People usually don’t save their Black Friday circulars from year to year, because that would be really weird. Here’s the thing, though: the deals on the shopping holiday aren’t that great to begin with, and they also repeat from year to year. [More]
holidays
Shoplifters’ 10 Favorite Things To Steal During The Holidays
By 11.1.16
In the shopping rush of the holiday season, it’s always wise to keep in mind that not everyone is in the giving mood: shoplifters do a lot of damage during this busy time of year, and there are certain things they like stealing better than others. [More]
Nordstrom Rack, hhgregg, TJMaxx Also Want You To Know They’re Closed On Thanksgiving Day
By 10.12.16 — Updated: 10.13.16
For the last half-decade or so, the beginning of Black Friday has gradually crept back, with mainstream American retailers giving the shopping holiday precedence over the actual holiday, opening on Thanksgiving Day. Then the trend reversed, as retailers came to realize that they could harvest good publicity by staying closed on the holiday and making sure that the public knows it. We’re guessing that they didn’t earn enough money to make opening on the holiday worth their while. [More]
Mall Of America, Staples, BJ’s Make Sure You Know They’re Closed On Thanksgiving
By 10.5.16 — Updated: 11.14.16
It was about five years ago that the Thanksgiving shopping trend began to metastasize throughout the retail business: opening times on Black Friday crept back from the wee hours of Black Friday morning to the late hours of Thanksgiving. Malls joined big-box stores, and Thanksgiving Day was fun for a few years. Then a widespread backlash began, and retailers took advantage of that. [More]
Report: 34M People Have Already Started Holiday Shopping
By 9.29.16
While some of us haven’t yet gotten all the beach sand out of shoes or pulled out the fall blankets, there are 34 million people out there who are already in the holiday spirit and have started shopping. [More]
Americans To Spend $8.4 Billion On Halloween, Not Including Pumpkin Spice Foods
By 9.22.16
If you’ve noticed more Halloween decorations and candy on store shelves, there’s a good reason for that: Americans are expected to spend an average of $82.93 per person celebrating Halloween this year, or a total of $8.4 billion. [More]
Will Peeps Worker Strike Put Easter Candy At Risk?
By 9.8.16
Love’em or hate’em, you’re probably used to seeing brightly-colored marshmallow Peeps in the shape of bunnies and chicks peeking out of Easter baskets every year. But now that hundreds of workers have walked off the job at the factory where the candy is made, is it possible that we may see a dip in the Peeps population next Easter? [More]
“Tax Day” Is Monday, April 18 This Year, No Matter What Your iPhone Tells You
By 4.12.16
Back in January, the Internal Revenue Service made it clear that taxpayers had until April 18 to file their federal income taxes. Apparently, Apple’s calendar didn’t get the message. [More]
Costumed Easter Bunny Brawls With Customer At NJ Mall
By 3.21.16
I don’t trust costumed animal mascots. Their enormous heads and soulless plastic eyes scare me. An incident at a New Jersey mall over the weekend showed that maybe this mistrust is justified, when a costumed Easter Bunny and a customer physically brawled over child safety issues. [More]
Calling All Last-Minute Shoppers: Today Is “Free Shipping Day”
By 12.18.15
It sounds pretty simple — it’s Free Shipping Day today (now you know), so one might think a bunch of retailers are offering up complimentary shipping, for delivery by Christmas Eve. One would be right, because there are a lot of stores dangling that bait, though not all of them will just hand it over without a little song and dance first. [More]
Holiday Travel Predicted To Hit Record High With 100 Million People Planning A Trip This Season
By 12.15.15
Santa Claus isn’t the only one polishing up his ride for the season: more than 100 million travelers are expected to take a trip for the holidays this year, which is a record number for the travel-heavy season. And, of course, it means sharing the roads and skies with more people than usual, which is always fun. [More]
Survey: Retailers Should Work To Be On Customer Service “Nice List” Year-Round, Or Risk Turning Off Shoppers
By 12.8.15
If retailers think they can be naughty all year when it comes to customer service, only to take their smiles out of storage and dust’em off when the holidays roll around, they’ve got another think coming, according to a recent survey that says customers can be very unforgiving. [More]
HOA Decides Not To Sue Man Over Controversial Christmas Display With Hundreds Of Lights, Live Camel
By 11.25.15
The Christmas show will go on this year at the home of one Idaho man who takes a next-level approach to the holiday: his local homeowner’s association has decided it won’t sue him over his display, which in the past included hundreds of lights, a live camel, carolers and of course, Santa Claus. [More]
The Average Price Of Thanksgiving Dinner Predicted To Top $50 For The First Time Ever This Year
By 11.19.15
It’s only a week until Thanksgiving, which means you’re probably getting your shopping list ready for the big day of feasting. Prepare yourself for (slightly) higher prices than last year, as experts predict that the average Turkey Day dinner will cost more than $50 for the first time ever. [More]
Google Maps & Search Results Now List Businesses’ Holiday Hours
By 11.6.15
Google is once again revamping its Maps and Search platforms, adding functionality to make the services more useful for consumers – especially those doing a little holiday shopping. [More]
Café Mocha Is Apparently Now The Flavor Of Winter And Christmas, Thanks To M&Ms
By 10.30.15
If pumpkin spice, pumpkin spice latte, and caramel apple are the flavors of fall, red velvet is the flavor of Valentine’s Day, and key lime pie and s’mores are the flavor of summer, what is the flavor of winter? Is there one? M&Ms have traditionally sold bags of cherry or mint flavored candies near Christmas, but now they’ve moved on to hot beverages. The flavor for Christmas is… café mocha. [More]
Target Confirms Free Shipping For All Online Orders During The Holiday Season
By 10.30.15
As predicted, Target has gone ahead and confirmed an that it retailer would offer free shipping for all online orders during the holiday season, announcing on Thursday that it’d drop all shipping fees for the second year in a row. [More]
LEGO Tells Everyone To Stop Freaking Out About Reported Holiday Season Shortage
By 10.22.15
Because there aren’t enough Lego bricks out there waiting for you to step on them, yesterday the Internet flipped out over news that the toy company wouldn’t have enough of the plastic pieces to meet demand this holiday season. “Nooooooo!” the masses wailed, “How can anyone be expected to take such an injustice?” Settle down, guys. LEGO says there’s no reason to freak out — at least, if you live in the U.S. [More]
