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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: holiday shopping

holiday shopping stories: 68 news summaries

21 - 40 of 68 Stories | << Prev 1 2 3 4 Next >>

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Israeli Salesmen the Kings of the Mall Kiosk

Pushy vendors bring bazaar-culture to holiday shopping

Dec 3, 08 2:20 PM CST
(Newser) - Chances are that shopping-mall cart vendor offering you spa lotions or whimsical toys this Christmas season is an Israeli transplant who knows how to hustle and haggle. Cart owners avoid hiring shyer Americans because "Israelis are natural-born closers," said one marketing director, and they're edging out other Turkish,... More »

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mall • holiday shopping • Israelis • Christmas shopping

 Was Wal-Mart 
 Trampling a Crime? 

Experts mixed on whether death can be prosecuted

Dec 2, 08 9:32 AM CST
(Newser) - Trampling a Long Island Wal-Mart worker in a frenzied rush for flat-screen TVs may be a prosecutable crime, reports Newsday, but experts are split. “In order to prosecute a homicide, you have to establish that someone caused a death," said a lawyer. "If I stepped on his... More »

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crime • death • accidental death • holiday shopping • Black Friday • Wal-Mart • criminal prosecution • civil trial

 Holiday Sales Surge 
 on Deep Discounts 

But retailers worry huge bargains may cut deeply into their profits

Dec 1, 08 7:19 AM CST
(Newser) - Desperate retailers received a jolt of good news this weekend as shoppers poured into stores and spent 7% more—an average $372.57 each—than they did a year ago, reports the New York Times. But Black Friday glee may be replaced with gloom as retailers tote up the slim... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Target • holiday shopping • Black Friday • National Retail Federation • financial crisis

Shoppers Are Even
Grinchier Than Expected

Over a third of shoppers spent less than the same time last year

Dec 1, 08 3:16 AM CST
(Newser) - Holiday shopping sales are looking even worse than forecast, Reuters reports. A new survey conducted over the traditional weekend launch of holiday gift-buying, found that 38% of shoppers said they spent less over the weekend than during the same period last year—and 30% were unimpressed by this year's discounts.... More »

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holiday shopping • Black Friday • survey • retailers • Christmas shopping

ANALYSIS

 Wal-Mart Death a Fitting
 Symbol of the Times

Desperate consumers, ailing economy make for dangerous combination

Nov 30, 08 1:54 PM CST
(Newser) - When shoppers charged into a Long Island Wal-Mart at the stroke of 5am Friday and trampled to death a temp who happened to get between them and the $388 flatscreen TVs inside,“it was a tragedy, yet it did not feel like an accident,” Peter Goodman writes in... More »

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death • holiday shopping • Black Friday • Wal-Mart • financial crisis • Christmas shopping

opinion



 Strapped Budgets 
 Make for Better Gifts 

Use a signature gift to cut costs, give meaningfully

Nov 29, 08 4:10 PM CST
(Newser) - Tight budgets are forcing Americans to skirt the season's traditional buying frenzy and make gifts that put "emphasis on people, not stuff," Melissa Magsaysay writes in the Los Angeles Times. She's creating "a creative signature gift" of Ugandan beads that she's turning into bracelets: The... More »

MORE ABOUT:
crafts • holiday shopping • gift • weakening economy • economy • holiday season

Wal-Mart Worker Killed in Black Friday Stampede

Another woman miscarries

Nov 28, 08 9:42 AM CST
(Newser) - Black Friday bargain hunters trampled an employee to death this morning at a Long Island Wal-Mart, the New York Daily News reports. Another woman had a miscarriage in the stampede. The unidentified employee had been trying to hold the unruly crowd back, but the crowd knocked him down and... More »

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holiday shopping • Black Friday • Wal-Mart • stampede

Shoppers Can't Halt Commercial Mortgage Crisis

Retailers will default, no matter how many sweaters you buy today

Nov 28, 08 9:02 AM CST
(AP) - Black Friday shoppers hunting for holiday bargains won't be enough to stave off what's likely to become the next economic crisis. Malls from Michigan to Georgia are entering foreclosure, commercial victims of the same events poisoning the housing market. Hotels in Tucson, Ariz., and Hilton Head, SC, also are about... More »

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foreclosure • credit crisis • mall • retail sales • holiday shopping • commercialism • mortgage defaults • financial crisis

 Twitchy Retail 
 Braces for 
 Black Season 

'Black Friday' starts days early and continues throughout season

Nov 28, 08 8:33 AM CST
(Newser) - For years, retailers across America have dubbed today Black Friday, when shoppers descend like locusts on cut-price merchandise to signal the start of the holiday season. But as the New York Times reports, stores have been slashing prices for weeks now, often with little effect. From toys to electronics to... More »

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shopping • holiday shopping • Black Friday • retailers • Christmas shopping

'Bleak Friday' May Keep TV Prices Down All Season

Deals on flat screens could extend all month

Nov 26, 08 7:21 AM CST
(Newser) - If your holiday wish list includes a flat-panel TV, you may not have to battle crowds on Black Friday to land a deal, reports the Wall Street Journal. Struggling electronics retailers anticipating a bleak holiday season are likely to extend traditionally low day-after-Thanksgiving prices—which could top 50% savings... More »

MORE ABOUT:
flat screen TVs • holiday shopping • consumer electronics • Best Buy • LCD TV • holiday sales

OPINION

 Learn to Live With Less 

Couple pledged to buy only necessities for 12 months

Nov 23, 08 12:44 PM CST
(Newser) - Light wallets may seem particularly woeful around the holidays, when cheer often comes with a retail pricetag. But shopping binges, while they may be satisfying, ultimately just add to overconsumption problems worldwide, Judith Levine writes in the Washington Post. So she and her partner tried something new: They went a... More »

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holiday • holiday shopping • retail shopping • economy • financial crisis

 Oprah's Newest 
 Favorite Thing: Thrift 

Talk-show host's holiday goodie bag will be unusually downscale this year

Nov 21, 08 2:11 PM CST
(Newser) - Oprah’s favorite things this year are cheap, cheap, cheap, Us Magazine reports. The TV host, who usually gives away pricey items on an annual holiday show, will bow to the economy and push affordable stocking-stuffers instead. The Nov. 26 airing also includes DIY tips, with viewers meeting “a... More »

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television • Oprah Winfrey • talk show • holiday shopping • economy • financial crisis • economic downturn • holiday season

 Slashing Prices Online 
 May Kill Etailers 

Price wars sure to kill off some struggling e-tailers

Nov 20, 08 10:46 AM CST
(Newser) - Online retailers’ response to their first dreary holiday season is a price war so fierce many won’t see the new year. Web shoppers are trained to search for deals, and 75% say they would leave a site that doesn't offer free shipping, the New York Times reports. Fine for... More »

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Google • online ads • shipping • holiday shopping • Kmart • online shopping • holiday sales • Amazon.com

 Champagne Loses 
 Fizz With Economy 

Industry is worried a tough holiday season will leave sales flat

Nov 17, 08 10:18 AM CST
(Newser) - Champagne companies are anything but bubbly this year as they head into what’s predicted to be a “horrible” holiday season, hurt by a sagging US economy and weak dollar, reports Advertising Age. November and December are crucial for the industry, with as much as 25% of sales during... More »

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holiday shopping • weak dollar • Champagne • Pernod Ricard • financial crisis

Cash-Strapped Shoppers Remember Layaway

No-interest credit appeals to consumers

Nov 10, 08 1:59 PM CST
(Newser) - With consumers strapped and credit short, retailers are reviving an older kind of financing: layaway. Although the arrangement was considered obsolete when Wal-Mart closed its layaway department in 2006, retailers such as TJ Maxx, Goody’s, Marshalls and the Burlington Coat Factory have moved to offer the service, especially as... More »

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retail • credit • credit crisis • retail sales • holiday shopping • Kmart • Wal-Mart • T.J. Maxx • financial crisis • layaway

Economic Squeeze Means Merry Christmas for Wal-Mart

Retailer expects blockbuster season as cash-strapped shoppers seek bargains

Nov 6, 08 3:33 AM CST
(Newser) - Wal-Mart is readying for bumper sales while most US retailers brace themselves for a miserable holiday season, the New York Times reports. Squeezed consumers are flocking to the discount chain as the economic downturn begins to bite. The firm is expected to report a modest increase in sales for October,... More »

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retail • retail sales • Christmas • chain stores • holiday shopping • Wal-Mart

product review

Computer Shopping? No Need to Go for Broke

Typical users don't have to break the bank: Mossberg

Oct 30, 08 10:36 AM CDT
(Newser) - Economic conditions being what they are, you might not have a ton of dough to spend on a new computer. So in his annual PC buyer’s guide, Wall Street Journal tech expert Walter Mossberg adopts a budget-focused mindset. His advice:
  • The current Mac OS, Leopard, is much better
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
shopping • holiday shopping • consumer electronics • computer • low-end computers • computer hardware

GLOSSIES

 Top Games for Holiday Play 

The titles you want stuffed in your stocking this year

Oct 25, 08 6:39 PM CDT
(Newser) - Are you ready to wear out your thumbs this holiday season? Looking at games slated for holiday release, Forbes thinks gamers "crave a lot of morally questionable mayhem."  Here are their top choices:
  • Gears of War 2 (Microsoft): This game promises hordes of aliens to
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Nintendo Wii • Xbox • holiday shopping • Guitar Hero • Christmas wish lists • Sony Playstation • video games • Guitar Hero: World Tour • chanukah

No More Bling? Even the
Jet Set Feels the Pinch

Luxury execs are sitting tight for the most part, while jet set wonders what's appropriate

Oct 9, 08 7:04 PM CDT
(Newser) - Not even the super-rich are immune to the present crisis, prompting Christina Binkley to wonder in the Wall Street Journal: "Is this the end of bling?" In a word, maybe. The world, of course, will always have rich people, but they may not want to flaunt it as much... More »

MORE ABOUT:
consumer spending • luxury goods • credit crisis • holiday shopping • bling • retailers • financial meltdown • jet set

Wal-Mart Launches $10 Toys, Stores Vow 'This 'R' War'

Rivals match Wal-Mart price cuts as retailers target cash-strapped shoppers

Oct 9, 08 5:39 AM CDT
(Newser) - Toy retailers have commenced a fierce price war as a particularly tough holiday season bears down upon them, the Wall Street Journal reports. Wal-Mart cut prices to $10 on key toys including Barbie and Hot Wheels last week, a move quickly mirrored by rivals KB Toys and Target. Toys 'R'... More »

MORE ABOUT:
toys • price war • Toys 'R' Us • retail sales • Target • holiday shopping • Wal-Mart

21 - 40 of 68 Stories | << Prev 1 2 3 4 Next >>


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