Black Friday as Bargain Hunt

Double whammy for desperate stores struggling to sell in last holiday week

(NEWSER) - Retailers were extending hours and cutting prices deeper in a last-ditch attempt to attract a final wave of holiday shoppers and mitigate the impact of major storms in the Midwest, Northwest and Northeast, Reuters reports. Some two-thirds of shoppers still have holiday shopping left to do, according to surveys, but the storms may further cut their already-meagre lists. The bad weather is hitting at the worst possible time as stores struggle with flagging sales amid a major economic downturn. More»

It didn't go well for David Sherman, 49

(NEWSER) - We don’t want to imply that there’s a right time to shoplift, but there’s definitely a wrong one, and that wrong one is on "Shop With a Cop" night. David Sherman, 49, tried to make off with a $79 DVD player from a Nebraska Walmart on Wednesday, apparently unaware that more than two dozen cops were in the store, WFIE 14 reports. More»

Chains hoping deep discounts will move merchandise

(NEWSER) - While store bargains may have shoppers saying "ho, ho, ho," they've got retailers thinking: "Oh-oh." Heavy discounts in the last days before Christmas are a signal companies are worried they'll be stuck with inventory that isn't moving off the shelves. Retailers had high hopes for the season, but sluggish sales are forcing them now to be “much more aggressive in terms of promotion," a retail consultant tells the New York Times . Toy prices are being slashed as much as 50% at Toys R Us and 70% at Amazon, and gifts have been discounted 50% at places like Restoration Hardware. More»

Black Friday madness in Madison!

(NEWSER) - Not a recommended Black Friday shopping strategy: cutting to the front of the line of patiently waiting shoppers ... then threatening to shoot them after they complain. A 21-year-old Wisconsin woman was arrested last night after making just such threats. The incident happened outside a Toys 'R' Us store in Madison that opened at 10pm last night. Police reported that several hundred shoppers were in line around that time when the woman tried to jump to the front. More»

People in Austin, Texas, most likely

(NEWSER) - It's Black Friday, so Americans are out spending money in droves—but who's spending the most? In the Daily Beast , Anneli Rufus gets us a little closer to an answer, by way of 15 spending stats:

• If you're an online shopper ... you spend 24.6% more than a brick-and-mortar shopper.
• If you're an LGBT adult ... you spend 26% more on holiday gifts than heterosexuals.
• If you're a heterosexual adult ... you are 85% more likely to shop for bargains during the holiday season than LGBT adults.