We’ve heard numerous stories over the years of someone having their debit card stolen and then watching online in horror as their account was drained while waiting for someone at the bank to pick up the phone. But here’s a story of a woman who was able to nab the thief of her debit card — because he tried to buy $200 worth of toys with it right in front of her. [More]
Retail Services
Target Opens 6 p.m. Thanksgiving Day, Says Black-Friday-Like Deals Start This Week
By 11.10.14
Who needs to wait for Black Friday when you can apparently start racking up similar deals weeks in advance? Target joined other retailers like Walmart in announcing its holiday shopping plans, which include early access to deals and opening the doors at 6 p.m. Thanksgiving night. [More]
Setting Off A Firecracker Inside A Walmart Is Not A Good Way To Distract From Video Game Theft
By 11.10.14
There’s typically no shortage of interesting happenings at Walmart stores across the country. Just last week a teenager allegedly set fire to a display of christmas-themed stuffed animals, and this week a man allegedly set-off a firecracker in the video game aisle. [More]
Customers Accuse Sephora Of Banning Shoppers With Asian Surnames
By 11.7.14
Would Sephora really ban customers who spend thousands of dollars every year with them? Last year, frequent customers say they had their ability to place online orders taken away for buying too much stuff. This year, frequent customers report having their accounts shut down or their ability to place orders restricted. Funny, thing though: all of these customers have e-mail addresses based in China, or Chinese surnames. [More]
Toys ‘R’ Us Opening At 5 P.M. On Day That Used To Be Called ‘Thanksgiving’
By 11.7.14
Are you looking forward to spending Thanksgiving Day standing in line and fighting with fellow shoppers over the last remote-controlled dinosaur? No? It doesn’t really matter whether you plan to show up or not: opening at 5 P.M. on Thanksgiving Day worked out for Toys ‘R’ Us last year, and they’re planning to do the same again this year. [More]
Sears Holdings Ponders Forming A Real Estate Trust, Selling Stores To It
By 11.7.14
Two things are true about Sears Holdings: the company owns a lot of stores, and those stores are not selling enough merchandise. In order to raise some cash, in the last year the company has spun off its best quality clothing brand, sold shares in its Canadian subsidiary, borrowed money from its CEO, and taken on some roommates. What’s next? Selling some of its stores and leasing them back. [More]
Home Depot Hackers Used Self-Checkouts To Access 56M Credit/Debit Cards, 53M Email Addresses
By 11.7.14
We’re beginning to get a clearer picture of just what led to the massive Home Depot data breach discovered less than two months ago. [More]
Amazon Echo: What Happens When You Put Siri Inside A Speaker
By 11.6.14
Have you ever been working in the kitchen, or just sitting on the couch, and wanted to update your calendar, find out the weather, or get the answer to a trivia question… but your phone or computer was out of reach? Amazon is hoping to cater to people in that situation — and anyone who enjoys talking aloud to electronics — with its newly announced Amazon Echo speaker. [More]
Costco May Finally Start Accepting Something Other Than American Express
By 11.6.14
Costco may be very generous with the free food samples and might have a very forgiving return policy, but when it comes to paying with a credit card at the warehouse club, customers have only one option: American Express. But a new report claims that we could be seeing the end of Costco customers being forced to use their AmEx when buying 872 lbs. of steak and enough toilet paper to keep a small nation clean. [More]
USPS Will Deliver Some Non-Amazon Packages On Sundays
By 11.6.14
Last year, Amazon.com began Sunday delivery in certain large cities, delighting customers who like to get their Amazon packages earlier, and delighting the United States Postal Service, which remains desperate for new sources of revenue. Apparently, we’re all doing so much shopping online that the USPS will be making more Sunday deliveries this year to spread out the burden of hauling things to our doorsteps. [More]
Amazon Extending Some Prime Benefits To Partner Sites
By 11.6.14
The way an Amazon Prime membership works right now, all of the perks of online shopping, like free two-day shipping, are benefits enjoyed only while purchasing goods on Amazon itself. But now Amazon is dipping its toes in the pool of friendship, as it’s joining up with partner sites to extend some of those benefits to shoppers buying stuff on other sites as well. [More]
Woman Receives Home Depot Package With Fire Starter, Tons Of Shredded Checks, Bank Statements
By 11.6.14
A Colorado woman got more than she bargained for when ordering a fire starter for Home Depot: A box full of other people’s shredded checks and bank statements. [More]
The Future Of Amazon Same-Day Deliveries May Be In Taxis
By 11.5.14
The days when lumbering, hulking trucks ruled the world of package delivery might someday may come to an end, as the roads make way for smaller, lighter delivery vehicles. Amazon tested package delivery using licensed cabs in San Francisco and Los Angeles this fall, as it looks into using the vehicles to bring customers their goods. [More]
Police: Woman Admits She Hit Walmart Shopper With Her Car After Losing A Parking Spot
By 11.5.14
We’ve all been there: The parking lot is crowded, your errands are pressing, the day has been long and oh hallelujah, there it is, a parking spot that’s about to open up. So you wait, patiently. And then, right when you think everything isg king to work out and you’ll be sitting pretty any second, another car swoops in and asides into the spot destined for you. Sure, you’re probably going to be ticked off. But despite any negative feelings toward your fellow shopper at that moment, violence is never the answer. [More]
Target Closing More Stores This Year Than In Last Two Years Combined
By 11.5.14
Yesterday, Target announced that it would be closing 11 underperforming stores by Feb. 2015, which only represents a small fraction of the retailer’s 1,800 stores in the U.S. But that brings this year’s total number of Target closures to 19, nearly five times the number of stores shuttered the previous year. [More]
California Teen Allegedly Sets Christmas-Themed Stuffed Animals On Fire At Walmart
By 11.5.14
In the past we’ve reported on some very disturbing behavior when it comes to consumers, stuffed animals, and Walmart (remember the humping incident?). The weirdness continued early this morning at a California store when a teen allegedly started a fire with the toys. [More]
Raiders Of The Lost Walmart Have Your Windows Vista Needs Covered
By 11.5.14
Do you need a copy of Windows Vista, a rather poorly-received version of the operating system? We can’t think of any circumstances under which someone would need a copy of Vista, but maybe there is one. If there is, one Walmart store has got them covered. [More]
Disney Has Sold 3 Million ‘Frozen’ Character Costumes, Plans To Sell More
By 11.4.14
As we shared before Halloween, this year some of the most popular costumes for girls (and a few boys) were the lead characters from the animated Disney movie “Frozen.” While the movie came out last winter, Disney announced that it remains popular, and they’re going to be putting even more “Frozen” merchandise, including costumes, on the shelves for the holiday season. [More]
