Less than 1% of J.C. Penney’s revenues come from items bought at full price. By contrast, nearly three-quarters of merchandise sold by the department store chain is discounted by at least 50% off. What this tells shoppers is that J.C. Penney’s original prices are pretty much meaningless. They’re floated out there to see if any suckers bite, and also to make the inevitable markdowns seem more impressive. Soon, though, J.C. Penney promises it’ll stop playing games, cut to the chase, and offer a more simplified, sensible pricing structure. For example, a T-shirt that used to retail for $14—but typically wound up selling for $6—will just be priced at $7 from the start.
With retailers trying to eke every possible dollar out of consumers, we are in the midst of the mother of all shopping marathons, with last-minute sales and stores open 24 hours a day during the final stretch before Christmas.
The holiday window displays in stores like Lord & Taylor and Macy’s range from traditional (Santa, Christmas trees, gifts) to whimsical (ice-skating puppets) to just plain weird (Lady Gaga as half-woman, half-motorcycle). All of these store displays have one thing in common, though: They’re designed to draw in the consumer’s eye—followed, ideally, by the consumer [...]
Leave it to Walmart to one-up the competition. During the winter holiday season, the retail giant has a history of starting price wars over things like books and DVDs, and pushing the envelope with free shipping offers and special price guarantees. This year, several national stores announced they’d open on Thanksgiving at midnight—so technically, Friday—with [...]
Talk about extending the holiday shopping season! Black Friday won’t take place for another three weeks—the day after Thanksgiving, specifically. Black Friday is also, quite obviously, a single day. These facts haven’t gotten in the way of one retailer from introducing Black Friday-style sales starting November 1.
Go to the Macy’s website and look for the spot marked “print savings pass” to access a coupon for $10 off any purchase of $25 or more. The coupon is valid for most sale and clearance merchandise (some exclusions apply), and purchases must made in-store on Saturday, June 18, before 1 p.m.
During a six-hour shopping excursion in Dallas-area malls, three shoppers armed with three different smartphones—Android, Blackberry, iPhone—scan, search, and take advantage of every app under the sun on a two-prong online-real world quest for great gifts and the best prices. What do they find out? While smartphone-enhanced shopping comes with its share of frustrations (Droids [...]
Use the coupon code MACYSFF for online purchases or print out this coupon (thanks Buxr) for an in-store discount of 25% off everything—including sale and clearance items—at Macy’s. The in-store coupon is valid from December 1 to 6, while the online discount works as of today, and free standard shipping is available for purchases with [...]
Here’s a roundup of resources for the best deals, along with some perspective, related to the monster shopping day that is Black Friday.
By tradition, Thanksgiving is a day of rest. But while you might have the day off from work, retailers hope that you don’t take the day off as a consumer. As more and more stores are open for business on the holiday—and with online shopping possible 24/7 and special deals for Internet shoppers this Thursday—the [...]
With one week before Black Friday, and with the Black Friday ads from most retailers leaked to the media, the time seems ripe to put together your list of must-gets, sharpen your elbows to fight off other shoppers, and plot your trip to the mall.
