Over the past year, a number of onetime mall behemoths — Macy’s, Sears, and other retailers — have suffered slipping sales that have led to store closures. While these mid-range department stores have working for years to increase sales and meet customer demand, many high-end retailers – like Nordstrom — have avoided that fate, at least until now. [More]
sales
GameStop Says Pokémon Go Has Boosted Some Stores’ Sales By 100%
By 7.18.16
As we know, some businesses have embraced the Pokémon Go craze as a way to drum up business. That became more evident over the weekend as GameStop used its status in the game to increase sales at some stores by 100%. [More]
Amazon: This Year’s Prime Day Was “The Biggest Day Ever” For The Company
By 7.13.16
Despite some customer complaints and competing discount events offered by rivals, Amazon says yesterday’s Prime Day was “the biggest day ever for Amazon.” Even bigger than the day it first learned to ride a bike. [More]
5 Things You Should Know About Amazon’s Issues With Counterfeits
By 7.8.16
When you see a brand-name handbag or laptop being sold on Amazon for well below its retail price, it’s hard to not hit the “Buy” button. But is it a good deal or just a counterfeit in brand-name clothing? [More]
Amazon Trying That Whole “Prime Day” Thing Again This Year
By 6.30.16
Last year, Amazon tried inventing a holiday all for itself. The day was dubbed “Prime Day,” and it was to be a day full of irresistible sales and promotions for Prime Members. In the end, it was something of a wash. But Amazon, undeterred, is now making it an annual tradition. [More]
Why Aren’t People Shopping At Duty-Free Anymore?
By 6.23.16
Part of the fun of traveling internationally is the chance to live out your dream of being an adult in a literal candy (and booze, and accessory, and food) store: the duty-free shop. These in-airport retailers have long been a go-to for weary travelers looking to pick up, for example, a Toblerone the size of a small car, but a new report suggests that fewer people are actually making purchases after browsing the store shelves. [More]
Walmart Urging Customers To “Cut The Cable” With Promo
By 6.13.16
While cutting the cable cord might seem like a way to stick it to multibillion-dollar companies like Comcast and DirecTV, cord-cutting is also a potential goldmine for retailers eager to sell you the tools you’ll need to snip that traditional pay-TV umbilical. That’s why Walmart is pushing this new generation of products with a “Cut the Cable” promotion.
Target Asks Suppliers To Pay More For Sales And Promos
By 6.8.16
Target has a lot of merchandise sitting around, and they want some help getting it out of stores and into shoppers’ carts. Who are they asking to help? Suppliers say that the discount retailer is asking them to take on more of the costs of marketing products, which cuts into their own profit margins and is an expense that suppliers hadn’t counted on. [More]
Starbucks Gives Permission For Miami Bakery To Serve Coffee Again
By 6.3.16
Even though some city streets have multiple Starbucks on the same block, the coffee colossus doesn’t like it when someone other than Starbucks serves up hot caffeinated beverages nearby. After three years of battling Starbucks, a Miami bakery has finally earned the right to serve something other than drip coffee to its customers. [More]
Let’s Check Out An Actual Store-Closing Sale At A Sports Authority Store
By 6.2.16
We always tell readers not to rush out to store-closing sales until later on, if at all, since the deep discounts and brightly colored signs hide discounts that aren’t that great. Over the holiday weekend, Consumerist stopped by a Sports Authority store to find out how the store-closing sale is going. What we learned: there isn’t a big market for University of Georgia Christmas sweaters in upstate New York, especially in late May. [More]
Stores Are Crammed With Unsold Merchandise, Especially Clothes
By 5.20.16
Here’s some great news for bargain-hunters, if not necessarily for retailers: dismal sales numbers from national retailers have experts worried about the future of American malls. Low sales numbers mean stores crammed with inventory that will have to be put on sale. That could boost total sales numbers, but hurt profits. [More]
Why Is Aldi Covering Actual Prices With Confusing “Lower Price” Stickers?
By 5.18.16
When you’re in the supermarket and see a big, loud “Lower Price” sticker covering up an everyday price and showing a discount of anywhere from $.20 to $5, you’d expect that the price being covered up would be the original, higher amount. That’s why some Aldi shoppers are confused about why the discounted price on the sticker is the same as the price it’s covering up. [More]
Former JCPenney CEO: Should Have Stayed With My Plan Despite $6B Loss
By 5.16.16
Former JCPenney CEO Ron “No Sales Here” Johnson may have cost the retailer $6 billion in sales during his tenure, but the executive believes his plan could have turned around the company, eventually. [More]
Tesla Can Continue Selling Cars Straight To Consumers In Indiana For At Least A Year
By 2.26.16
Electric car-seeking Indiana residents can still buy their new Tesla without having to go out of state, at least for the time being. State senators have tabled a bill that would have banned the carmaker from selling vehicles under its current, often controversial, straight-to-consumer business model. [More]
JCPenney Will Actually Be Selling Some Items For A Penny
By 2.24.16
Not so long ago, JCPenney was pushing the idea of “No More Sales,” hoping to attract shoppers with everyday low prices. That didn’t work, and now the retailer is going in the completely opposite direction with upcoming promotions where it intends to sell things for just a single penny. [More]
We Can Blame Ron Johnson For The Wave Of ‘Perpetual Sale’ Lawsuits, Maybe
By 2.5.16
In the last few years, consumers, usually based in California, have been filing lawsuits against retailers and their outlet stores alleging that “suggested” and “original” prices on items are pretty much just pulled out of the air. Seeing the amount or percentage that we saved is thrilling for some shoppers, but those “original” prices were never official prices. Whose fault is this? Former JCPenney CEO Ron Johnson, maybe. [More]
Here’s What You’ll Find On Sale In February
By 2.1.16
Our deal-crunching colleagues down the hall at Consumer Reports maintain a national calendar of deals, which tracks which items are on sale during which months so you can plan your spending accordingly. What can you find on sale in February? You should be looking for indoor furniture (especially mattresses), winter clothing, and humidifiers. [More]
Tesla Applied For A Dealership License In Michigan
By 2.1.16
Michigan residents keen on purchasing a Tesla may no longer have to travel to Chicago, Ohio, Indiana, or Canada: Tesla has applied for dealership licenses to sell and service its electric vehicles in the state nearly two years after legislators passed laws banning the company’s direct-to-customer sales model. [More]
