Today was a special event if you’re a fan of cosmetics who has been spending a lot of money at Sephora: the company released just a few very valuable rewards, like valuable and rare makeup assortments, or even a trip to Paris. The rewards would be coming, Sephora told their customers, at some point during business hours today, Pacific time. Fans refreshed the page constantly looking for the prizes. Then the rewards were all gone. Update: Customers still aren’t pleased with Sephora’s reaction to their complaints. Another update: Sephora has promised to do something for these customers, but can’t say what and will get back to them in two weeks. Or in September. [More]
shopping
12 States Holding Sales Tax Holidays This Weekend
By 8.7.15
Were you thinking about doing some shopping this weekend, for back-to-school season or just in general? Find out whether your state is holding a tax holiday, where state sales taxes are waived on certain categories of items: usually clothes, but sometimes also personal electronics, appliances, and hunting supplies, including firearms. Tax holidays and their limits vary regionally and your county or municipality may not be participating; check the rules before you shop. However, make sure that you don’t confuse it for a shopping spree. [Consumer Reports] [More]
Adidas Group Pays $240 Million To Download Runtastic Forever
By 8.5.15
Earlier this year, fitness gear maker Under Armour bought fitness-tracking apps MyFitnessPal and Endomodo for a total of $560 million. Now Adidas has decided to keep up with its competitor by downloading its own set of fitness apps, buying the eighteen apps in the Runtastic family for about $240 million. [More]
Target Testing System That Sends Customers Notifications On Deals While They Shop
By 8.5.15
Target wants to track your every move while shopping at its stores. Or at least that seems to be the gist behind the retailers’ new test of transmitters – known as beacons – that link to shoppers’ smartphones through the company’s app, sending coupons, deals, product recommendations and recipes based on their location inside the big box store. [More]
Whole Foods Announces Five Cities Where It’s Opening Cheaper Stores
By 7.31.15
Back in May, Whole Foods announced it’d be making a play for that coveted category of customers, the almighty millennials, by launching a new line of lower-cost stores. The company has now revealed which cities will see those first cheaper stores. [More]
Get Your Halloween Costumes And Plastic Pumpkins While They’re Still On Shelves
By 7.28.15
Time keeps moving whether we like it or not, and it’s almost the end of July. The patriotic party decorations and inflatable pool rafts have all sold, the school supplies that took their place in stores’ “seasonal” sections are starting to move, and they need something to fill that empty space on the shelf. That’s why we have Halloween in July. [More]
Luxury Accessory Counterfeiters Change Their Methods, Brands Must Catch Up
By 7.27.15
It used to be pretty easy to spot counterfeit luxury goods online: when a handbag that normally costs, say, $3,000 is available for $50 on a website that popped up overnight, that’s usually a pretty good hint. That’s why counterfeiters have an interesting new tactic: they’re improving the quality of their fakes and selling them for prices closer to those of the original item. You know, to keep from arousing customers’ suspicion. [More]
Facebook Testing Shops Built Into Retailers’ Pages
By 7.20.15
Like Google, Twitter and its own Instagram platform, Facebook is toying with the idea of allowing users to buy stuff directly from retailers’ pages, instead of seeing those items in an ad and going outside the social network to purchase them. [More]
Chicago Will Have The Highest Sales Tax In The U.S. At 10.25%
By 7.15.15
Sales taxes are variable from place to place and very visible, and they’re visible day-to-day as we dig in our pockets for change to pay a coffee tab of $3.14. Starting next year, Chicago will have the highest sales tax in the country, with state, county and city taxes adding up to 10.25%. [More]
Google Begins Testing Buy Button On Select Mobile Searches
By 7.15.15
Google has finally made good on those reports that it would simplify the smartphone shopping experience by allowing users to simply hit a “buy button” to complete a transaction straight from sponsored search results, rather than toggling between retailer websites. Today, the company announced it is officially testing what it calls Purchases. [More]
Amazon’s Roving Treasure Truck Delayed In First Weekend Of Business
By 6.29.15
After more than a week of cruising the streets of Seattle, Amazon’s Treasure Truck was supposed to start handing out goods on Saturday. But that didn’t happen, as the company announced in the early hours of the weekend that it would postpone its big debut. [More]
Macy’s Customer Accused Of Biting Employee Over Price Dispute
By 6.26.15
When you have a question about the price tag on a department store item, you should raise your concerns with store employees. You should not yell at them or curse them out, and you should definitely not become violent. A Macy’s customer in California was arrested after she allegedly did all of those things, then bit a loss prevention officer on the leg during a price dispute. [More]
BaubleBar Latest E-Commerce Retailer To Open A Real-Life Store
By 6.25.15
If you’re worried that online shopping is killing off real-life commerce, don’t fret just yet. A popular online jewelry seller, BaubleBar, is bringing its brand to Roosevelt Field Mall on Long Island. Yes, they’re moving from online to real life, opening a physical store where loyal customers and new ones can touch and try on their jewelry before buying. [More]
Walmart Tries Moving Greeters Back To The Entrance
By 6.18.15
A few years ago, Walmart tried an experiment with their staff greeters who stood at the doorway of every store: they moved them away from the front door. Sure, they would still greet people who they encountered, but their jobs also involved directing customers to an open register, or performing tasks inside the store at a time when Walmarts were catastrophically short-staffed. Now Walmart is testing the idea of maybe reversing that decision. [More]
Amazon, Penguin Random House Avoid Dispute, Reach Deal For Physical & Online Book Sales
By 6.18.15
Public feud avoided. Less than a month after reports began swirling that Amazon and the world’s largest book publisher Penguin Random House could potentially come to blows over a new contract for online book sales, the two entities have reached a long-term agreement. [More]
Alibaba Will Expedite Counterfeit Takedowns For Some Name Brands
By 6.2.15
In the months since Chinese e-commerce behemoth Alibaba began trading shares in its Cayman Islands-based holding corporation on the New York Stock Exchange, entities ranging from the Chinese government to the owner of Gucci have accused the company of knowingly profiting from counterfeit branded goods. Alibaba has promised to improve its capacity to ferret out fakes, and now says that it will take down some brands’ items more quickly. [More]
Could Amazon & Penguin Random House Be Headed For A Hachette-Level Feud?
By 5.26.15
Almost exactly a year after Amazon and book publisher Hachette entered a very public feud over an e-book pricing dispute, the mega online retailer is reportedly on the cusp of engaging in a new battle with the world’s largest book publisher, Penguin Random House. [More]
Google Reportedly Adding Buy Button To Sponsored Mobile Search Results
By 5.18.15
Searching for and buying a product with your smartphone is about to get a bit easier. Google is reportedly just weeks away from adding a “buy” button to mobile search results, a move that will increase the company’s rivalry with other online marketplaces such as eBay and Amazon. [More]
