There’s a long, storied history of retailers battling it out for holiday shopping dollars. Price wars, seasonal promotions aimed at one-upping the competition, and price-matching guarantees are all commonplace, and considered …
Smart Spending
Holiday Shoppers Hitting Pawn Stores in Big Numbers
It has been a huge year for retail sales so far in the holiday shopping season, with $52 billion spent over Black Friday weekend and another $6 billion spent online during the “Cyber Week” that followed. Here’s one more hot …
New Holiday Tradition: Buying Yourself a Gift
Gift exchanges are so inefficient. Unless everyone’s picked out presents via gift registry, there’s a decent chance someone will receive an unwanted gift—which amounts to a waste of time and money. And if everyone’s picked out …
Should You Buy a Toddler a Tablet? How About a $480 Tablet?
This year’s “it” gift for the holidays seems to the tablet. Apple‘s iPad has remained in strong demand from the get-go, and the rest of the tablet and e-reader market has gotten hot because so many affordable options have hit the …
More Cremations, Thanks to the Economy
The death of a loved one is traumatic enough. The scenario of late typically involves difficult decisions and costly medical expenses—followed by a potentially costly ceremony and burial. Increasingly, though, families are cutting expenses by choosing cremation, which costs less than half of the price of a traditional burial.
Retail Shoppers: 3 Minutes to Check-out, Or I’m Out of Here!
Long lines are bad for business. An especially long line at a store’s checkout area can scare off some customers from making a purchase, or just leave the shopper aggravated—and less likely to come back. Also, the longer the …
Are There Really More Dollar Stores Than Drugstores in the U.S.?
The family-run drugstore on Main Street has been dying for decades. Now, the big national chain pharmacies—which helped push those family operations to the brink of extinction—are being surpassed in terms of total locations …
Use Amazon’s Price Check App and Save $15 This Saturday
How’s this for a brazen move to steal business away from brick-and-mortar stores? Under normal circumstances, a shopper using Amazon’s Price Check app in a physical store can instantaneously check to see if Amazon sells the same merchandise for a better price. This Saturday, however, when a consumer uses the app, Amazon will show its …
The $205 You Don’t Know You Have
Given that most families’ budgets are stretched tight during the holidays, would it surprise you to learn that you have a little more than $200 that you’re never going to use? A new study says Americans “throw away” nearly a third of the credit card rewards they earn over the course of a year. Want to be $205 richer? Read on.
Attention Shoppers: Nothing Special About the ‘Special’ Prices in Aisle 7
There’s an art to getting the unsuspecting shopper to spend more at the grocery store. Among the classic ploys is the use of misleading pricing and signage—like posting a “NOW!” price that would imply a discount, when the item …
The Cost of Being Festive: We’re on Pace to Drop $6 Billion on Inflatable Santas and Other Decorations
The continued uncertainty and overall dreariness of the economy doesn’t seem to be dampening consumers’ holiday spirits. Nor is it stopping shoppers from stocking up on LED holiday light displays, inflatable lawn decorations, and …
40% or More Off! Cyber Monday’s Over, But Huge Online Discounts Keep Coming
The Monday after Thanksgiving is renowned for site-wide discounts from e-retailers. Combined with nearly universal free shipping promotions, sites knocked 30% or more off all merchandise purchased online, helping to make for the biggest Cyber Monday sales numbers ever. While Cyber Monday is gone, the deals aren’t. Actually, in some ways, …