Got an in-box clogged with ads from retailers? You’re not alone. In recent months, many stores have been sending customers promotional e-mails at a pace of more than one per day. Spam-happy retailers such as Neiman Marcus deluged subscribers with over 500 e-mails in 2011. But amid studies showing that consumers are growing less likely to read, click on, or even open messages from retailers, some stores are deciding it’s time to ease off the e-mail flood.
For obvious reasons, physical retailers want to put an end to “showrooming.” Now, one retail giant (Target) is showing how it’s going to fight back.
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.
How’s this for a justification to spend absolutely no money on toys this holiday season? In a Psychology Today post, Gabrielle Principe, a psychology professor and author, gives her suggestions for the “Five Best Toys for Christmas.” So what’s on her list? Sock. Mud. Ball. Pebbles. Backdoor.
This year, many national stores have made Black Friday longer than a day, with extended sale hours that start on Thursday. The idea is: If something works, then more of it will work better. But does this actually make sense?
There’s a sizable portion of consumers who are put off by the constant expansion of the holiday shopping season.
It’s not even Halloween yet. Black Friday—the day after Thanksgiving, traditionally when the winter holiday shopping season actually kicks off—is weeks away. All in all, it seems early for retailers to even be launching shopping deals categorized as “early season.” But they’re launching them nonetheless. These deals are not only particularly early, but long-lasting as [...]
There are reasons that layaway went away. As more Americans gained access to credit, most stores got rid of layaway plans, which allow customers to pay off big purchases over the course of a few weeks or months. Stores preferred shoppers to use plastic because the swiping of a credit card was much simpler than [...]
Back-to-school shopping is barely behind us, so it might seem premature to start thinking about holiday shopping (despite the fact that some retailers are rolling out holiday merchandise in their stores this month). But the reality is, you should.
Consumer activity gives a good indication of how the economy is holding up, and here are five trends indicating that consumers are having a particularly hard time lately.
The average family will drop a bit over $600 to prepare for the upcoming school year. Here are seven stores with deals that’ll help the money go further.
