shopping – News Stories About shopping - Page 6

Nov 28, 2008 8:33 AM CST

Twitchy Retail Braces for Black Season

'Black Friday' starts days early and continues throughout season

(Newser) - For years, retailers across America have dubbed today Black Friday, when shoppers descend like locusts on cut-price merchandise to signal the start of the holiday season. But as the New York Times reports, stores have been slashing prices for weeks now, often with little effect. From toys to electronics to...

Japanese Stores Conquer Convenience

Nov 8, 2008 5:08 AM CST

Japanese Stores Conquer Convenience

Hard times suit the country's ultra-handy 7-11 descendants

(Newser) - Japan's ultra-convenient convenience stores are one of the few bright spots in the nation's struggling economy, the Washington Post reports. Business is booming at the 40,000 stores nationwide, which offer everything from hot soup to cold beer to fresh sushi. Customers can pay their bills, book travel, and even...

Computer Shopping? No Need to Go for Broke

product review

Oct 30, 2008 10:36 AM CDT

Computer Shopping? No Need to Go for Broke

Typical users don't have to break the bank: Mossberg

(Newser) - Economic conditions being what they are, you might not have a ton of dough to spend on a new computer. So in his annual PC buyer’s guide, Wall Street Journal tech expert Walter Mossberg adopts a budget-focused mindset. His advice:

The current Mac OS, Leopard, is much better than

...

The Makeover Palin Should Have Had

OPINION

Oct 23, 2008 3:00 PM CDT

The Makeover Palin Should Have Had

High-end duds totally at odds with GOP target (or Target) audience

(Newser) - That the GOP dressed up “a no-frills hockey mom” for her star turn is fine, but that they dressed her up in Neiman's, Saks, and Barneys is “mind-boggling evidence of a tin ear for the symbolism of popular culture,” style maven Robin Givhan wails in the Washington ...

Robocall Master Bought Palin's Fancy Clothes

ANALYSIS

Oct 23, 2008 2:31 PM CDT

Robocall Master Bought Palin's Fancy Clothes

Jeff Larson helped savage McCain in ugly 2000 SC primary

(Newser) - The Republican National Committee’s $150,000 spree on Sarah Palin’s wardrobe is so last news cycle, but, in the Atlantic, Joshua Green notes that the man swiping the credit card is GOP operative Jeff Larson. Larson is most notable for his role as a partner in the robocalling...

Stylists: $150K
Well Spent
on Palin

Oct 23, 2008 11:00 AM CDT

Stylists: $150K Well Spent on Palin

Governor's image makeover on GOP dime helps her look the part, at least

(Newser) - The outrage over Sarah Palin’s pricey wardrobe doesn’t extend to professional fashionistas, Politico reports—putting money into a candidate’s appearance is a perfectly wise use of funds, they argue. “You are talking about branding a person who you are launching into the public eye,” said...

GOP Gulps as
$150K Threads
Fray Palin Cred

Oct 23, 2008 5:59 AM CDT

GOP Gulps as $150K Threads Fray Palin Cred

Pricey duds threaten to give Palin an image problem

(Newser) - The $150,000 pricetag for Sarah Palin's new clothes has transformed the hockey mom into something of an empress, the New York Times reports, and GOP strategists are sweating the change in image. As the campaign enters the homestretch, Palin's unplain threads have become a symbol of excess akin to...

GOP Foots
$150K Bill
for Palin
Clothing,
Makeup

Oct 22, 2008 9:08 AM CDT

GOP Foots $150K Bill for Palin Clothing, Makeup

RNC defends $150k clothes, makeup budget for Palins

(Newser) - Sarah Palin apparently isn't kidding when she stresses the importance of lipstick to a hockey mom: the RNC spent $5000 on hair and makeup en route to racking up a $150,000 bill for clothing and accessories for Palin and her family since John McCain picked her as his...

Supermarkets Downsize
to Speed Up Shopping

Sep 10, 2008 4:19 AM CDT

Supermarkets Downsize to Speed Up Shopping

'Express' outlets cut back on miles of aisles for rushed shoppers

(Newser) - American supermarkets are starting to shrink after decades of getting bigger and bigger, the New York Times reports. The average supermarket is still larger than a football field, but retailers have begun opening smaller outlets to appeal to rushed consumers who want to pick up groceries without having to wander...

Relax, Girls—Men
Are Shopaholics, Too

glossies

Aug 12, 2008 1:17 PM CDT

Relax, Girls—Men Are Shopaholics, Too

Fellas reward a hard day's work with new gear

(Newser) - Men are giving women a run for their credit cards when it comes to shopping addiction, Details reports. One study found that men in their 20s and 30s "shop more like women" by visiting a variety of stores, and anecdotal evidence portrays today's male as increasingly prone to the...

Shopaholics Trying to Buy Self-Esteem

Aug 2, 2008 11:39 AM CDT

Shopaholics Trying to Buy Self-Esteem

They love fawning clerks and attention, study says

(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...

C-Rod to A-Rod: Payback's a $100K Paris Shopping Spree

Jul 8, 2008 3:21 PM CDT

C-Rod to A-Rod: Payback's a $100K Paris Shopping Spree

Pal: Cynthia got loose with Yank's credit card

(Newser) - Whatever the intricacies of Alex Rodriguez's maybe-affair with Madonna, soon-to-be-ex Cynthia Rodriguez didn't get mad—she went shopping. “She's been spending wildly," one of A-Rod’s friends tells the New York Daily News. "She spent close to $100,000 on her jaunt to Paris." While she...

Study Sees Wal-Mart
in India's Future

ANALYSIS

May 28, 2008 8:10 PM CDT

Study Sees Wal-Mart in India's Future

But government can help mom-and-pop outfits get organized for future

(Newser) - South Asia is still dominated by mom-and-pop grocery stores, but—as in the US about 70 years ago—the supermarket sector is expanding and will eventually overtake family-run shops, the Economist gleans from a new study. "Many people assume that Asia's shopping habits are peculiar to the region and...

Feeling Lethal? SkyMall Catolog Has Just the Thing

May 8, 2008 8:09 PM CDT

Feeling Lethal? SkyMall Catolog Has Just the Thing

Merchandise can take a sinister turn, given the right mood

(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):

Lawn Aerator Sandals: 1.5-inch spikes covering the

...

This Won't Be the Mother
of All Mother's Days

May 6, 2008 4:43 AM CDT

This Won't Be the Mother of All Mother's Days

Gift spending shrinks for poor old mom amid financial crunch

(Newser) - 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....

Haggling Makes a Comeback

Apr 15, 2008 7:05 AM CDT

Haggling Makes a Comeback

Consumers cutting deals as economy slows

(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...

Note to Self:
Be My Valentine?

Feb 13, 2008 12:52 PM CST

Note to Self: Be My Valentine?

Millions of Americans buy their favorite person gifts on Feb. 14

(Newser) - 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....

Eat Cake? Let Them Shop
on Sundays

Dec 4, 2007 9:41 PM CST

Eat Cake? Let Them Shop on Sundays

Sarkozy takes steps to scrap law keeping stores closed

(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,"...

'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.

Black Friday as Bargain Hunt

Nov 24, 2007 7:17 AM CST

Black Friday as Bargain Hunt

Thrifty shoppers crowd malls nationwide

(Newser) - 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,...