PlanetFeedback's ShopperCast

The Home Stretch

If you haven't finished (or started) your holiday shopping, we're down to three days to go.  It has been a tough holiday season for retailers.  The International Council of Shopping Centers is predicting the worst shopping season since 1969.  Ouch.  That's longer than some of us have been alive.

Thus some retailers are getting creative.  More than a dozen Macy's will stay open 24 hours a day between now and Christmas... we guess to lure customers who don't have anything better to do at 3:30 a.m. than to go in and buy a cashmere sweater. 

Other stores are slashing prices.  40% off gold earrings, again at Macy's.  40% off items at the Disney Store.  All in an effort to get you to hit the malls.

But what if malls aren't your thing?  Online retailers are more than happy to help you out with last minute deals and free shipping offers.  Some of the bargains we found: 

Old Navy is offering online shoppers up to 60 percent off;

Online jeweler BlueNile.com is sending "Daily Gem" e-mails to customers alerting them to new specials each day;

Shoe store Zappos.com, clothing retailer J.Crew and others are blasting e-mails to shoppers about free shipping, including free two-day service at bag retailer Timbuk2;

BlueFly.com, is cutting its fee for expedited shipping.

Some are even guaranteeing delivery on Christmas Eve as long as you order by December 23.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

--Contributed by Deb

The Blackest of Fridays

We've all heard about it by now...  Jdimytai Damour was the 34 year old temp worker who was trampled to death at a Long Island Wal-Mart on Friday.  His body was crushed by a throng of people for whom a sale was more important than a fellow human being's life.

Disgusting.  Wal-Mart calls it a blitz line... and if you have seen football, you know what a blitz is and they apparently throw open the doors at 5 a.m.  (and future workers had better run like hell at this point) to let the crush of humanity in.  Which is much different from, say, Best Buy, where they hand out numbers and the whole shopping process is much more orderly.  You may not get that Wii Fit, but at least you make it out with your life.

Jump across the continent to Palm Desert to a Toys R Us where two women got into a fight and their husbands or boyfriends decided that Toys R Us was a great place to whip out a pair of hand guns and start shooting.  The word is that this wasn't related to an Elmo Live... rather it was a gang situation.  Pardon us if we don't muster much sympathy for the deaths of these gang-bangers.  Are two less thugs in the world really something to weep about?.  But we're furious these people opened fire in a store filled with children.  What a great holiday memory - duck and cover and pray.

Apparently common sense and common decency aren't so common when it comes to the almighty dollar.  People behave in ways that they would never have under ordinary circumstances.  We wonder if the people who stomped Jdimytai Damour to death have any idea that they killed a man?  Doubt it.  If they even suspect they had a hand in it, we bet they blame the surging crowd behind them....  'tis the season to blame others ~ and apparently to give blood-soaked Christmas presents.  Will all of great Neptune's ocean wash this blood clean from my hand? 

Personally, we have our fingers crossed that the people who killed him face some kind of justice, but we're not hopeful that this is going to happen.  We also hope that Wal-Mart changes its policy of allowing "blitz" tactics at 5 a.m (and appropriately compensates Jdimytai Damour's family for his loss - immediately).... but again we're not holding our collective breaths. 

--Contributed by Deb

So Long Circuit City

It's been good knowing ya.  Well, kinda.

The big-box electronics store has announced that it's going to be closing 155 of its stores and suspending openings of any new ones on account of a steep decline in sales.  It's the dinosaur of the retail world - it failed to evolve and sinking into the swampy murk of ruination.  It's even in danger of being delisted from the New York Stock Exchange.  Their stock is valued at an atrocious 26 cents a share. Double ouch. 

Stick a fork in it... it's done.  Some (including yours truly) would say it's karma after Circuit City fired 3,400 older employees to help out it's alimighty bottom line last year, leaving the customer service staff with the underpaid dregs of the employment rolls. No wonder we didn't like shopping there.  Looks like other people felt the same.  Whodathunkit?

The soon-to-be-empty stores were going to have closed doors yesterday to prepare for closing sales.  Excuse me... did someone say SALE?

One persons injury is this girl's opportunity.  It's November which means it's not that long until Christmas.  And one of the lame duck Circuit City stores that's on the chopping block is a few miles down the road.  *sniff*  We love the smell of opportunity in the morning.

Do you have electronics on YOUR shopping list for loved ones this year?  We do.  Which means that now may be the best time to get 'em at a good price.  We'll be there as soon as we can tomorrow, to check things out ~ and if necessary, strike while the iron's hot. 

Sure, we feel sorry for all those associates who will be out of a job, and we hate to see them impacted this way right before the holidays ~ but in this economy, you gotta get while the getting's good!

--Contributed by Deb

The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

Our favorite shopping time of the year approaches!  Do you realize that it will be November this week? Yeppers.  That means its time for us to start checking out the Black Friday websites.  We've already lost 20% of our retirement, so we definitely need to tighten the ole belt this year.

However there are two electronic items that are on our to-purchase list ~ a digital camera and a camcorder.  True, it's not a big screen television, but they are the priciest things on our list this year.  So we're watching for the sales.  And some of these websites are very consumer-friendly as they leak unveil Black Friday ads early so we can plan our Black Friday shopping.  Planning out your steps in order to get the best bang for your buck - it's an art.

Sears has been posted; Toys R Us has been posted.  Can you just imagine us sitting here rubbing our hands with glee as we review the sales and consult our list?  Yep, that's us.

Despite the flailing economy, this holiday shopping season is going to be tight for another reason - it's going to be shorter than it was last year.  Thanksgiving is late this year - November 27 - which gives shoppers less than one month until Christmas to stock up on those items on their shopping lists.  HEY!  That's just one month from today.  Yippee!

One thing that's apparently not going to happen:  Wal-Mart is not bringing back its layaway program.  Customers have pleaded, but it ain't gonna happen.  The company cites the expense of maintaining the program as well as the losses it takes when it can't sell items that are placed on layaway and then ignored or forgotten by consumers.

So ladies and gentlemen, start your engines.  It's never too early to make sure you have broken in a comfortable pair of shoes and/or work on your endurance levels.  Black Friday is coming soon!

--Contributed by Deb

YAY! It's Time For Another Sale

Looks like retailers overstocked in the month of August again.  They were predicting sluggish sales, even that was overly optimistic.  Bad news for them.  But that could mean good news for you as retailers are cutting prices in order to reduce their inventory.

American Eagle Outfitters - buy one pair get a second pair half price.

Pottery Barn - up to 75% off on certain items.

The list goes on and on.  In the words of our mothers - get it, while the getting is good.

There are a couple of problems with these sales, though, as far as retailers go.  There's a chance that ooh la la retailers, such as Saks, are going to hurt their brand by making their products less exclusive by cutting prices.  The bigger worry, however, is that we consumers get too used to this trend of slashing prices and then start bucking when prices, invariably, go back up to regular levels.

Like death and taxes, prices, are of course, going to go back up.  (You only need to look as far as the gas pump to know that's true.) But as we get used to paying less, the fear is we just might forgo a particular item until it goes on sale.

But in the here-in-now, keep your eyes out for those back-to-school items that were too pricey last month.  You might find them in your price range this month.

--Contributed by Deb

Today Is The Day The Madness Starts

February 29, 2008 the start of Free Agency for the 2008 season.  After years of teams throwing good money after bad for mediocre players, will this be the year that we see calmer heads prevail?  Is the lagging economy taking its toll on the NFL and your favorite team as well?  Or could it be that there are not really very many exceptional players entering free agency this year?

This used to be the time of year when owners where just chomping at the bit to throw big money at players during free agency in a misguided effort to grasp the glory of the superbowl.  What has generally happened instead is that insane amounts of money get spent on older players no longer in the glory years of their careers with disappointing results.  So we will see what happens as teams start cutting players to get below cap and then decide if they want any of the players available in free agency this year, or if they will bide their time and hope for better prospects from the draft in April.

--Contributed by Renee

Coupon $avings!

How do you save money on the products you buy on a regular basis?  If you're like us, you check out the sales advertisements, read reviews and comparison shop online and clip coupons.  In this economy, it's worth it to save every penny you can.

Lest you think coupons have gone to the way of 5 1/4" floppy disks, comScore, an internet provider that tracks consumer behavior says that 53% of us go to brand websites in order to find promotions.  We know that it's part of our ritual to check out all the grocery store ad fliers to see who has what at what price.  We save roughly 35% on our grocery bill each trip by buying smartly ~ leaves us more money to spend on the REALLY important items.  Like pizza and beer.

Here is an article with some websites to get you started.  And they don't just feature grocery coupons ~ There are discounts for Dell, Target, Toys 'R Us, Office Depot, and Best Buy (just to name a few) available online.  Ka-ching!

Happy Shopping.

--Contributed by Deb

Let The Madness Begin

Pssst.... in case you didn't know, it's only one week until Black Friday ~ the biggest shopping day for the year for brick and mortar stores.  This day gets its nickname because it's often to the first day of the year where stores make a profit (being "in the black").  Hence Black Friday.

Surely you didn't think that we were going to let you out there without a few tips and tricks for making it out alive?  Being a veteran Black Friday shopper (and constantly on the look-out for a great deal), here is a little bit of our best advice to you.

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year....Or Is It?

What is so wrong with Happy Holidays?  We have already seen a letter on Planetfeedback.com complaining about cashiers not being allowed or refusing to say Merry Christmas.  We have been listening to this debate for years and it still causes us to scratch our heads.  We fail to see what the big deal is!  We do not all walk around with bubbles above our heads that identify what faith we are our what holiday we may celebrate.  There are numerous holidays celebrated by many religions during the same basic time of the year.  How very entitled of some people to think their holiday is the ONLY one.

Too us Happy Holidays or even Seasons Greetings seem like appropriate phrases to use.  We cannot imagine the logistical nightmare it must be for the overworked and under appreciated retail worker to try and decipher (correctly) what faith everyone practices and deliver the proper greeting.  We at ShopperCast wonder why can't we agree to disagree and all just get along, after all it is a special time of year.  Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Festivius, etc etc etc......

--Contributed by Renee

Let The Games Begin!

It's October 9... and already prospective sales for "Black Friday" are leaking out.  Actually, one has already been out since September 15.

Ace Hardware was completely caught off-guard when a website published a scan of Ace's purported advertisement for the uber important day-after-Thanksgiving sale.  The ad shows a digital photo frame with 7-inch LCD display for $49.99, a portable 7-inch DVD player for $59.99 and a Black & Decker 120 piece drilling and screwdriving set for $9.99 after $15 mail-in rebate

BlackFriday.info compiles reports of all holiday sales and makes them available in advance so shoppers can know where to go find the best deal.  Retailers have tried unsuccessfully for years to keep the wraps on their holiday sales, but with the internet, that's proving harder and harder.

Caveat emptor, though.  We wouldn't be surprised if some companies change their ads if their sales are leaked too early.

--Contributed by Deb