consumer spending

It's in the cards

Evolving from the old paper gift certificate, the gift card has grown to be one of the most popular items for men and women.

During the 2009 holiday season, some $87 billion was expected to be spent on gift cards, according to TowerGroup, a financial services research consulting firm. Read more...

Recession resonated with Evanston shoppers over holidays

Despite a rise in consumer confidence, several Evanston businesses said sales have been slow, even during the holiday season.

The Consumer Confidence Index, a measure of consumers’ attitudes toward the economy, rose for the second straight month in December, according to a press release from the Conference Board on Dec. 29. It rose from November’s standing of 50.6 to 52.9. Read more...

Retailers' pockets jingling after spirited holiday shopping season

Despite the struggling economy, SouthCoast retailers enjoyed a gift from consumers this season with relatively strong sales. While retail chains have not yet released their end-of-the-year numbers, local stores saw steady business in the days before and after Christmas. The season could end up improving upon last year's dismal numbers, according to store owners, mall managers and retail experts. Read more...

Evidence grows of upswing in retail

If the crowds seemed thicker this year as you did your holiday shopping, that's because they probably were.

Hard numbers won't be available until individual retailers report sales in early January, but local retailers are expecting a rise in holiday shopping receipts over last year. Though retailers stress that it is still "way too early to tell" for sure that sales have improved, anecdotal evidence is encouraging. Read more...

Recession? Teenagers Get It, and Are Cutting Back

After a year of observing their parents pinch pennies and fret about the economy, the nation’s teenagers may be coming to grips with reality.

Sales are down sharply in recent months at nearly every major retail chain catering to teenagers, and interviews with teenagers suggest that the reasons go beyond their own difficulty finding part-time jobs. Read more...

Men shop quickly, women love to search

Think of the mall during the holidays. The music of the season fills the troglodyte with joy as he blazes a trail to Radio Shack. There, he offers a cashier a buckskin in exchange for an iPod. In another store, his mate is checking price tags. It may take her three or four visits before she's ready to make a trade for her raccoon tail.

According to researchers at Brunel University in West London, England, when it comes to shopping, we still revert to traditional evolutionary roles developed in the African savannah following the Ice Age. The males are the hunters, their female counterparts the gatherers. Read more...

This holiday season, retailers will emphasize ‘value’

The deals are already calling you.

Take an extra 30 percent off plus $10 credit for every $50 spent. Any boot, 50 percent off. Choose from 100 toys for $10. Not good enough? How about 75 toys at $1 or less?

This holiday shopping season, in the midst of the longest economic downturn since the Depression, is shaping up as an emphasis on “value” dollars. Read more...

More consumers plan to shop on Black Friday-ICSC

San Francisco, CA - A higher number of consumers plan to go shopping on Black Friday this year, the unofficial kickoff to the holiday shopping season, according to a survey released on Wednesday. Read more...

U.S. consumer confidence up for first time since 2007

Hong Kong - Global consumer confidence is rebounding, and in the United States has risen for the first time since 2007, amid signs the world economy is picking up although spending is still restrained, a survey showed on Wednesday.

Confidence was highest in India, followed by Indonesia and Norway, and was weakest in Japan, Latvia, Portugal and South Korea, although in Korea it had improved markedly, according to a quarterly survey by The Nielsen Company, conducted between September 28 and October 16. Read more...

Fighting Back Against Shoppers' Guilt

In the past year, the guilty pleasure of shopping has turned to plain old guilt.

Guilt has always been part of the shopping experience. But retail executives say it has become such an overriding emotion among shoppers since the economic crisis set in last year that it is delaying the recovery of the luxury-goods industry. Shoppers are suffering from "luxury shame," consulting group Bain & Co. said in a research report earlier this week. Read more...