It’s not complicated why people write fake online reviews: The goal is to help a company out, either by praising its services or products and pumping up its ratings, or by bashing the competition with a scathing critique. But researchers have another theory about why some consumers—with apparently no axe to grind or financial interests …
Smart Spending
Decoding the Secret Language of Price Tags
Why do the prices at retailers like Costco and Target usually end in .99, but occasionally feature a quirky 7 or 4 for items in the clearance section? Obsessive shopping experts and store employees have been leaking the “secrets” …
Why One Theme-Park Company Swears It’s Happy to Be Attracting Fewer Visitors
SeaWorld appears to be losing the theme-park wars lately, with declining visitor numbers during the same months that Disney and Universal have seen admission sales soar. Is this all part of the plan for SeaWorld?
Hotel Brands Become World Travelers
In today’s world, there’s a large swath of travelers that—no matter which country they call home—owns iPhones, drinks Starbucks coffee, and furnishes their homes with the help of IKEA. It’s a safe bet they’re also attracted to the same kinds of hotels.
‘Your Mileage May Vary’: Truer Than Ever with Today’s Hybrid Cars
For months, owners of Ford’s C-Max Hybrid have complained that they weren’t getting anywhere near the 47 MPH promised on the car’s window. This week, the automaker said that these customers just may have been onto something.
In the Craft Beer World, a Pecking Order Emerges
Not all suds claiming the “craft beer” label are created equal. Which beers are considered to be the height of pure unadulterated craft production, and which do beer geeks consider barely a step up from Bud?
Check Out the Car Custom-Designed for Millennials, By Millennials
What’s the ideal car for the millennial generation? Well, there’s some debate as to whether Gen Y consumers want cars at all. But for those who do, Mazda has helped develop a concept that’s supposed to be perfect for millennial drivers.
College Football Encounters Its Biggest Rival: The Couch
The new reality is that some of the biggest, most popular college football programs in the country can’t jack up ticket prices annually, put a decent team on the field, and expect fans to happily pack the stadium week in, week out.
In Extra Competitive Back-to-School Season, Retailers Roll Out Big (and Quirky) Deals
The 2013 back-to-school shopping period hasn’t represented boom times for retailers — so stores have felt forced to be extra creative in their attempts to attract shoppers
Atlantic City Casino Promotion Bashed By Watchdogs Is a Big Hit with Gamblers
The “You can’t lose” promotion, which promised to refund losses at slot machines Atlantic City’s Revel, appears to be a big winner for the casino—even if consumer advocates think the deal is misleading at best.
That Craft Beer You’re Drinking Isn’t Craft Beer. Do You Care?
Beer drinkers don’t encounter the word “microbrew” much anymore. The preferred term now is “craft beer.” But there’s much discussion—and quite a bit of bitterness—about which brews are truly deserving of the label.
Foodie Havens Where They Once Never Could Have Been Imagined
For years, if your stomach was rumbling at the mall, an airport or a baseball stadium, the pickings tended to be slim, if not grim. Now that the foodie craze has gone fully mainstream, even these destinations are welcoming celebrity chefs and fancy dishes that transcend the old mall food court.