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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: shoppers

shoppers stories: 11 news summaries
OPINION

How Should Wal-Mart Handle Blog Ridicule? Ignore It

No right move on 'People of Walmart' pics of fashion misses

Sep 9, 09 6:09 PM CDT
(Newser) - A wildly popular new blog mocks Wal-Mart and its customers, and encourages others to join in by uploading their own photos and comments. So what should the retail giant do? Nothing, writes BL Ochman in Advertising Age. The site—People of Walmart—isn't “likely to do lasting damage... More »

MORE ABOUT:
social networking • humor • photograph • website • retail stores • Wal-Mart • shoppers • People of Walmart

Ho-Ho-Hold on
a Minute,
Xmas in July?

Stores launch summer promotions to snag holiday dollars early

Jul 31, 09 4:38 AM CDT
(Newser) - It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas in malls across the country as stores angle for some extremely early holiday dollars, the Wall Street Journal reports. Retailers like Toys'R'US, Sears and Kmart have dragged Santa away from his summer break and launched July Christmas promotions, hoping to boost sales... More »

MORE ABOUT:
retail • recession • retail sales • Christmas • holiday shopping • shoppers • Christmas shopping

(Newser) - Some recession-wary companies are marketing more to women these days, the Economist reports. After all, women make more than 80% of discretionary buys in America, and are more loyal, product-plugging (or bashing) customers. But one expert says the strategy could turn off male buyers in traditionally masculine marketing areas like... More »

MORE ABOUT:
shopping • women • marketing • recession • shoppers

 French Cashier Tells
 All, Cashes In 

Best seller gently critiques rude shoppers

Dec 11, 08 1:58 PM CST
(Newser) - After 8 years of being ignored, a French grocery store cashier has forced bad-mannered shoppers to take notice. Anne Sam's best-seller, Tribulations of a Cashier, has become a sensation, with comic book, movie, and musical adaptations forthcoming, the Washington Post reports. And Sam has quit her day job to... More »

MORE ABOUT:
France • memoir • grocery stores • shoppers • best seller • Tribulations of a Cashier • Anne Sam

 China Embraces Credit Cards 

Untapped market prompts banks to aggressively market plastic

Oct 22, 08 1:36 PM CDT
(Newser) - Banks are moving to tap China’s lucrative market for credit cards, issuing millions in new plastic in recent years, the Los Angeles Times reports. There are about 100 million credit cards today in China, up from 3 million in 2003. And the market is still tiny, by American standards:... More »

MORE ABOUT:
China • credit card • credit • loan • default • shoppers • banks

Shopaholics Trying to Buy Self-Esteem

They love fawning clerks and attention, study says

Aug 2, 08 11:39 AM CDT
(Newser) - Shopaholics crave the self-esteem boost they get from interaction with retail staff far more than the actual goods they buy, new research shows. Psychiatrists believe the findings will lead to a new course of therapy, rather than the usual treatment of prescribing antidepressants, Deutsche Welle reports. The disorder affects up... More »

MORE ABOUT:
shopping • psychology • psychiatric disorders • retail shopping • shoppers

iPhone 3G Faithful Already Lining Up in NYC

Customers queue up 6 days ahead of new release

Jul 5, 08 4:29 PM CDT
(Newser) - The next-generation iPhone won't ring up sales until Friday, but eager shoppers are already lining up outside Apple’s flagship New York store. Ready with chairs and other gear, ten people have a head-start, and may be smarter than they look: For this release, customers must activate their 3G phones... More »

MORE ABOUT:
iPhone • New York • Apple • shoppers • iPhone 3G

 Feeling Lethal? SkyMall Catolog Has Just the Thing

Merchandise can take a sinister turn, given the right mood

May 8, 08 8:09 PM CDT
(Newser) - Browsing airplane catalogs already hints at a certain crazed desperation. But just in case that yapping businessman on your flight pushes you into a homicidal rage, Jezebel points out that SkyMall merch can also facilitate murder (first, allow 4-6 weeks for delivery):
  1. Lawn Aerator Sandals: 1.5-inch spikes covering
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
shopping • murder • death • airplane • shoppers • in-flight • SkyMall

 Haggling Makes a Comeback 

Consumers cutting deals as economy slows

Apr 15, 08 7:05 AM CDT
(Newser) - Many shoppers might consider haggling a buying technique better suited to a Moroccan carpet bazaar than their local mall, but the practice is picking up steam in the US in the midst of increasing economic woes, reports the Los Angeles Times. Cash-strapped consumers are trying to create bargains rather than... More »

MORE ABOUT:
shopping • consumer • negotiation • retail sales • retail shopping • retailing • shoppers

Shops Shut
as Wind Goes Out of Sales

Store closings rise along with gas prices, foreclosures

Mar 11, 08 3:59 AM CDT
(Newser) - Soaring gas prices and a still-boiling housing crisis are taking their toll on America's smaller retailers, with store bankruptcies and vacancy rates rising steadily as customers avoid impulse-buys that once fueled the industry's rapid expansion, reports AP. Vacancies hover between 7% and 8%, up from 5% just six months ago—... More »

MORE ABOUT:
recession • US economy • gas prices • retail sales • retail stores • retail shopping • housing crisis • weakening economy • shoppers

'Retail Renting' or Stealing?
Stores Crack Down

Shoppers who repeatedly buy and return merchandise face tougher policies

Feb 22, 08 5:42 PM CST
(Newser) - It’s called “wardrobing” or “retail renting,” when a consumer buys, uses, and then returns merchandise, and the National Retail Federation says it’s growing more popular with shoppers, the Boston Globe reports. It's also becoming a bigger headache for merchants as the economy tightens and businesses... More »

MORE ABOUT:
JCPenney • US economy • retail sales • Best Buy • wardrobe • shoppers • Dillards • Bealls Department Stores

11 Stories


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