Don’t feel down that it’s December 24 and you still have shopping to do. There are plenty of quick and easy options to consider—and you may even be rewarded for waiting so long.
Christmas shopping
Black Friday 2012 Factoids: What to Talk About While Elbowing Your Way through the Mall
Here are some Black Friday data points to enlighten (and perhaps annoy) shoppers while they’re waiting in line for stores to open up, wondering whether prices will be cheaper next week, or arguing with a driver in the parking lot after getting into a car accident:
E-Retail Strikes Back: Amazon’s Latest Strategies in War for Holiday Shopper Dollars
The Hottest Section of the Department Store May Be Online
First and foremost, big brick-and-mortar retailers want to drive foot traffic into stores during the holiday period. But even when it comes to the old-fashioned department store model, retailers understand that boosting online …
When Did We Start Counting Down the Days Until Black Friday?
Only 42 days left until … the day you buy gifts that you’re supposed to hand out several weeks later. Black Friday used to serve as an unofficial kickoff of the holiday shopping season. The big day full of sales was a reminder …
6 Ways to Stay Out of Debt This Holiday Season
Every January, there’s a proliferation of financial advice about how to recover from holiday-related spending. How about trying something different this year? Start strategizing now for ways to avoid running up those bills and …
Top 10 Shopping Trends for the 2011 Holiday Season
Here’s a look back at the frantic holiday shopping season that’s just passed—and that, among other things, reached a high point for self-gifting, shoplifting, free shipping, and procrastination. Without further adieu, this …
Retro Sneakers Literally All the Rage: Air Jordan XI Concords Cause Fights, Sell for Nearly $1,000
Each holiday season, an especially hot, must-have gift emerges, often triggering behavior by desperate consumers that seems wacky and ugly at the time — and even more so in retrospect. (Example: Some guy made $6,000 selling Zhu Zhu pets on eBay last year.) This year, the behavior surrounding one hot item seems especially extreme — …
More Shoppers Hit Dollar Stores for Holiday Gifts
The past few years of economic struggle have been a boom time for dollar stores. One study has it that business has been so strong in recent times at dollar stores, they now outnumber drugstores in the U.S. Consumers now rank …
Whoops! That Stuff You Ordered Weeks Ago from Best Buy? It’s Not Coming
Talk about dropping the ball. Best Buy waited until as late as this week — mere days before Christmas — to admit that it’s not going to be able to fulfill the online orders placed by some customers. These are customers, by the way, who made their purchases around Thanksgiving weekend, more than three weeks ago.
Scrooged: Walmart Managers Turn Down Layaway ‘Secret Santa’ Donor
After one anonymous woman in western Michigan generously paid for a stranger’s layaway purchases, reports of copycat good Samaritans have popped up around the country. But one would-be do-gooder in Houston was thwarted when she went to not one, but two local Walmarts with a request to donate $300 toward other people’s holiday gifts.
Which Country Is the Stingiest With Christmas Gifts? Who’s the Most Generous?
To no surprise, the U.S.’s legendary consumer culture hits the roof during the holiday season, with average per-person spending on gifts among the highest levels in the world. Americans aren’t the biggest Christmas spenders, though.
