winter coats, and those ubiquitous Zhu Zhu hamsters...

Black Friday Brings Out the Shoppers

Consumers not too downtrodden for 5am campouts

(Newser) - Economic woes didn’t prevent shoppers from camping out outside stores across the country this morning, as retailers offered especially deep Black Friday discounts. Most opened early as well, with some, including Wal-Mart and many Old Navy stores, opening yesterday to get a jump on things. Toys R Us opened...

Sleep in Tomorrow; Better Bargains Begin Sunday

Cyber Sunday joins Cyber Monday as deals shift online

(Newser) - Black Friday ain’t what it used to be. “Stay at home and shop online,” a Saks exec advises, as retailers shift away from the traditional after-Thanksgiving bargain stampede to discounts spread throughout the holiday season. Most in-store deals tomorrow, especially in electronics, will be on lower-end products...

Holiday Shopping Tip: Money Can Buy You Love
Holiday Shopping Tip: Money Can Buy You Love
george will
Nov 26, 2009 9:49 AM CST

Holiday Shopping Tip: Money Can Buy You Love

Yuletide economics dissected

(Newser) - Christmas is coming, and the "voluntary December calamity" of destruction of billions of dollars in value is under way, writes George Will. People will splurge on gifts their relatives and friends don't want or need, and the discrepancy between the cost of the present and its value to the...

What Not to Buy on Black Friday
 What Not to Buy on Black Friday 
Farhad Manjoo
Nov 24, 2009 11:39 AM CST

What Not to Buy on Black Friday

Netbooks, e-books and other bad deals

(Newser) - Step away from the gizmos. Even if you make it through the Black Friday crowds unharmed, you may do serious damage to your wallet, writes Farhad Manjoo in Slate , who runs down what to buy and bypass at the big box store: Don't Buy:
  • E-book readers: The market is heating
...

Holiday Shipping Costs Get the Heave-Ho-Ho

Charges ditched as online competition heats up

(Newser) - Free shipping is quickly becoming the rule instead of a bonus as online and catalog retailers seek to lure holiday shoppers. Many shoppers searching for deals now abandon Internet shopping sites as soon as they find they must pay shipping costs, analysts are finding. Some 57% of retailers are offering...

Retailers Sell Flicks Online at Less Than Cost
Retailers Sell Flicks Online at Less Than Cost
RACE TO THE BOTTOM
Nov 6, 2009 10:42 AM CST

Retailers Sell Flicks Online at Less Than Cost

Big-box giants drop price of 10 hottest DVD titles to $10

(Newser) - Wal-Mart has spurred an online DVD price war by dropping prices on 10 must-have movies to just $10, which analysts agree is below wholesale cost. “We remain committed to offering our customers the lowest prices online at Walmart.com, and will continue to adjust our pricing accordingly,” a...

iPhone Users Get Leg Up on Black Friday

App lets shoppers check deals, and rumored deals

(Newser) - If you’re already getting your Black Friday game face on, consider making the Black Friday app the first thing on your shopping list. The free program from dealnews can keep you up to date on both officially announced bargains and deals that have “leaked,” and lets you...

Palin's Book, Going Rogue, Will Be Out by Thanksgiving

Ex-candidate borrows phrase used on her during '08 campaign

(Newser) - Trading on a phrase often used to describe her actions in the final weeks of last year’s presidential campaign, Sarah Palin’s memoir will be called Going Rogue—and you’ll be able to get it for all the Mama Grizzlies on your holiday shopping list, too. Palin beat...

Christmas in September Leaves Shoppers Cold

No, you're not crazy, it is still September

(Newser) - Look around your local department store, and you might encounter a ridiculous site: a Christmas display. Yes, retailers are already decking their halls, desperate to get a piece of consumers’ dwindling holiday budgets before their competitors do. Consumers aren't buying it. “You can’t get in the Christmas spirit...

Outlook Bleak for Holiday Hiring

Pessimistic retailers plan to slash seasonal jobs

(Newser) - Retail jobs are expected to be in short supply even as the holiday shopping season approaches, the Wall Street Journal reports. Some 40% of retail chains surveyed say they plan to hire fewer workers this year than they did last year when the recession forced many to cut staffing levels....

Toys R Us Pumped Up for Holiday Offensive

Chain plans to open 80 temporary stores in time for holiday shopping season

(Newser) - Toys R Us is getting ready to go on the offensive in the battle for holiday sales, the Washington Post reports. The company—which snapped up the KB Toys and FAO Schwarz brands earlier this year—plans to open 80 temporary "Holiday Express" stores in malls across the country,...

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