Consumers and businesses alike are always seeking out ways to streamline the checkout experience, most recently with mobile payment systems like Apple Pay and Android Pay. But there’s one major retailer that won’t be jumping into new payment options just yet. [More]
Retail Services
Amazon Now Offers Free Limited One-Day Shipping To Prime Members In Select Cities
By 5.28.15
Sometimes waiting two days is just too long. Or at least that seems to be what Amazon is saying by offering Prime members limited free same-day delivery for some orders of $35 or more. [More]
Walmart Leak Reveals Name, Details Of Upcoming Amazon Prime Competitor
By 5.27.15
Earlier this month it was revealed that Walmart, whose online business has been hugely overshadowed by its bricks-and-mortar operations, was finally going to take a real stab at Amazon with the introduction of an annual subscription service that offered free shipping and other benefits, but at a lower yearly cost than Amazon Prime. Yesterday, the retailer goofed and tipped its hand to reveal some details on the upcoming service. [More]
Target Clarifies: They Reserve The Right To Ban Resellers
By 5.26.15
Target’s collections of downscale versions of products from big-name designers are hot sellers, and the quick disappearance of this year’s Lilly Pulitzer collection from its physical and virtual shelves followed the pattern. A month after that, people began to report that they were being banned from making purchases from Target because they bought too much. No, Target wasn’t rejecting capitalism: the retailer confirmed that they were taking action to deter resellers. [More]
Amazon Trying To Lure Etsy Sellers To New “Handmade” Marketplace
By 5.26.15
Amazon is apparently not content with just allowing third-party vendors to sell mass-produced items through the website. The online retail giant is reportedly prepping a new marketplace for customized, unique products, setting up a potential showdown with Etsy. [More]
Could Amazon & Penguin Random House Be Headed For A Hachette-Level Feud?
By 5.26.15
Almost exactly a year after Amazon and book publisher Hachette entered a very public feud over an e-book pricing dispute, the mega online retailer is reportedly on the cusp of engaging in a new battle with the world’s largest book publisher, Penguin Random House. [More]
Walmart To Require Meat Suppliers Provide Data On Antibiotics Use
By 5.22.15
Antibiotics used on farm animals account for more than 80% of all antibiotics sold in the U.S., and many of these drugs are medically important to the health of human beings. The overuse of antibiotics results in the development of drug-resistant pathogens, thus making the antibiotics less effective and requiring more potent drugs. Some of the nation’s biggest buyers of meat are making the switch toward purchasing antibiotic-free meat (or meat that is only given drugs not deemed medically important to humans), and today Walmart said it will begin collecting and sharing data on the antibiotics used by its meat suppliers. [More]
How Long Until A Hybrid Car Actually Saves Me Money?
By 5.21.15
Because common sense is more common than you might think, sales of hybrid cars are down now that gas prices have fallen as well. That makes sense. Yet there are some circumstances where it makes sense to buy a hybrid car, even when fuel costs are low. How do you know if that includes your situation? The government is here to help. [More]
Hobby Lobby Misses Prime Opportunity For More Christmas Mashups
By 5.21.15
Hobby Lobby, a chain of craft and home decor chains, is infamous on this site for two things: being the first retailer to put out Christmas merchandise every year, and for taking advantage of that fact by making glorious “Nightmare Before Christmas” trees, or Christmas trees covered with beautiful fall leaves and acorns. That’s why we’re disappointed in them: if they’re going to get Christmas decorations out in May, why not double-celebrate other holidays too? [More]
AT&T Ditching 2-Year Contracts At Walmart & Other Retailers
By 5.21.15
In the latest move to nudge new customers into paying full price for their phones, AT&T is going to stop offering 2-year contracts through third party retail stores like Walmart and others. [More]
EBay Rolling Out Its Own Prime-Like Service… In Germany
By 5.21.15
Just weeks after rumors surfaced that Walmart was working on its own Amazon Prime-esque service, eBay is jumping into the game — except its subscription service is only available across that big Atlantic pond – for now. [More]
Sam’s Club Doing Worse Than Costco, Will Try More Organic Food Maybe
By 5.20.15
If you’d like to study the uneven economic recovery of the last few years, just compare warehouse chains Costco and Sam’s Club. While both warehouse chains serve people who like to buy their granola bars 48 at a time, Walmart-owned Sam’s serves customers who are less affluent than the more urban customer base of Costco. [More]
Walmart Is Now The Rightful Owner Of Walmart.Horse
By 5.19.15
You’ll have to excuse us if we’re not in the greatest spirits today, as we’re in mourning for the loss of Walmart.horse, the nonsense website that Walmart spent actual time and money to shut down and acquire. [More]
Raiders Of The Lost Walmart Will Upgrade Your PC At Reasonable Prices
By 5.19.15
The Raiders of the Lost Walmart are a fearless band of retail archaeologists who will stop at nothing to find uncover every retail antiquity that the world’s big-box stores have to offer. Whether it’s a rebate due in 2004 or a Game Boy Advance of ambiguous color, the Raiders have shared their findings with Consumerist so we can all…well, mostly we’ve just learned not to shop for electronics on clearance at discount stores. [More]
Google Reportedly Adding Buy Button To Sponsored Mobile Search Results
By 5.18.15
Searching for and buying a product with your smartphone is about to get a bit easier. Google is reportedly just weeks away from adding a “buy” button to mobile search results, a move that will increase the company’s rivalry with other online marketplaces such as eBay and Amazon. [More]
Amazon Is Using NYC’s Subway System For Prime Now Deliveries
By 5.18.15
Anyone who’s ever tried driving through a big city knows that cars aren’t always the best way to get from point A to point B, especially during rush hour and other busy times, or when construction is snarling traffic. So when it comes to getting packages delivered on time, Amazon figures it might as well skip the truck and take public transit instead. [More]
1-In-10 U.S. Households Sharing Passwords For Netflix & Other Streaming Services
By 5.18.15
A new study confirms that video streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime, have quickly become the new norm, and are being accessed by a majority of American homes. However, not everyone who’s logging in to binge-watch Orange Is The New Black or Transparent is paying for it. [More]
One Month After Closing Stores For Plumbing Repairs, Walmart Actually Files For Permits
By 5.15.15
When Walmart closed five stores in four different states on the same day, claiming that they were shutting down due to unspecified “plumbing problems,” people became suspicious. Some citizen theories involve the military, and others involve the nationwide OUR Walmart walkouts that began at one of the California stores targeted for temporary closing. One piece of evidence was that Walmart hadn’t yet filed for permits for any of these urgent renovations. Well, now they have. [More]
