Halloween spending has been one of the few spending categories to quickly bounce back from the recession. And this year, the wild spending gets even scarier.
Odd Spending
Cashing in on iPhone 5 Queues: Big Bucks ($1,500!) Paid to Customers Waiting in Line
In cult-like fashion, thousands of consumers around the globe waited for hours, sometimes days, this week outside Apple Stores to be among the first to get their hands on the new iPhone 5. For a select few who were getting paid …
Beyond the Food Truck: 10 Offbeat Mobile Businesses
It started with the food truck. Hey, you can get Korean tacos on the street corner! Now, a growing number of service businesses have gotten on board, giving an entirely new meaning to the phrase “mobile commerce.” These days, …
Ouch! Majority of ‘Hot’ Holiday Toys Cost $50 or More
We may still have over a month until it’s Halloween, and another couple of months must pass before it’s Christmas, but Toys R Us just released its Holiday Hot Toy List. Perhaps more surprising than how early the list is being …
We’ve Spent Almost $6 Billion on iPhone Repairs Since 2007
It may always be a mystery exactly how someone manages to drop an iPhone into a toilet, but we won’t have to wonder about the financial repercussions any longer. A new study estimates that Americans have spent some $5.9 billion …
What’s New in Spoiled Children, and Spoiled Pets
Time and again, consumer trends point out that people are increasingly pampering their pets as if they were children. Or is it the other way around? In any event, they’re both pretty spoiled.
What Was Restoration Hardware Thinking Putting Out a 992-Page Catalog?
Last fall, some questioned the wisdom of Restoration Hardware’s printing and distributing what was then it’s largest-ever “Source Book”—a 616-page glossy, beautifully photographed and designed catalog loaded to the brim with …
Happy Holidays for Gamers: Price Wars Expected for Video-Game Consoles
Gamers won’t be able to get their hands on the new Nintendo Wii U games system until November 18, but preorders from some major retailers for the $300 consoles have already sold out. Discounts for the Wii U are unlikely in the …
Your E-mail In-Box Is About to Be Swamped. Happy Holidays!
Warm up your “delete” button. A new study about retailer e-mail trends shows that stores are sending messages to subscribers earlier in the season—well before the season even begins, actually, in many shoppers’ eyes. The …
Groceries or Mobile Phone? Plenty of Consumers Spend More on the Latter
Based on all the excitement over Apple’s new iPhone 5, there’s no denying plenty of consumers just can’t get enough of their gadgets. But do some people care more about their mobile phones than they do about food—you know, the …
Major League Baseball Tickets for 1¢? Yep, Even for Teams in Playoff Hunt
Who says it has to cost a fortune to go to a pro sporting event? Sure, the average ticket to an NFL game officially costs around $80, and seats on the secondary market average closer to $200. But as the Major League Baseball …
Got Milk? Increasingly, the Answer Is No
According to recently released U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics, U.S. milk sales came to about 6 billion gallons last year. Sounds like a lot, but it’s actually the lowest total since 1984. Why are we drinking less milk?