While Home Depot continues to drag its feet on confirming reports that its in-store payment systems were recently hacked, it looks like the retailer might have fallen victim to the same malicious software used to steal credit/debit card and personal information for more than 100 million Target customers in 2013. [More]
Retail Services
Home Depot Already Being Sued Over Apparent Data Breach
By 9.5.14
As of right now, Home Depot has yet to confirm multiple reports that its in-store payment system was hacked, or given any indication how extensive the breach might be. But that hasn’t stopped people from suing the retailer. [More]
Man Drives Car Into Walmart Store After Being Fired
By 9.4.14
It’s totally understandable for someone to be angry over the loss of their job. But it is not okay for that person to then run their car into their former place of business. [More]
USPS To Screw Up Amazon Grocery Deliveries In San Francisco
By 9.4.14
Like that desperate, failing business-owner who keeps convincing people to give them one last shot to prove that it’s not yet time to hang it up and find something else to do, the U.S. Postal Service has somehow made a deal with Amazon to give it a shot at delivering groceries in the San Francisco area. [More]
Report: Secret Service Now Investigating Home Depot Breach
By 9.4.14
Nothing scares big-box shoppers and retailers quite like the specter of another nationwide credit-card data breach. Home improvement chain Home Depot has announced that it is investigating a possible data breach of the payment systems in its 2,200 stores, and the blog Krebs on Security analyzed data found in a shady corner of the Internet to show that this is likely what happened. Now Reuters reports that the Secret Service is involved in the matter. [More]
Major Internet Players, Including Reddit, Tumblr, And Others, To Protest For Net Neutrality On September 10
By 9.4.14
In an action somewhat reminiscent of the widespread protests against SOPA back in 2012, several major internet businesses are planning a symbolic “internet slowdown” on September 10 to advocate for stronger net neutrality regulations. [More]
Ping Wallet Collects $59,000 On Kickstarter, Disappears
By 9.4.14
The Ping Wallet (later renamed Linkwallet) seemed like a boon to the absent-minded consumer. It was part of the super-slim smart wallet boom on Kickstarter, and it would sync to a user’s smartphone with Bluetooth and send reminders to put payment cards away, and even remind users if they tried to leave their wallet at home. Sounds like a great idea, and maybe it would be if the project creators hadn’t vanished a few months ago, shipping no wallets and not answering their messages. Update: we’re sure this has nothing whatsoever to do with this article, but the management of Linkwallet have re-appeared and say the wallets will be in backers’ pockets by the end of 2014. [More]
Court Mulls Whether Walmart Workers’ Right To Self-Defense Trumps Store’s De-Escalation Policy
By 9.4.14
The first instinct for most people when being attacked is to defend themselves. But a group of Walmart workers say their right to self-defense ended up getting them fired. Now the Utah’s highest court is considering whether store policies trump employees’ right to defend themselves. [More]
Evidence Shows That Nearly All U.S. Home Depots May Have Been Hit By Data Breach
By 9.3.14
While Home Depot has yet to confirm or deny whether it was indeed hit by a massive breach of its payment system, a look at the data for a huge batch of stolen credit cards that recently went up for sale on the black market seems to indicate that the hack could have hit nearly all Home Depot stores in the U.S. [More]
Snobby Store Employees Only Make Us Want To Spend More
By 9.3.14
Is being sneered at an important part of the luxury shopping experience? Maybe. A new study in the Journal of Consumer Research shows that high-end retailers take advantage of our human need to belong and seek approval in order to vacuum more money out of our non-designer purses. [More]
What Happens When One Mall Has Two Different Minimum Wages?
By 9.2.14
Normally, it wouldn’t be a huge deal to have one mall that sits on the border between two cities. There might be some small differences in laws or sales tax, but at the Westfield Valley Fair Mall in California, there’s a huge difference. It sits on the border between the cities of San Jose and Santa Clara, and San Jose recently raised the citywide minimum wage by $2. [More]
Home Depot Joins The Data Breach Party, Investigating Possible Hack
By 9.2.14
Did you shop at Home Depot recently? Then you will probably want to keep an eye on your bank and/or credit card account. The retailer has confirmed it is investigating the possibility of a data breach that may have resulted in customers’ information being stolen. [More]
If You Bring A Baby With You To Shoplift At Walmart, Don’t Leave Her Behind
By 9.2.14
While we don’t condone theft of any sort, we are aware of the notion that having a baby with you while you shoplift might help create the illusion that you’re not a petty criminal who needs to be watched by store security. But if you get spotted trying to take advantage of some five-finger discounts, leaving that infant behind is incredibly uncool. It will probably also lead the police right to your doorstep. [More]
Amazon UK Ruins Cat’s Birthday By Shipping Gift In An Envelope, Not A Box
By 9.2.14
Cats care about many things, ranging from sunbeams to food, but they don’t care very much about birthdays. They don’t seem to care whether it’s their birthday or not. However, when the creator of a line of cat-themed accessories contacted Amazon UK on the pretext that they had ruined her cat’s birthday by sending a gift in an envelope instead of a box, Amazon played along. [More]
Possible Mini-Security Breach At California Target Store
By 8.29.14
Back in January, postal inspectors discovered a scheme to duplicate the credit cards of Target customers and rack up purchases on counterfeit cards. No… we don’t mean that Target credit card breach. So far, this appears to be a much smaller breach, though authorities can’t say for sure yet that it’s not at all related to the breach that shook up the retail business and all of our wallets earlier this year. [More]
Going Shopping? Here’s Where You’ll Find September Deals
By 8.29.14
Do you plan to spend your Labor Day weekend shopping? If so, there are certain things that you’ll find great deals on as the calendar flips from August to September. Our power-shopping colleagues down the hall at Consumer Reports recommend looking for gas grills, digital cameras, bicycles, and small electronics. Our friends over at Rather-Be-Shopping would add mattresses, baseball equipment, pool toys, and model year 2014 cars to that list. [Rather-Be-Shopping] [Consumer Reports] [More]
Raiders Of The Lost Walmart Need To Mail This Rebate Before July 1, 2004
By 8.29.14
Do you have a slightly older computer that would work with slightly old anti-virus software? If so, stop by your nearest big-box store. The Raiders of the Lost Walmart, brave seekers of retail antiquities, have found large caches of ancient security programs for sale at big-box discount and office supply stores. [More]
5 Little-Known Ways To Save Money On Amazon
By 8.29.14
Online shoppers often end up buying things on Amazon by default. They have the best price, and hey, I have a Prime membership anyway! What you may not realize is that there are ways to save money even after you’ve put that package of flea pills or protein powder or new keyboard in your cart. [More]
