A week after Apple admitted that some iPhone 6S batteries weren’t woking properly and agreed to fix the power source for free, the company’s latest iOS update has been found to unexpectedly drain device batteries in a matter of seconds. [More]
Retail Services
4 Scams To Avoid During The Holidays
By 11.28.16
It’s that time of year, where all your focus is on your quest to shop for gifts, decorate your home, and survive the gauntlet of holiday parties. But don’t let your ambition for discounts and seemingly great seasonal opportunities blind you to some common scams that tend to pop up in these final weeks of the year. [More]
In Time For Black Friday, Judge Issues Restraining Order Against Striking Pilots At Amazon-Backed Cargo Line
By 11.23.16
About 40 hours after pilots at Amazon-backed cargo airline ABX went on strike, threatening to throw a wrench in the holiday shipping plans of the country’s largest online retailer (and others), a federal judge has granted a temporary restraining order against the striking pilots. [More]
Couple Claims PetSmart Groomers Fatally Injured Their Dog
By 11.23.16
What happened, exactly, when a couple in California brought their 1-year-old dachshund to a grooming appointment that led to his death? They claim that the pup came out of the grooming department with bloody foam coming out of his mouth, and he died from injuries suffered at the groomers’ hands. Now the couple has filed a lawsuit, seeking answers about how their pup — who they refer to as their “son” — could have died from a routine nail clipping. [More]
Three Return Scams Retailers Will Be Looking For This Holiday Season
By 11.23.16
We’ve barely waded into the hectic holiday shopping season, but retailers are already preparing for a rush of returns after the big day — and the scams that inevitably go along with them. [More]
Retailers Move Sales Earlier In Thanksgiving Week, Begin Black Friday Creep
By 11.23.16
Maybe it doesn’t matter whether retailers open on Thanksgiving Day or not. Trying to attract our dollars and our attention, stores moved their deals even farther back this year, in a holiday season arms race that will only end when they’ve gone all of the way around the calendar, and sales for the following year begin on Black Friday. [More]
Monday Projected To Be A Record Day For Online Shippers
By 11.23.16
In news that will surprise absolutely no one, the major package carriers, UPS and FedEx, expect to handle record numbers of packages this holiday seasons. As Americans shift more of our holiday shopping — and more of our shopping in general — online, that makes this Monday particularly important for retailers. [More]
Get Ready To See Even More Exclusions On Department Store Coupons
By 11.22.16
If department stores can’t break their addiction to discounting, designer brands want to help. Brands like Michael Kors and Kate Spade are selling fewer of their products in department stores. Other brands are keeping their items in stores, but insisting that they not be discounted. [More]
Bank Of America Experiences Teller System Outage
By 11.22.16
For a few hours this afternoon Bank of America customers may have had a bit of difficulty obtaining funds from their accounts if they prefer to speak to an actual human and not an ATM. That’s because for a short time, the system used by tellers was down. [More]
Unlocking Mobile Phones Is Theoretically Easier Than It Used To Be
By 11.22.16
It happened: you took advantage of holiday season sales to buy yourself a new smartphone. Now it’s time to sell your old one or hand it down to a relative, but they use a different carrier. How do you make that happen? In some cases, you don’t have to do anything at all. [More]
This Holiday, Make Sure You Don’t Give Kids The Gift Of Exploding Batteries Or Lead Poisoning
By 11.22.16
‘Tis the season for millions of American consumers and families to start hitting stores and start helping “Santa” along with some toy distribution efforts. But while folks are out shopping to stuff stockings, consumer advocates warn: stay clear of potentially deadly recalled toys — and know what to do if you end up with any. [More]
Starbucks Raises Prices For Second Time In Four Months
By 11.22.16
Four months after Starbucks surprised customers by accidentally pushing out its annual price increase two weeks early, the company had another shocker for guests: a second price increase for some drinks and food items. [More]
Live Sports May Be Next Big Thing For Amazon Prime
By 11.22.16
Amazon Prime members could soon be getting more bang for their buck when it comes to entertainment, as the e-commerce giant is rumored to be in talks with major sports leagues and television networks to offer live-streaming of sporting events. [More]
Buzzfeed Wants To Sell You Ohio-Scented Candles And Poo Emoji Pool Floats
By 11.22.16
Regional nostalgia and emojis are popular with the readers of Buzzfeed, but are they a thing that the site’s readers would actually buy? The site recently purchased Scroll, a new company that Ben Kaufman, the founder of phone battery company Mophie and crowdsourced product design company Quirky, quietly began after the bankruptcy of Quirky. Kaufman’s new mission is to figure out how to get Buzzfeed readers to buy stuff. [More]
A Strike At An Airline You Probably Never Heard Of Could Mess Up Your Christmas Shopping
By 11.22.16
Unless you work in shipping logistics or aviation, you’re probably not familiar with ABX Air. You can’t book a ticket on the Ohio-based airline; it doesn’t carry passengers. It carries boxes. And as the companies it carries boxes for — including Amazon — are ramping up for the super-busy holiday retail season, ABX pilots have gone on strike, potentially leaving a lot of those boxes in the lurch. [More]
Patagonia Will Donate All Black Friday Sales To Charity
By 11.21.16
Outdoor outfitter REI is staying closed on Black Friday and encouraging customers and employees alike to spend the day enjoying the outdoors. Well, Patagonia, a company that has its own outdoorsy retail stores in addition to supplying REI, decided to do something different to work against commercialization of a shopping holiday: the company plans to donate all of its Black Friday sales to environmental charities. [More]
Zombie Circuit City Pushes Back Relaunch Again
By 11.21.16
For those in our audience who don’t remember, Circuit City was once a large and thriving chain of electronics stores. It filed for bankruptcy and liquidated in 2009, then returned as an online-only brand just a few months later. When the new owner liquidated in turn, the new owners made a shocking announcement: they planned to revive the brand as a retail chain of brick and mortar stores. Now the opening of those stores has been pushed back again. [More]
Customers Accuse Chipotle Of Lying About The Calories In Chorizo Burrito
By 11.21.16
Most people probably understand that the calorie counts on a fast food menu aren’t 100% precise, but an approximation of what you’d expect to consume. But there’s a big difference between being a few calories off and being off by hundreds of calories. [More]
