Stories related to: shopping

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): Lawn Aerator Sandals: 1.5-inch spikes covering the soles easily dig holes in your lawn. Happily, they also turn a swift kick deadly. More »

Even gifts for mom aren't  immune to the economic crunch, Newsday reports. Spending on Mother's Day gifts is thought to be dipping, but only by an average of 50 cents, from last year's $139.14, according to a consumer survey. Only 13% of consumers plan to spend more this year.  Those just out of the nest—18 to 24 year olds—will shell out $30 more than other age groups, and 40% of them will spend more than last year. More »

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 hunt them down, and retailers stuck with unsold stock are giving sales staff more leeway to cut deals. More »

Rather than going without that box of Godiva, about 8 million Americans are their own valentines, sending themselves gifts they're guaranteed to like, reports Reuters. Should you receive a valentine offering from a date, beau, or husband, disappointment may follow: There's a big difference between women's wishes and men's purchases. Men like to give lingerie, but only 2% of women want it. More »

Nicolas Sarkozy wants to ax a 1906 law that shutters most retail outlets on Sundays, Bloomberg reports. The move would modernize the country, the maverick president says, energizing an economy that has dragged behind that of other EU countries. "Previous governments, left and right, always dodged the issue," says a retail exec. "This government has more political will." More »

Online sales on Cyber Monday, the Monday after Thanksgiving, soared 21% over the previous year to a record-breaking $733 million, Marketwatch reports. Some 60% of the purchases were made from work, say comScore analysts; the average dollars spent per buyer decreased 12% from the same day a year earlier. More »

On the traditional first day of the Christmas season, shoppers swarmed stores, as always, but the mood was less festive than anxious, reports the New York Times , as consumers flocked to discount chains, and hunted down bargains. Beset by worries about gas prices, adjustable-rate mortgages, and a skittish stock market, many bypassed more expensive retailers. Analysts are already calling this the "trade-down" holiday shopping season. More »

Stores will open earlier than ever on Black Friday, with midnight openings becoming more common, the AP reports. Wal-Mart, in fact, began its sales today. "You sell two sweaters and you've broken even,” said one analyst. But Gap chief Glenn Murphy will be out with the hordes, then crunching numbers. “There is a point from an industry perspective where you get diminishing returns.” More »

PayPal is offering a new way for customers to pay on sites that don't normally accept the service. PayPal Secure Card creates a new MasterCard number for every transaction and retrieves members' payment information from their PayPal accounts. "From a merchant's perspective this looks like any other MasterCard transaction," says a PayPal exec. "And it's just another PayPal purchase to the customer." More »

Major US and European retailers routinely transmit sensitive data, including customer credit card and Social Security numbers, over wireless networks wide open to hackers. A recent undercover study by a wireless data security firm found half of stores in major shopping areas either exchanged data without anti-hacking encryption or used obsolete encryption easily foiled by thieves. More »

Nearly 6% of the population suffers from compulsive buying, which is often linked to other problems with control and mood disorders, according to research in the American Journal of Psychiatry . About the same percentage of women and men are shopaholics, and addicts are likely to be young, near the limit on their credit cards, and making less than $50,000 a year. More »

Some things, like lingerie and toothbrushes, are best purchased new. In other cases, used is just as good—and far cheaper. MSN Money gives you the lowdown: Books CDs and DVDs Little kids' toys More »

A drop in cargo at US ports has stunned analysts, who call the 1.4% fall more evidence of a stalled economy. A few factors are keeping foreign cargo at bay—the low dollar, wary buyers, and a cool housing market among them—yet observers still expressed shock. "When I first saw these numbers, I asked if they had left a column out of the spreadsheet," said one. "I thought it was a typo." More »

A $1.6 million concert by the Kirov Orchestra is just one eye-popping highlight of Neiman Marcus' brand new Christmas catalogue, which is chock full of super-extravagant gifts most of us can only salivate over. The private concert for 500 includes a Steinway Concert Grand piano autographed by the musicians. If that's too-too for some, they can opt for the relative bargain $73,000 cell phone featuring white and pink diamonds set in gold. More »

Wal-Mart knows a lot about Americans, courtesy of the 208 million US consumers who shop there every year. ABC News takes a look at the superstore's sales figures and finds a portrait of the nation's changing face and taste. Some highlights: Boxers are tied with briefs; Ohio buys the most TVs; and the top-selling Wal-Mart item? Bananas. More »

The malls keep going up in China, but the number of mallrats isn't keeping up with them. Indications abound of retail real-estate bubble, the Christian Science Monitor reports, but warnings to banks about loaning to malls aren’t halting new construction. Consumption is only 37% of Chinese output—half the US rate—as citizens with little welfare to rely on save up instead of spending. More »

Commercial product design is being overhauled faster and faster as brands compete in a fragmented market. The Internet and cable TV have diluted the effectiveness of advertising campaigns, and companies are spending more money on engaging design to win customers: Pepsi, for one, is rolling out a new can every few weeks this year. The Times takes a look. More »

Wal-Mart is launching a back-to-school marketing campaign using Facebook, Reuters reports. The megachain has created a "Roommate Style Match" Facebook group to give college students a chance to coordinate decorating before moving in—and then browse an array of "recommended" Wal-Mart goods, including many the retailer promotes as "earth-friendly." More »

Too much money? Here's some much-needed advice from the Consumerist: Make shopping your hobby. Don't budget. Buy your friends gifts you can't afford Grocery shop hungry, don't bring a list, and buy everything you sample. Use the ATM at the gas station. More »

Shoppers in the not-too-distant future may have a new option when they get to the checkout line: their cell phones. Many retailers are warming up to the idea of consumers using "contactless" payment methods—cellphones or cards with a built-in wireless chips that can process transactions with a simple tap, the San Jose Mercury News reports. More »