The retail industry is reporting some much-needed good news in the form of stronger-than-expected December sales figures. But those numbers seem to have come as a result of desperate last-minute discounting, suggesting reduced profit margins and an increasingly hard-to-please American shopper.
The kick-off to the holiday season gets earlier every year, but that doesn't mean that consumers are getting better at finishing their shopping early. As the National Retail Federation notes, American consumers typically have about half their holiday shopping left to go in mid-December.
This weekend represents something of a lull in the holiday season. Black Friday is behind us, and any lingering Cyber Week sales are wrapping up. The remaining big shopping days won't come until later in December. Still, there are deals to be found this weekend. Here are a few.
Black Friday has been around for decades, but in the last several years, the holiday shopping season has gained a number of additional "special" shopping days. So if you're looking for the right days for deals, (or when to avoid the crowds) here's a run-down of all the retail deal days worth knowing.
How's this for holiday savings: Bringing home a haul of remote control cars, tablets, coats and boots worth $8,000 for just $1,300. That's what extreme couponer Joni Crothers and her "coupon-tourage" accomplished on a Black Friday shopping spree to fulfill the wish lists of 16 children in need.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the two most heavily hyped shopping days of the season, are behind us: Online retail sales were fantastic, and Amazon and Walmart had nice weekends. But anyone could have predicted that. Here are a few results of the big shopping weekend you probably didn't see coming.
The battle for your holiday spending dollars is well under way, and it's not too soon to start handicapping 2012's likely winners. Some may be obvious (like Amazon), but others may surprise you. Here's how the holiday shopping season is shaking out across the retail landscape.
DailyFinance's Matt Brownell is covering the Black Friday holiday shopping kickoff, starting Thursday evening. This article will be updated periodically with fresh details from across the country. And if you've got pictures or stories of your own shopping experiences, pass them along for us to share.
According to the National Retail Federation, 147 million Americans plan to shop on Black Friday weekend, because that's when they'll get the best deals. But that's just not always so. For these five types of purchase, you'd be better off skipping the post-Thanksgiving stampede.
First, there was just Thanksgiving. Then came Black Friday, and then Cyber Monday. Now, we have White Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Giving Tuesday, too -- enough special days to make your head spin. But we're here to guide you through them, and to help you make the best of the post-Thanksgiving week.
Investors know that it will be a week of heavy eating and light trading. The market is closed on Thanksgiving, and will close early on Friday. However, it won't be a light week for retail, so the Black Friday and Cyber Monday results will be top of mind for the market-minded.
Target is pushing back against complaints that its 9 p.m. Thanksgiving opening is ruining the holiday for its employees. It's hardly the only retailer making the move, an online petition singling out Target at Change.org had 228,000 signatures as of Friday morning.
With Black Friday only a week away, we look at some of the early sales and deals already cropping up.
It was only seven years ago that some clever folks at Shop.org decided to promote e-commerce with its own version of Black Friday, and Cyber Monday was born. But in our smartphone- and tablet-powered world, holiday shopping is getting more "cyber" every year. Does online retail still need its special day?
Black Friday sales circulars for several major retailers are already out online, and the deals look tempting. And at some chains, you won't even have to wait until Friday. We'll update as we learn more, but here's the scoop on the deals and sale times that we know so far.