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16+ hour, 4+ min ago (300+ words) The annual Black Friday retail marathon looked familiar on the surface but played out differently behind the scenes in 2025. According to industry publication Retail Dive, online discount levels held largely steady compared with last year, but the drivers of success have shifted. While U.S. e-commerce sales reached about $11.8 billion on Black Friday " a 9.1 % year-over-year increase per Adobe Analytics " and were estimated at $18 billion via Salesforce data (a 3 % rise) the underlying metrics raised more alarms than celebration. "Notably, online order volume dropped 1 % and units per transaction were down 2 % as average selling prices rose 7 %. In the face of inflationary pressures and eroding consumer sentiment, some retailers pulled ahead by leaning into newer levers. For example: Circana's Chief Retail Advisor, Marshal Cohen, told Retail Dive: "The Black Friday that we have come to know and love has changed." "And: "Build it and they will…...

16+ hour, 5+ min ago (421+ words) Looks can be deceiving, and that's especially true with those ubiquitous ratings that accompany countless products online and in stores. The five-star rating system, for instance, is commonplace on Google and Amazon. Millions of shoppers rely on it every day to help them decide what to buy, and where. However, just-released research shows that the way the ratings are displayed " whether as a star or a numeral " can make a huge difference in how people interpret them. According to a'new study'from'Cornell University, it all boils down to how our brains process visual stars versus numbers. Take a rating of 3.5, for example. In star form? Shoppers are far more likely to interpret it as four stars than its true rating. "Where there are three full stars and one half star " our brain automatically completes this half picture," Deepak Sirwani, a marketing…...

5+ day, 16+ hour ago (1224+ words) Shopping Reminder Day is held annually on'November 25, and we won't let you forget it. On your marks, get set, shop! After you've enjoyed the turkey and cranberry sauce on Thanksgiving, it's time to make sure you are fully prepared for Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa and finish any last-minute shopping. There are 30 days until Christmas. There are 31 days until the start of Kwanzaa. There are 15 days until Hanukkah begins. History Facts 1869 " The first recorded use of the term "Black Friday' is applied to the crash of the U.S. gold market. 1950 " The Philadelphia police use the term "Black Friday' to describe the chaos that ensues on the day after Thanksgiving. 1985 " Retailers reinvent Black Friday, turning it into a positive experience. 2005 " Retailers created Cyber Monday to encourage online shopping. 91% of consumers plan to celebrate the winter holidays Consumers are budgeting an average $890 for gifts…...

6+ day, 16+ hour ago (287+ words) Listen to the audio Gifts likewise are costing more. In 2024, gift prices were mostly falling " about 65% of gifts got cheaper, only 35% rose. But this year that trend has reversed: "Only one in four gifts (25%) are cheaper than they were a year ago, while three in four (75%) have gotten more expensive." What's powering the surge? Among the reasons Bankrate cites are renewed pressure on goods prices and the impact of tariffs. "If goods costs had held steady " the overall inflation rate would have been closer to 2.3% instead of 3%," Bankrate's calculations show. And as Bankrate quotes analyst Ted Rossman: "There is aK'shaped economy, and higher earners are propping up these stats." Meanwhile, travel and experience costs are rising too. Bankrate reports that air'travel expenses up 3.2% and transportation services up 2.7% from a year ago. "As a result, fewer Americans plan to travel this…...

1+ week, 3+ day ago (287+ words) As the holiday season approaches, retail buyers are navigating a shifting landscape of tariffs introduced during the Trump administration that are reshaping how goods are sourced, scheduled and stocked. According to Retail Dive, many retailers now find themselves juggling unpredictable import costs and compressed buying windows that make traditional planning nearly impossible. "This time, it's very unexpected " and that puts most of the firms in a very responsive mode," said Young Hou, assistant professor of business administration at the Darden School of Business, noting that retailers once able to influence regulation are now reacting instead. "One buyer described the situation as "sort of like the roulette wheel " "No more bets." Retailers typically build holiday orders well in advance, offering vendors a clear roadmap. But this year, many say they placed over half of their holiday orders by the end of…...

1+ week, 3+ day ago (246+ words) A little over a decade ago,Black Fridaywas the definition of a retail event. Shoppers would line up before a store opened, often long before they would even consider waking up on any other day, in hopes of snagging adoorbusterdeal. These days, the die-hard deal-hunters might still do that, but the majority of consumers are doing their holidayshopping differently. And that's threatening Black Friday's standing as the biggest shopping holiday of the year. Perhaps more surprising, though, is the finding thatholiday sales in Octoberaren't proving effective either. Just 15% of consumers took advantage of those, Quantum found. Instead, shoppers are buying gifts in a timeframe that suits them, rather than being led by one-time retail events. Holiday shopping, in other words, has evolved into a year-round event. What's more, shoppers are leaning into AI to help them find the best deals....

1+ week, 4+ day ago (564+ words) Tis the season for giving " and that means tis the season for shopping. Maybe youll splurge on a Black Friday or Cyber Monday deal, thinking, "Ill just return it if they dont like it." But before you click "buy," its worth knowing that many retailers have quietly tightened their return policies in recent years. As a marketing professor, I study how retailers manage the flood of returns that follow big shopping events like these, and what it reveals about the hidden costs of convenience. Returns might seem like a routine part of doing business, but theyre anything but trivial. According to the National Retail Federation, returns cost U.S. retailers almost US$890 billion each year. Part of that staggering figure comes from returns fraud, which includes everything from consumers buying and wearing items once before returning them " a practice known as "wardrobing…...