Holiday Shopping

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April 2008
- March Retail Sales Fall Flat
  
  Wall Street Journal | Apr 10, 08 11:29 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Retailers’ same-store sales were flat in March, due in part to an early Easter, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Thomson Financial Same Store Sales Index, projected to sink 0.1%, fell 1.1%, excluding Wal-Mart. Shoppers weren’t ready to buy for spring on the heels of winter, store closings for the holiday reduced sales, and consumer sentiment his a five-year low amid still-rising fuel prices. More »
January 2008
- Retail Sales In Surprise Swoon
  
  Bloomberg | Jan 15, 08 8:42 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Retail sales fell 0.4% in December, an unexpected drop that capped off retailers’ worst year since 2002 and is sure to fuel rampant recession fears. “Consumer spending slowed down pretty dramatically,” one economist tells Bloomberg. “We are kind of flying very close to a stall speed.” Prognosticators had expected sales to hold steady after November’s revised 1% gain; the lag suggests that gas prices, the housing slump, and the weak job market may be catching up with consumers. More »
- Retail Scores Big on Unused Gift Cards
  
  New York Times | Jan 5, 08 8:20 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Retailers are likely rubbing their hands with glee after shoppers snapped up $97 billion in gift cards this year, up from $83 billion in 2006. Why the excitement? The industry makes billions each year from “breakage," or gift card money that is never spent. Lost, discarded, or under-used cards amounted to $7.8 billion in “free money” last year, the New York Times reports. More »
December 2007
- E-Commerce All Grown Up, Sales Growth Finally Slows
  
  New York Times | Dec 28, 07 8:39 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Online sales continued to out-pace traditional retailers this season, boasting a 19% spike, but fell compared to 25-30% growth rates in past seasons, the New York Times reports. While e-tailers beat the scrawny 3.6% sales growth of traditional stores, experts attribute the slowdown to the maturing of online shopping. More »
- 'Black Friday' Not Such a Deal
  
  Boston Globe | Dec 28, 07 6:03 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - With the holiday shop-fest all but over, the Boston Globe reports that the day after Thanksgiving doesn't always yield the best bargains, as consumers have been led to believe. The paper surveyed prices for 52 consumer-electronics products during the holiday shopping season—and found that only five were cheapest on "Black Friday." More »
- Retailers Slash Prices to Boost Slumping Season
  
  Bloomberg | Dec 23, 07 6:43 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Retailers slashed prices nationwide this weekend in a bid to draw last-minute shoppers and lift a slumping holiday season, Bloomberg reports. Pressed by high gas and food prices, consumers are holding out for zero-hour deals; retailers have obliged with half-off sales and extra hours, counting on the last days before Christmas for 9% of season sales. More »
- Best Buy Profit Soars 52% in 3Q
  
  Wall Street Journal | Dec 18, 07 12:21 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - A consumer hankering for big-ticket items—and a willingness to pay closer to full price for them—helped Best Buy's third-quarter profit rise 52%, reports the Wall Street Journal . Absent last year's discounting on flat-screen TVs, the country's largest electronics chain posted Q3 net income of $228 million, or 53 cents a share, versus 31 cents a share a year earlier and analysts' forecast of 41 cents. More »
- Ho-Hum Season Sees Drop in Women's Apparel Sales
  
  New York Times | Dec 17, 07 2:07 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Women's spending on apparel for the first half of the Christmas season is down, alarming retailers and spawning broad worry in the industry. Experts blame a bleak economy and blah fashions for a slump of nearly 6% compared with a year ago, reports the New York Times . Men’s clothing sales, on the other hand, rose 4.5% in the first 20 days of the season. More »
- Holiday E-Commerce Still Suffers Growing Pains
  
  Wired | Dec 15, 07 10:14 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - As online retailers post record sales this year, holiday e-commerce meltdowns show that stores still don't have the kinks ironed out of their sites. Despite increased capacity on retail sites, crashes such as Sears.com's eight-hour Black Friday crash and Yahoo Shopping's 10-hour Cyber Monday outage continue to plague holiday online shopping, Wired reports. More »
- Chefs Dish on Fave Cookbooks
  
  Slate | Dec 14, 07 7:42 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - What to get the foodie or chef who already has all the classic cookbooks? Slate compiles offbeat favorites recommended by Mollie Katzen, James Oseland and other standout chefs, food editors, and more. Ethan Becker: Cookwise— Less a cookbook than a bible of general cooking knowledge. Dan Barber: The River Cottage Meat Book— "A carnivore's manifesto." Melissa Clark: The Mensch Chef —Traditional Jewish recipe perfection. More »
- Guaranteed Wii ... Come January
  
  Los Angeles Times | Dec 14, 07 6:25 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Kids hoping to score a Nintendo Wii this Christmas might have to settle for a skimpy rain check instead, the Los Angeles Times reports. Nintendo has completely sold out of its popular video-game console and won't be shipping any new units until January. Instead, buyers can reserve systems with full-price "Wii Certificates" available Dec. 20-21 at GameStop. More »
- Nov. Retail Sales Up 1.2%; Sky May Not Be Falling
  
  Bloomberg | Dec 13, 07 10:09 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - November’s retail sales confounded doomsayers, surging 1.2%, twice the 0.6% analysts predicted, Bloomberg reports. Many had worried that consumer spending would take a hit as gas rose and housing fell, but now it looks like job and income growth could cushion the fall. “The numbers should help put to rest some of the fears of sliding into recession,” said one economist. More »
- New Tests: 35% of Toys Contain Some Lead
  
  Associated Press | Dec 5, 07 2:00 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Toy shelves are still lined with lead, according to test results released today from environmental health groups in nine states. Checking 1,268 toys, the groups found lead in 35%, with levels often surpassing federal recall standards. Only 23 of those toys have been recalled. “This is not about alarming parents,” one official said. “We’re just trying to give people information.” More »
- Good Wii Hunting!
  
  Wired | Dec 5, 07 4:05 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Know where to go. Know the right people to talk to. Most importantly, get up early! Demand for the Nintendo Wii is going to far outstrip supply for the second Christmas in a row and Wired has some tips for people determined to track one down. Nintendo has stoked up production of the console, but executives admit there's bound to be a shortfall. More »
- Eat Cake? Let Them Shop on Sundays
  
  Bloomberg | Dec 4, 07 9:41 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - 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 »
- Cold Calls to Loved Ones: 'Buy This!'
  
  Wall Street Journal | Dec 1, 07 6:44 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Tired of dropping hints and still getting the "wrong" gift? Now more stores notify potential buyers about what their loved ones want, the Wall Street Journal reports. Chains like Searle call up about that $300 scarf and onliner retailer Net-a-Porter sends video emails—along with the warning, "Let's face it, if she's happy, you're happy." But etiquette experts say it's just plain rude. More »
November 2007
- Hasbro Talks Tough on Safety
  
  Associated Press | Nov 30, 07 7:00 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Hasbro is talking up its safety record by reminding parents it had nothing to do with recent safety recalls: A newspaper ad set to run next week will say consumers should feel good about buying Hasbro products, the AP reports. Experts say it could help the entire industry but warn it probably won’t affect Christmas gift choices and could even be tempting fate. More »
- Black Friday Getting Longer
  
  Associated Press | Nov 22, 07 8:08 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - 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 »
- US Stores Riddled With Unsafe Toys
  
  McClatchy Newspapers | Nov 21, 07 3:22 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Despite massive recalls, hazardous toys still crowd US shelves, warn consumer watchdog organizations. Dozens of toys pose choking hazards, contain toxic chemicals, or use dangerously strong magnets, according to an annual toy survey by the US Public Interest Research Group released yesterday. Nine of 100 toys tested by the Center for Environmental Health had unsafe levels of lead. All were made in China. More »
- 10 Things a Kid Had to Have
  
  CNN | Nov 18, 07 4:50 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Demanding kids have been sending crazed parents on a quest for the must-have toy for decades, says CNN. A list of past faves that made shoppers go wild: Mr. Potato Head, 1952 Easy-Bake Oven, 1964 G.I. Joe with kung fu grip, 1974 More »