holiday shopping

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Amazon Holiday Traffic Winner
Amazon Holiday Traffic Winner
Jan 15, 2008 11:21 AM CST

Amazon Holiday Traffic Winner

Dethrones eBay in pageviews for first time

(Newser) - Nielsen Online has declared Amazon the pageview winner for the holiday season, reports the New York Times. Amazon had 59,624,000 views to eBay’s 59,374,000, a slim margin, but a big turnaround on previous years. Brad Stone cites consumer concerns over fraud and counterfeit as possible...

Retail Scores Big on Unused Gift Cards

$7.8B in cards unused annually; some states want cut of profit

(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...

E-Commerce All Grown Up, Sales Growth Finally Slows

Internet sales set new records, but rise more slowly than last year

(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.

'Black Friday' Not Such a Deal
'Black Friday' Not Such a Deal
Dec 28, 2007 6:03 PM CST

'Black Friday' Not Such a Deal

Globe investigation finds better deals closer to Christmas

(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...

Late Shoppers Spread Some Holiday Cheer

But not enough to rescue some slumping retailers

(Newser) - Shoppers swarmed in a last-minute buying binge that will help most, but not all, retailers make the season’s sales projections. For the week ended Saturday sales rose 33% over a year ago and for the final weekend of the season were up 18.7%, reports the Los Angeles Times....

Online Buyers Want Blenders, Not Diamonds

Luxury takes a backseat to the practical this season

(Newser) - With a shaky economy causing consumers angst this holiday season, online e-tailers say shoppers are opting for functional over frivolous. E-sales of furniture and appliances have spiked more than 70%, while sales of jewelry, watches, and flowers have dropped, reports the New York Times. “It’s certainly counter to...

Wild Boars Run Amok in France
Wild Boars Run Amok in France
Dec 24, 2007 11:31 AM CST

Wild Boars Run Amok in France

One scatters shoppers, while another ties up trains

(Newser) - Shoppers weren't the only thing going hog-wild over the weekend, reports the Independent. One wild boar rampaged amid last-minute gift-buyers in a clothing store in France, while another stepped in front of a high-speed train, delaying trains for hours. 

Retailers Await Last-Minute Gift From Shoppers

Procrastinators find big sales, long lines

(Newser) - Last-minute shoppers navigated long lines over the final pre-Christmas weekend, nudging retailers toward the modest growth in sales they’d expected. Deep discounts cut into profits, but retailers like Macy's and Kmart stayed open around the clock to accommodate shoppers, the Wall Street Journal reports. “The procrastinators finally got...

Retailers Slash Prices to Boost Slumping Season

Plagued by high gas and food prices, shoppers hold out for bargains

(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...

Best Buy Profit Soars 52% in 3Q
Best Buy
Profit Soars
52% in 3Q
Dec 18, 2007 12:21 PM CST

Best Buy Profit Soars 52% in 3Q

Less discounting helps retail giant best expectations

(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...

Ho-Hum Season Sees Drop in Women's Apparel Sales

With less money to spend on family, women pull back on purchasing for themselves

(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...

Holiday E-Commerce Still Suffers Growing Pains

Net surfing window shoppers blamed for crashes, meltdowns

(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...

Guaranteed Wii ... Come January
Guaranteed Wii ... Come January
Dec 14, 2007 6:25 PM CST

Guaranteed Wii ... Come January

Nintendo, GameStop to offer rain check on video-game console

(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 Remains Hottest Seller for Holidays

1 million units gone in a flash last month as shoppers get creative

(Newser) - Nintendo’s Wii remained the hottest-selling—and hardest to find—game console in the US in November as shoppers snapped up nearly 1 million units, Reuters reports. Shoppers desperate for holiday presents have been standing in line at stores more than 14 hours to get a crack at one, and...

Omaha Mall Reopens Under Heavy Security

Van Maur store, where the shooter opened fire, remains closed

(Newser) - The Omaha mall where 19-year-old Robert Hawkins unleashed his killing spree re-opened for business today under tighter security, the AP reports. “I came in here and I was wondering how I would feel about it,” the mayor said, “but I feel fine.” The Von Maur store...

By Any Means Necessary: Buying a Wii

Shoppers explore varied strategies to get Nintendo's rare console

(Newser) - The holiday-season shortage of Nintendo’s Wii console is fostering some creative  shopping strategies, shared on a number of websites devoted to tracking down the device, the Washington Post reports. One advises Wii hopefuls not to ask store employees when the next shipment will arrive—instead, ask when the last...

Good Wii Hunting!
Good Wii Hunting!
Dec 5, 2007 4:05 AM CST

Good Wii Hunting!

Tips for savvy shoppers trying to track down elusive console

(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...

Screw G.I. Joe and Barbie, Gimme an iPod

Tech toys fly off the shelves, as young kids imitate grown up gadget lovers

(Newser) - Toddlers are getting their geek on, thanks to the rash of technological toys flying off the shelves this Christmas. The long-stagnant toy industry has found a growing market in kiddie versions of grown-up gadgets like laptops and digital cameras, the Times reports. “Toy companies don’t even call it...

'Cyber Monday' Breaks Records
'Cyber Monday' Breaks Records
Nov 28, 2007 6:29 AM CST

'Cyber Monday' Breaks Records

Online shopping's biggest day rose 21%, to $733M; purchases made mostly from work

(Newser) - 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.

Done With Black Friday? Here Comes Cyber Monday

Online retailers offer big discounts to kickoff holiday shopping

(Newser) - Black Friday has worked out pretty well for brick-and-mortar retailers, but for their online counterparts the action is on Cyber Monday. Tomorrow, 75% of online retailers will have special promotions, CNNMoney reports, up from 43% two years ago. It’s not actually the biggest online shopping day of the year,...

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