Chicago, despite having Targets galore, only has a single Walmart store on the west side. The big box giant has faced serious resistance from labor unions who claim that the company doesn’t pay enough and doesn’t provide adequate benefits. Now Walmart says they have a plan called the “Chicago Community Investment Partnership.” [More]
Retail Services
Sears & Kmart Get Into Streaming Video Business
By 6.22.10
To those of us old enough to remember the pre-Blockbuster video-rental boom, when just about every type of retail store decided, however misguidedly, their was money to be made in renting VHS tapes to customers, this might seem like a bit of deja vu: Sears and Kmart are planning to launch a streaming video service. [More]
Ride Along For The Day In A Mr. Softee Truck
By 6.21.10
Just about every neighborhood has ice cream trucks, but there’s something special about Mister Softee. Perhaps it’s the treats, but more than likely it’s the ever-repeating tune that streams endlessly out of the rooftop speakers… even when the truck is parked outside your apartment for four hours straight… But I digress. [More]
NYC Forces Retailers To Stop Selling Illegal Knives
By 6.21.10
If you were planning on picking up a sturdy switchblade or gravity knife from one of the Home Depots in NYC for your next home improvement project, or because you wanted to stab someone, you should note that they’re no longer available. That’s because last week, the Manhattan District Attorney’s office persuaded that store and 13 other retailers to stop selling such knives. They’re generally illegal in New York, and the retailers have agreed to surrender their inventory and forfeit any profits they made from illegal knife sales over the past four years. [More]
Best Buy To Use Kitchens And Kids To Lure Female Shoppers
By 6.20.10
After listening to thousands of women, Best Buy has decided that its path to long-term profitability lies through redesigned showrooms that resemble kitchens and a loyalty program that lets women donate points to schools. The insights came from Best Buy’s Women’s Leadership Forums, local focus groups that let female Best Buy employees and regular gals like you send ideas to the suits upstairs. Some Best Buy executives were irked by the whole initiative. [More]
Brits Stuffing Themselves With Junk Food
By 6.18.10
Next time someone hassles you about how lousy the American diet is, point them to a new survey which shows that British consumers spend about 25% of their weekly food budget on junk food, including potato chips (or “crisps,” as they so quaintly call them), chocolate and soda. Then go finish your bag of chips. [More]
Attention Kmart Shoppers: There's A Special On Tom Hanks In Aisle 8
By 6.18.10
Mr. Tom Hanks, voice of Woody in Toy Story 3 just posted this picture of himself in a Kmart, dressed up like he works there, holding a Woody doll. He’s apparently filming a movie called Larry Crowne in which he plays someone who works retail. We can’t help but be a little saddened that this isn’t real. Why can’t Tom Hanks work at Kmart? Why? Why? Why? [More]
Top 6 Examples Of Why No One Trusts Banks These Days
By 6.18.10
Seems like in the last few years that big banks make embarrassing errors as often as criminals commit crimes at Taco Bell. So it was no small feat for the editors over at CNN Money to whittle it down to their list of 6 Biggest Banking Blunders of recent years… By the way, three of them involve Bank of America. [More]
Watch Out For Stealth Magazine Subscriptions At Motherhood Maternity
By 6.18.10
Derek tells Consumerist that expectant readers should be careful when shopping at Motherhood Maternity stores. His wife ended up with a stealth subscription to Parenting magazine that she claims she never asked for or approved. [More]
Sick Of Losing Out To GameStop, Best Buy To Accept Video Game Trade-Ins
By 6.17.10
With average prices of around $60-$70 for a new title, video games are a pricey prospect, especially for skilled gamers who can finish some games in an afternoon. GameStop and others have capitalized on this buyer’s remorse by buying back used games, the money for which is often spent immediately at that same store. Tired of watching others capitalize on this model, Best Buy has announced a plan to allow customers to trade in their old games. [More]
Unpublished Phone Number For Bank of America Online Banking Support
By 6.17.10
If you need to reach phone-based support for your Bank of America online account, it might be hard. You won’t find the number listed anywhere on their site. But we’ve got the unpublished number: [More]
Which Political Figures Are Okay To Feature On T-Shirts?
By 6.17.10
When we reported earlier this week about Target pulling a T-shirt off its racks because it featured the flag associated with the reign of Spanish dictator Francisco Franco (who is still dead), many were quick to point out that there are plenty of other — perhaps more controversial — political and historical figures that have been featured on clothing without causing an uproar. [More]
Target Thinks That 2 Is Basically The Same Thing As 10
By 6.16.10
So, um, how many bottles do I have to buy to get that $5 giftcard, Target? Is it 2? Or 5? Or maybe 2? I think I need to lie down.
[More]
Ames True Temper Replaces Broken Decade-Old Shovel
By 6.16.10
As consumers in modern America, we often cynically assume that “Lifetime Guarantee” is just a something companies slap on products with no basis in fact, like “New and Improved!” or “With Calcium.” But there are companies who take the lifetime warranty concept seriously, and will replace a ten-year-old shovel after its handle breaks just as garden season begins. Matt discovered that a shovel he picked up at Home Depot a decade ago carried such a guarantee…and the company replaced his broken shovel even though all proof of purchase was long gone. [More]
Beware The Fraudulent Doritos Coupon
By 6.15.10
Frito-Lay is warning consumers to watch out for fake free bags of Doritos coupons being distributed via email. If you are an unsuspecting victim of this subterfuge and receive the coupon in your inbox, watch out! You might get to check out and not be able to get a free bag of Doritos with a value of up to $5. Here’s how you spot the real deal and the phonies, just like Holden Caulfield: [More]
Walmart Deodorant Pricing Scheme Smells Off
By 6.15.10
Something is funky about how Walmart is pricing these two deodorants. [More]
Walmart Testing Plastic Bag-Less Stores In California
By 6.15.10
When we posted the seemingly simple question last week to Consumerist readers of whether or not plastic shopping bags should be banned, we expected some heated discussion. But even we were surprised to see just how heated — 326 comments at last count! And while we we’ve been busy chatting about the pros and cons, Walmart has been quietly testing a no single-use bag policy at a handful of stores in California. [More]
How I Regulated When Walmart Botched My Expedited Delivery
By 6.15.10
When you pay $40 to make sure your product gets shipped overnight, it had damn well be delivered overnight. Reader and frequent commenter ilikemoney coughed up $40 to Walmart to make sure he’d be able to sleep on the futon he ordered the next day, but it took five days for the sweet dream factory to arrive. Instead of flipping out and declaring a national emergency, he stayed cool, sent Walmart a calm, direct letter and got his money back. [More]
