Why Are Zhu Zhu Pet Hamsters So Hot this Holiday Season?
One theory: Because parents don’t want to buy their kids real hamsters.
Articles from Contributor
Top Swaps: The Year’s Most Popularly Traded DVDs, CDs, Books, and Video Games
In a year when a barter economy got new life, when consumers became more comfortable trading services or goods for everything from health care to a new wardrobe, some items switched hands a lot more than others. Among the most popular goods to swap were “The Dark Knight” on DVD, Taylor Swift CDs, Wii Fit, and books from the Twilight series.
The Top ‘Recession Porn’ Stories of 2009
With an apparently resurgent economy, the media genre known as recession porn may be gone for good. What, exactly, is recession porn? You know it when you see it. Basically, it’s the fascination with all the weird ways the recession has affected different groups of people—the rich and privileged especially, because everyone knows the …
Why the Mail-in Rebate Isn’t Money in the Bank
Roughly 60% of people never apply for the rebate in the first place.
This Just In: Shoppers Love Discounts, and Love Shopping Online
And this holiday season, they’ve often gotten to enjoy both of them at the same time. Thus far this holiday season, online shopping purchases are up 4%, and the average discount on specially promoted gift items is a markdown of 26.4% off of the retail price, up 5.6% from last year.
Costco as Holiday Party Caterer
A writer throws a fancy holiday party exclusively using food and drink from warehouse stores. The results? A reasonably inexpensive dinner, and more leftovers than she knows what to do with.
Higher Incomes, Less Happiness
A recently released study by the CDC reveals that people who live in sunny, warm states—Hawaii, Florida, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Arizona are the top 5—report the highest levels of satisfaction in their lives. But what I find most interesting is what’s going on at the bottom of the list: The states with the least happy people tend …
Toys, Toys, and More Toys
The average American child receives 70 new toys a year. And as you’re probably well aware, more are coming soon.
Zhu Zhu Pet Countdown: Still No Robot Hamster? Here Are Your Zhu Zhu Options
I’m not quite sure why I feel the need to track the Zhu Zhu Pet fad, but I do. (Note to self: File “Zhu Zhu” in the category of “Unresolved Issues,” somewhere between “Never Got Air Jordans” and “Wasn’t Allowed to Go to Beastie Boys Concert in 8th Grade.”) With one week before Christmas, here’s how things are looking, Zhu Zhu-wise.
Glyde: An eBay that’s ‘Easy Enough for My Mom to Use’
Simon Rothman, a former eBay executive, discusses his new venture called Glyde. It’s an online marketplace that aims to make life easy for buyers and sellers alike by automatically formatting listings and setting prices. Sellers don’t have to upload images, and they’re even given pre-stamped, pre-addressed packages, so that all they have …
Two-thirds of Folks Who Received Stimulus Checks Never Spent Them
Remember the 2008 stimulus checks that President Bush OK’d, hoping the recipients would spend the money and give the economy a boost? Most people just put the money in the bank.
Attention Consumers: You Are Being Profiled
To some extent, the “new frugality” of consumers seems like it is here to stay. That doesn’t bode well for businesses that rely on the liberal spending of disposable income, or for the economy as a whole. So, in the hopes of getting Americans back in the buying mood, researchers and marketers are donning their lab coats to examine this …