Sears, once the place to purchase home appliances, will soon have a smaller inventory to offer the few customers it has left: After a nearly century-long relationship, Sears and Whirlpool have cut ties. [More]
appliances
Sears Begins To Sell Kenmore Brand Appliances On Amazon
By 7.20.17
Would you buy a Kenmore air conditioner, refrigerator, or dishwasher if you didn’t have to go to a Sears store, leave your house, or register for a Sears.com account? As part of its ongoing efforts to increase sales and make the most of its store brands, Sears Holdings, the parent company of Sears and Kmart, announced that it will be selling Kenmore appliances on Amazon, beginning with air conditioners. [More]
14 Filters You Should Be Changing At Home
By 6.8.17
Dryers that don’t dry, vacuum cleaners that don’t clean, and air conditioners that don’t cool may all be plagued by the same problem: a clogged or dirty filter. To keep many top-performing appliances in tip-top shape, you have to clean or replace a filter. In fact, that’s the first thing to check when something seems awry. When Consumer Reports tests vacuums, air conditioners, dishwashers, and other appliances, filter replacement is one of the things we consider as part of our ease-of-use score. [More]
Amazon Wants To Sell You More Furniture & Appliances, But Can It Deliver?
By 5.12.17
Amazon got its start selling things that were easy to store and cheap to ship: books, CDs, DVDs, and while the online giant quickly expanded to offer just about anything, the website is still an afterthought in many shoppers’ minds for expensive, hard-to-ship items like appliances and furniture. That could soon change, as Amazon invests in infrastructure to ease the pain of storing and delivering these bulky products. [More]
hhgregg Stores Are Closing After Bankrupt Retailer Can’t Find Buyer
By 4.10.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
Up until 5 P.M. on Friday, appliance retailer hhgregg was waiting for a buyer to swoop in and save it from liquidation. The appliance, electronics, and furniture retailer could find someone to buy its business as a going concern, keeping at least some of its stores open, or it could liquidate and close. Store closing sales began on Saturday. [More]
hhgregg Files For Bankruptcy, Already Has A Buyer Lined Up
By 3.7.17
In news that will come as a surprise to just about no one, hhgregg has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The appliance, electronics, and furniture retailer had previously announced it was, closing 40% of its stores, but it apparently concluded that the best strategy was a quick Chapter 11 and sale. [More]
JCPenney To Bring Appliances To 100 More Stores, Add Brands
By 2.28.17
While JCPenney recently announced plans to close more than 130 stores and offer early retirement to employees to cut its staff, the department store chain also has some good news. It is expanding appliance showrooms to an additional 100 stores for a total of 600, and adding more brands to its offerings. [More]
hhgregg Reportedly Considering Bankruptcy, Other “Strategic Initiatives”
By 2.24.17
Appliance and electronics retailer (and lower-case letter enthusiast) hhgregg has been in trouble financially for a while now, having lost money in each of the last 13 quarters. While the company is trying to avoid a bankruptcy filing, maybe you should dig out any gift cards that you have and use them now. [More]
JCPenney Now Wants To Sell You An HVAC System Too
By 12.22.16
Mall stalwart JCPenney isn’t just for socks and chinos anymore; the retailer has been edging into the appliance territory once dominated by competitor Sears for a while. But apparently edging in on Sears’ turf isn’t enough, and JCP is considering honing in on something a little more Home Depot, too. [More]
Whirlpool Recalls 15K Microwaves After Reports Of Three Fires
By 8.30.16
Microwaves are supposed to heat up your leftovers or make popcorn, not catch fire. So after learning about a handful of Whirlpool microwaves going up in smoke and/or flames, the company says it will recall more than 15,000 of the kitchen appliances. [More]
What Are Shoppers Buying Since They Aren’t Buying Clothes?
By 5.23.16
It’s bleak out there for a clothing retailer, with sales slumping at many chains, leading some — American Apparel, Aeropostale, Pacsun, among others — to declare bankruptcy. So if we aren’t shopping for items to clad our bodies, what are we shopping for? [More]
Samsung’s Smart Hub Refrigerator Doesn’t Look Very Smart Yet
By 5.9.16
In case you’re wondering whether the $5,600 Smart Hub refrigerator from Samsung is something that your family should buy, our colleagues down the hall at Consumer Reports are testing it separately as an electronic gadget and as an appliance. So far, they’ve found that the “smart” features are difficult to set up, the cameras that track what’s on your shelf don’t show everything and can easily be blocked by a tall bottle of orange juice, the speakers are lousy, and you can’t download additional apps. That’s just the electronics: they haven’t tested how it actually works as a refrigerator yet. [Consumer Reports] [More]
JCPenney Officially Reentering Appliance Arena: Expanding Offerings To 500 Stores
By 5.9.16
At the beginning of the year, JCPenney announced it would once again dip its toes into the appliance business by testing sales of ovens, refrigerators, washers, and the like through pilot programs in three states. That experiment apparently went well, as the retailer now plans to expand the offerings nationwide and begin tests of other home-focused products, including flooring and window coverings. [More]
Sears Delivers Filthy Oven, Has No Idea Why
By 3.3.16
A woman who loves to bake for her family saved for two years to buy a new built-in convection oven. Sears delivered it, and then she had to wait a few weeks to have it installed. That’s when she discovered a problem: what was supposed to be a new oven was full of baked-on filth and even grime on the glass. Sears says that this shouldn’t be possible, yet somehow it happened. [More]
JCPenney Testing Appliance Sales By Creating An “Emotional Connection” With Women
By 1.19.16
Nearly 30 years after JCPenney discontinued selling ovens, refrigerators, washers, and the like, the retailer is once again dipping its toes into the appliance business, this time with a focus on targeting female shoppers. [More]
‘Tis The Season For High Energy Bills: Tips To Keep Warm And Lower Costs
By 1.11.16
Unless you enjoy living in a dark icebox, the winter months can be a real drain on your wallet, especially if you’re still reeling from holiday shopping. But keeping warm doesn’t mean you might as well throw money on a bonfire (seriously, don’t do that). [More]
Whirlpool’s “Smart” Appliances Now Come Equipped With Amazon Dash Buttons
By 1.4.16
When Amazon introduced the Dash Button, it claimed customers could easily reorder products with the simple push of a button. While the small gadgets have expanded in recent months to cover a slew of household items, the e-commerce giant’s technology can now be found built-in to an array of actual appliances, namely those from Whirlpool’s Smart Kitchen Suite. [More]
Have You Stayed Current On Your Dishwasher-Loading Methods?
By 12.18.15
We’ve long emphasized the importance of not pre-rinsing dishes for your newer dishwasher, since modern appliances now assume that you don’t. What else has changed since you first learned how to line up plates facing the water jets and place knives facing down in the basket? A surprising amount, actually. [More]
