Savvy holiday shoppers who didn’t want to fight the crowds on Black Friday may still be battling congested online traffic in order to obtain the plethora of Cyber Monday deals today. That’s especially true if you’re trying to score some goodies from Target, as the retailer’s website crashed this morning. [More]
retail
Good Weather Means Bad Sales For Clothing Retailers, Great Sales For Consumers
By 11.23.15
In climates with four distinct seasons, most people appreciate when winter shows up a little late. Who doesn’t? Plow services getting paid by the job, regional ski resorts, and clothing retailers that sell winter coats. Retailers are stuck with a lot of cold-weather clothing right now that nobody is interested in because the weather isn’t cold. [More]
Home Depot Continued To Sell 28 Products After Safety Recalls
By 11.19.15
When a product is recalled by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, it becomes illegal for a retailer to continue to sell that item. But Home Depot apparently wasn’t following that rule for the past three years, selling 28 different products after they were recalled. [More]
Walmart Changes Black Friday Strategy: Drops Doorbusters, Bulking Up On Inventory
By 11.12.15
When Walmart stores across the country open their doors at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving day there will be a Black Friday staple missing: hourly doorbuster deals. [More]
LensCrafters To Open 500 Locations Inside Macy’s Stores
By 11.11.15
Just two months after Macy’s announced it would team up with Best Buy to sell electronics in some locations, the retailer has entered another partnership, this time to sell eyeglasses, contacts and other vision-related services. LensCrafters will open 500 retail centers inside Macy’s stores around the country, expanding a deal between the retailer and Luxottica, which already has 670 Sunglass Hut locations inside the department store chain. The first outpost will open in April, with 100 others slated to start business by the end of 2016. [The Associated Press] [More]
JCPenney To Refund Customers $50M In False Advertising Settlement
By 11.11.15
JCPenney is putting a class-action lawsuit accusing the retailer of violating consumer protection laws by using deceptive discount practices behind it. [More]
Amazon To Make Echo Available At Home Depot, Radio Shack, Other Retailers
By 11.10.15
Three months after Amazon announced it would allow Staples to offer its high-tech, sort-of assistant speaker online, the company says it will allow retailers to sell the Echo at thousands of locations across the U.S. [More]
Target Believes Porn That Played Over California Store’s PA System Come From An Outside Source
By 11.6.15
A few weeks ago, shoppers at a California Target received an unsettling surprise when the unmistakable sounds of professional coitus aired loud and clear over the store’s PA system. While an investigation into the incident continues, the retailer believes the pornographic audio originated from an outside source. [More]
Here Are The 13 Target Stores Closing In January
By 11.4.15
For the second time this year, Target is closing underperforming stores. But unlike that first round of closures, which was focused on the retailer’s flagging Canadian operations, this time the shuttered stores are all stateside.
[More]
Best Buy Adds Same-Day Delivery Test In San Francisco
By 11.2.15
Last-minute holiday shopping just got a bit easier for some Californians who simply forget to grab a gift for your electronics-loving family and friends: Best Buy is testing same-day delivery. [More]
Couple Plead Guilty To Scamming Kohl’s Of $600,000 In Rewards Cash
By 10.29.15
Sure, sometimes that Kohl’s cash you earned goes to waste: you forgot about it or found there simply wasn’t anything in the store you could use it on. One New Jersey couple apparently didn’t have those problems. Instead, police say they created a system to scam the retailer’s rewards program to the tune of $600,000 in products. [More]
Police: Man Stole $50,000 In Cellphones From Two Target Stores By Impersonating Employee
By 10.28.15
Here at Consumerist, we’re no strangers to reporting on stories of employees behaving badly, but sometimes it’s not an actual worker doing the greedy deed. To that end, police say a man in Georgia allegedly impersonated a Target employee in order to steal more than $50,000 in cellphones. [More]
Amazon May Launch Its Own Clothing Brand To Offer More Options For Customers
By 10.28.15
Back in May, Amazon announced it was toying with the idea of creating its own house brand for everyday items like cereal and diapers. Not content to just stay in your cabinets, the e-commerce giant is apparently on the verge of infiltrating our closets with its own private-label fashion line. [More]
REI Won’t Open On Black Friday, Tells Everyone To Go Play Outside
By 10.27.15
The outdoor equipment co-op REI sells gear for people to have fun, well, outdoors. That’s why it makes sense that they’ve started a campaign encouraging all of us to spend the day after Thanksgiving having fun outside. Oh, and they’re including store employees in that mandate: stores will be closed, and employees will have that day off with pay. [More]
Walmart Asks The FAA For Permission To Test Drones For Home Delivery, Curbside Grocery Pickups
By 10.26.15
Amazon isn’t the only retailer on the market that wants to get into the drone delivery game: Walmart filed paperwork with the Federal Aviation Administration today asking permission to test drones outside for home delivery, curbside pick-up and duties around the warehouse and parking lots. [More]
Walmart Offering Fewer Products, Widening Aisles
By 10.26.15
Walk into any Walmart and you’ll see shelves upon shelves stocked with a wide variety of products in every shape and size. But that will soon change, as the retail giant begins a transformation of sorts by decluttering its aisles of excess items. [More]
Bridgestone Buys Pep Boys Auto Service Retail Operations For $835M
By 10.26.15
Have we seen the last of Moe, Manny, and Jack – you know, the faces of the Pep Boys auto parts brand? It’s possible as the retail chain has agreed to be acquired by tire giant Bridgestone for $835 million. [More]
Best Buy Offers Free Shipping For All Orders During The Entire Holiday Season
By 10.22.15
Sometimes it’s just easier to bypass the hustle and bustle of the local mall and do all your holiday shopping from the comfort of your own home. One big problem with that: the sometimes costly shipping fees. Best Buy is hoping free shipping turns into more online sales this year. [More]
