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 …
Smart Spending
Final Holiday Shopping Marathon: Stores Stay Open 112 Hours in a Row Before Christmas
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.
One-Quarter of Consumers Haven’t Even Started Holiday Shopping Yet
In a survey conducted this past weekend, 25% of consumers said they hadn’t yet bought a single present for the holidays. But they can’t blame retailers — many of which launched Christmas sales starting in September.
Last-Minute Online Holiday Shopping: Still Time for Free Shipping That’ll Arrive for Christmas
Not only has free shipping been readily available to online shoppers this holiday season, the deadlines for placing an order shipped for free in time for Christmas have never been closer to the holiday itself. While most stores cut off such free shipping offers earlier this week, several e-retailers are still floating promotions …
Why the End of December Is a Great Time to Buy a Car
New or used? Economy, mid-level, or luxury? No matter what kind of vehicle you have in mind, the end of the year is when hardnosed bargain hunters head to the car dealership—for good reason.
The Blackberry Moral (Or: The Trouble With Too Many Options)
We were intrigued but not surprised by a recent article in the New York Times detailing troubles at Research in Motion, maker of the Blackberry. Among several problems facing the Canadian tech company is an overabundance of …
2011 Is Priciest Year Ever for Gasoline: $3.53 Per Gallon, Over $4K Spent Per Household
By the time 2011 ends, the typical U.S. household will have spent $4,155 gassing up their vehicles. That’s one out of every $12 of median household income—the highest proportion for filling up in three decades.
You’re Paying $100 a Year to Watch Sports on TV—Even If You Don’t Watch
As a rule, consumers don’t like paying for things they don’t enjoy. Even so, despite the widespread consumer desire for an a la carte model, in which pay TV customers could select (and be charged) only for the channels they want, …
Psych Experts: There’s Nothing Crazy About Giving Christmas Presents to Pets
Wanna hang a stocking for your cat? Or wrap a new rhinestone collar and place it under the tree so your dog can open it on Christmas morning? Knock yourself out, say psychologists.
Stop Changing the Oil Every 3,000 Miles Already!
The idea that the oil must be changed in a car every 3,000 miles or three months is a myth that even Jiffy Lube admits is not true. Nonetheless, the majority of drivers still insist on changing the oil more often than necessary, …
Season of Giving: More Secret Santas Pay Off Strangers’ Layaway Accounts
Shoppers aren’t being bashful about throwing money around this holiday season: Americans spent $52 billion at stores over Black Friday weekend alone. While the holidays are long known for charity, one of the newest traditions …