Christmas shopping

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Holiday Sales Takeaway: 'The Consumer Showed Up'

Sales were up 3.1% in November and December

(Newser) - The holiday shopping season is in the books, and retailers will likely be relieved, the New York Times reports. Retail sales were up 3.1% compared to last year between Nov. 1 and Dec. 24, according to stats released by Mastercard SpendingPulse. "This holiday season, the consumer showed up,...

Online Shoppers, Today Is Your Big Day

With Black Friday, it's on to Cyber Monday, wrapping up 5-day Cyber Week for holiday shopping

(Newser) - Consumers are scouring the internet for online deals as they begin to cap off the five-day post-Thanksgiving shopping bonanza with Cyber Monday. Even though e-commerce is now part and parcel of our everyday lives and much of the holiday shopping season, Cyber Monday—a term coined back in 2005 by...

Retailers Boost Discounts to Lure Hesitant Shoppers

Economic uncertainty is affecting spending habits on Black Friday

(Newser) - Stores stepped up discounts and other enticements on Black Friday to entice shoppers holding out for the best deals. But retailers worry those may not be enough, per the AP . Consumers are coming under pressure as their savings dwindle and credit card debt grows. And although they've gotten some...

Retailers Steel for What May Be a Holiday Mixed Bag

Consumers seem set to spend on Black Friday, but how much, how long after that remains a question

(Newser) - The holiday season is a critical one for many US retailers, and with Black Friday just two days away, it appears consumers are gearing up for a shopping spree: According to the National Retail Federation, about 182 million people are expected to open their wallets online and at brick-and-mortar stores...

Belgium: Designate 1 Bathroom User This Christmas

Anyone else who must go must go home, government says

(Newser) - With Belgium having more coronavirus-related deaths per capita than any nation in the world, Christmas there is not just a celebration but an issue. The nation already is under a four-person limit for gatherings, the Washington Post reports, and they must be held outdoors. Those rules will hold for the...

COVID Changing Big Retailers' Holiday Plans

Target joins Walmart in closing for Thanksgiving

(Newser) - The coronavirus is already causing big retailers to modify their holiday shopping season. On Monday, Target said it would close its stores on Thanksgiving for the first time since 2011, reports USA Today . The move comes after Walmart announced that it, too, would close on Thanksgiving, the first time that'...

Dad: 10-Year-Old 'Out of Her Mind' With Christmas List

She wants $4K, plus a lot of other stuff

(Newser) - One 10-year-old girl's Christmas list is being labeled " most extravagant ," " lavish ," and " one of the strangest gift lists any child has ever assembled," among other slightly less benevolent descriptors . The list went viral after the kid's father shared it on Twitter last...

12 Fun Things From Oprah's, Gwyneth's Holiday Gift Guides

It's that time of year, when the world falls in love ... with $88 bath salts

(Newser) - It's the season of giving ... really, really, really fancy things. At least according to Oprah Winfrey and Gwyneth Paltrow, who are out with their 2019 holiday gift guides. If you were to buy all of Oprah's Favorite Things , which number about 80 this year, it would set you...

Irate Patrons: Harrods Is 'the Grinch Who Stole Christmas'

Customers are miffed that only big spenders can visit the store's Christmas Grotto

(Newser) - Starting on Friday, Harrod's department store in London will open the doors to its Christmas Grotto, a "snow-covered woodland filled with sparkling surprises that will leave little ones mesmerized" through Christmas Eve, including a visit with Father Christmas himself. But those little ones will need caretakers with fat...

Got $5K at Your Disposal? This Doll Can Be Yours

Three of these American Girl dolls are available, decked out in 5,000 Swarovski crystals and beads

(Newser) - Don't know what to get for the girl who has everything? How about a doll decked out in thousands of dollars worth of bling? If you've got $5,000 lying around and can make arrangements with an American Girl flagship store in Los Angeles, New York, or Chicago,...

A Guide to the Best Black Friday Guides
The Best Black Friday Guides,
and the 'Nasty Surprises'
the rundown
Nov 23, 2018 10:44 AM CST

The Best Black Friday Guides, and the 'Nasty Surprises'

Top primers on top deals

(Newser) - It's Black Friday, and if you didn't get a jump on your holiday shopping on Thanksgiving itself (or even if you did), there are more deals waiting for you today. The New York Times sums up what products make sense to shop for (video games, "smart" home...

How Toys R Us Has 'Risen From the Grave'

You'll find Geoffrey's Toy Box in hundreds of Kroger-owned stores nationwide

(Newser) - In March Toys R Us announced it was closing for good and leaving 33,000 people out of work. But the Washington Post reports on the toy retailer's "complicated comeback," saying it has come "crawling back" from what looked to be a certain demise. Geoffrey (the...

This Year's Goop Gift Guide Includes an Entire Village

But it's only $173K

(Newser) - It's the most wonderful time of the year: That's right, time for Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop to release its holiday gift guide . This year's guide includes an entire Spanish village that is for sale for $172,910, though, to be fair, that item is included in the...

68.9% Off?! Stores With the Best Black Friday Discounts

WalletHub ranks 35 major stores by average discount

(Newser) - Black Friday is just a week and a half away, and WalletHub has the lowdown on which stores you might want to hit up. The site analyzed Black Friday ads from 35 major US retailers—comprising almost 7,000 deals—and ranked the stores by average discount. That's not...

The Fingerling Is This Year's Must-Have Toy

The robotic monkey is hard to find on shelves or online

(Newser) - The hottest toy this holiday season might just be a five-inch robotic monkey that grabs onto your fingers, passes gas, and sings a tune. The Fingerling is this year's Beanie Baby or Cabbage Patch Doll. The $15 creature that blinks and snores is coveted by millions of kids, and...

One State's Top Holiday Gift for 2017: Duct Tape

A look at what's projected to be the hottest gift in each state

(Newser) - Will the holiday season's biggest seller this year be an electronics item, a hot toy, or duct tape? Depends on which state you live in, per a 24/7 Wall St. analysis. The site checked out both the most popular gift items on Amazon.com and projected Google keyword searches...

Most-Played Holiday Song in Retail? No Longer Mariah

Carey is dethroned by The Shins

(Newser) - Everywhere you go this holiday shopping season, Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You" will be played. There's no escaping it—but, for the first time in decades, there's another song you might hear more often. That's right: For the first year since...

Mom Takes Flak for Buying Kids 300 Christmas Gifts

Emma Tapping gets grilled online over holiday photo

(Newser) - What's wrong with giving your family hundreds of Christmas gifts? Quite a bit, according to reaction one mom received on social media. Emma Tapping, a married mother of three, posted a photo of her family Christmas tree nearly buried under more than 300 gifts. She then saw the image...

On Offer in Neiman Christmas Book: $475K Perfume

Plus: $300K model racetrack, $100K amphibious vehicles

(Newser) - Looking for the perfect gift this holiday season? Look no further: For just $475,000, Neiman Marcus is offering the chance to design a perfume with an expert in Paris. Your fragrance will come in 14-karat gold bottles, the Dallas Morning News reports. If that doesn't strike your fancy,...

Lords, Ladies Jack Up Cost of '12 Days of Christmas'

All 364 presents will run you more than $114K

(Newser) - Well, you really should have bought all the gifts from the "12 Days of Christmas" song last year, because this year they'll set you back $114,651—a 6.9% increase from 2012's $107,300 . You can blame the price jump on the nine ladies dancing and...

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