sadness
Did you know there was an index to measure misery?
Misery is defined as a state of great unhappiness and emotional distress. The economic indicator most often used to measure misery is the Misery Index. The index, created by economist Arthur Okun, adds the unemployment rate to the inflation rate. It has been in the narrow 7-to-9 range for most of the past decade, but was over 20 during the late 1970s.
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happy holidays
Prepare for disappointment this holiday season because a survey from Deloitte & Touche says the average consumer is planning to
spend less on fewer presents. The average New England holiday shopping budget is down 19% to $517, and the average shopper is prepared to buy only 24 gifts - which to us, still seems like a lot.
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sadness
Join the Consumerist in remembering Marvin Zindler, consumer reporter from Houston, TX. Zindler delivered the weekly "rat and roach" reports and famous catch phrase "all together now, SLIIIME in the ice machine," on Houston's channel 13 for nearly 35 years.
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retail
Electronics retailers want to sell the iPhone and they're speaking out about it. A good many customers don't realize that the iPhone is being sold exclusively by AT&T and Apple stores and they're wandering into electronics retailers asking for the phone, according to CNN Money. This makes consumer electronics retailers sad.
J&R Music World, New York, a long-time Apple dealer, said, "This is a product J&R is interested in as both an Apple and AT&T dealer. We think we can do a good job with it. Our customers have expressed a great deal of interest in the product," noted a spokesman.
...
"We're the guys that sell the 103-inch Plasma TV from Panasonic. (NYSE:MC) We were one of the first retailers to carry Sonos. We have the know-how and customer base to sell the iPhone," said Tom Galanis, merchandising VP for 6th Avenue Electronics, Springfield, N.J. He added, "A cellphone store is a cellphone store. My feeling is they are shooting themselves in the foot ... Apple would be better served by picking a few higher-end retailers that have a track record of selling high-end technology."
...
"We sell elaborate home networks and people view their homes or their kids with the babysitter when they are out to dinner. Because of the iPhone's large screen, it works fine with that application, and our customers want to put it on the network."
Wait, you can watch your baby monitor on the iPhone? It's a brave new world.
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Consumerist
hurt feelings
