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.
Regifting: Lots of us do it, and many of us feel a bit guilty about it, even though polls show people are generally OK with receiving regifts. But does regifting really pass the holiday season etiquette test? We asked Jodi R.R. Smith of etiquette consultancy Mannersmith.
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.
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.
The clock is running down on Cyber Monday, and there are so many deals available, it's easy to get so overwhelmed you miss the good ones. Let us help: We checked in with the experts at the top deal-hunting sites and asked for the absolute best buys they'd found. Here are their picks.
Today is Cyber Monday, when retailers offer tons of great deals online. Just one problem: Mostly, they'll mean having your purchases shipped, and customers hate shipping costs more than any other part of e-commerce. Here are the best ways to dodge those pesky shipping fees.
On Cyber Monday, U.S. consumers are expected to empty their wallets of more than $1 billion, Merchants are offering some of their best deals, and it's time to take advantage. Here are a few strategies that should help you land the lowest prices.
Online retailers are expected to have a feast this holiday shopping season, and you can bet that a good deal of that activity will be taking place on Cyber Monday.
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.
Holiday shopping season kicks off next week with Black Friday's big sales, but you don't fight through the throngs to snag savings: Here are four ways the best shopping rewards credit cards can save you a small fortune.
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?