Why the day that officially begins the joyous Christmas season has such a dismal name, we may never know. Perhaps Black Friday is named for the many stores that open while it is still dark, drawing in eager customers with loss leaders and phenomenal deals.

Although industry experts claim Black Friday is the shopping day that pulls many companies back into the black financially, the traffic jamming shopping mall parking lots and pumping exhaust into the wintry air may better deserve the title. Whatever the reason, Black Friday, and more recently the online equivalent, Cyber Monday, are milestones for retailers of every kind all across America.

Doorbusting Deals
The day after Thanksgiving is not a national holiday, but is typically offered as such to employees. Free from work to get started on Christmas shopping, customers swarm to retailers to take advantage of incredible deals, presented to consumers to draw them in the door. From enduring bumper-to-bumper traffic on the streets and in the parking lots, to standing in hour-long lines, customers are willing to go through a lot to get the perfect gift, not to mention the pocketbook-pleasing price. Read the rest of this entry »

Christmas is a time of year that forces everyone to shop. How customers go about their shopping, and whether or not they enjoy it, is far from universal, however. The shopping styles and preferences of men and women, for instance, are worlds apart. To use the old metaphor, it’s as if men and women were from different planets. Many shoppers, both male and female, are taking their shopping habits online as they rely more on ecommerce to fulfill their Christmas lists.

Ladies Want It All
Simply stated, while Christmas shopping, women are more invested in the whole shopping experience. This means female shoppers are more likely to be willing to browse through seemingly unrelated items, and want salespeople to treat them like they are important, share their knowledge about their products, and offer recommendations that they think may be of value or interest to the customer.

The helpfulness of salespeople when shopping is a priority to women. Almost thirty percent of women claim the number-one problem while shopping is a lack of help when its needed. Having a representative online available to offer individualized help to customers, or at least providing an easily searched list of frequently asked questions or commonly faced problems to help a damsel in distress will help women troubleshoot any difficulties they face while shopping online.

Men on a Mission
Men, on the other hand, are more straightforward. When they shop, they are on a mission to find the item that they came for, pay for it, and then be done so they can go do something that they enjoy more than shopping. They want the item to be easy to find, in stock, and quick to buy. The number one problem men face is lack of parking near the entrance of a store, at least according to twenty-nine percent of those surveyed. Read the rest of this entry »

Safety is critical for children, and an entire industry has sprung up to help keep our children safe. Guidelines are strict and when we discover that something we believed to be safe is in fact, not, there is a powerful reaction from parents, media and even the government. Sometimes we can’t avoid dangers, such as when toys from reputable companies are painted with lead-based paint, but other times we can prevent many of the potential dangers that surround us and our children every day.

Research
The most important step parents can do to keep children safe is to research a decision. In the case of a small toy, the research will obviously be much shorter and might simply be comparison based in the store. But for large items such as cribs and car seats, take plenty of time and read reports to be sure you are purchasing the safest products available.

Recalls can tell you much about products, but be sure to understand the basis of the recall. Cribs were recently recalled because parents were installing part of it upside down. While this can be dangerous, it is not as dangerous as a much smaller recall for crib slats whose screws were falling out. (Both recalls were for Simplicity cribs.) Price doesn’t always mean quality, but there is usually a line where price assures quality without paying for brand names or logos. Read the rest of this entry »

Three internet heavies have developed a new plan to stop, or at least harass phishers. Yahoo!, eBay and PayPal have joined forces to create a tool to protect their users from the constant scams that flood their inboxes. The new technology is an email authentication tool that validates the origins of an email and makes black and white lists work more effectively.

Phishing
Phishing is the fastest growing internet crime. In a phishing scheme, an email is sent to an individual demanding immediate action for their account – usually a bank or ecommerce account. The individual clicks through the email to visit the site and the phisher is able to record as much personal information as possible as the individual types in their usernames, passwords, credit card information and even their social security number.

Phishing is obviously illegal, but is growing more common despite this. Often websites like eBay and PayPal as well as credit card and banking sites are subjected to phishing scams where their site is targeted as the sender of email. This makes it difficult for individuals who use the services to recognize when an email is authentic and when it is part of a scam. You should not even open email from phishers as they can download Trojans or software to record keystrokes. Read the rest of this entry »

Back to school is a huge time in retail. Students need new clothing and new supplies and retailers are glad to make their products available both in stores and online. Of course, once everyone is outfitted and prepared for their academic adventures, retail must focus on what comes next. Is September too early to prepare for the holidays?

Back to School Blues
The start of the school year means big business for clothing manufacturers who specialize in children and teen apparel. With the number of shoppers who take their business online, the boom is not only in the malls, but in cyber space as well. Children, teens and their parents snatch up the latest styles and take advantage of tax holidays and big sales to get all of the essentials they need for the school year. This drives sales in a big way.

Then, suddenly the malls are quiet and the online sales slow. Not only are the students already outfitted, they are also out of the stores and back in the classroom. Shopping is a popular summertime activity, but it simply won’t fit into many schedules once the regular school year begins anew.

So retailers push forward and look to see what is coming down the pipe. For many, the next focus is Christmas. For most consumers, Christmas shopping begins in earnest around mid November. These retailers take these autumn months to prepare for what is absolutely the biggest season of the year. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s September and that means that fall is officially here. It may still be sweltering outside, but stores are moving out summer merchandise to make room for the trends and collections suitable for autumn. Coincidently, now is the best time to go swimsuit shopping – you’re already tan and the suits are on sale. I can’t say the same for next April or May.

But swimwear aside, fall is about new fashion trends and accessories. Ever since our school days, the fall was the time to prepare for a new year. Designers release their latest drawings and trends are set. This year, fashion seems to be focused on comfortable style with a bit of flair.

Shoes
Shoes are as hot as ever, but this season, the flat is still going strong. Flats are available in every color and style under the sun, and go well with almost any outfit. The Mary Jane – a variation on the flat or available in a heel is also trendy. Ankle boots have returned, and skinny jeans must be tucked into something, so tall boots are still going strong.

Casual shoes are easily distinguished from athletic shoes, although many lace up. Sneakers have taken a backseat to dock shoes or slide on varieties of rubber soled comfort. Distressed or colorful fabrics are a must-have. And we can’t forget high heels. The taller the heel, the better this year – and they had better be stiletto. Read the rest of this entry »

eCommerce has been a very large part of the internet since its inception. Hard to find products or sizes are always available online, and the stores never have lines or close. Now, online consumers want more than clear pictures of merchandise and snazzy descriptions. They want reviews.

Product reviews are nothing new. Consumer Reports has had a magazine dedicated to reviewing popular products for years and industry magazines report on products or merchandise constantly. Then a new trend started online.

Consumer Reports and other sites still had expert reviews of products. These sites were heavily searched for comparison shopping and information. But visitors were starting to look at a new form of review. They wanted to know about other buyer’s actual experience with the product. Read the rest of this entry »

eCommerce is a large part of the online world and steadily growing stronger. Sixty percent of small merchant companies have an online presence and a huge number of websites are devoted to item sales. Online sales have grown in the United States from $12.3 million in 1999 to over $130 million in 2006. 2007 looks to be even greater.

The Evolution of eCommerce
Shopping online has grown considerably. At its inception, those comfortable with the internet were willing to spend money over the computer. But many were hesitant about using a credit card online or worried about the reputation and delivery options of online retailers.

Overtime, these fears were put to rest for many customers. Safe credit cards and bank accounts were developed and many websites became members of trusted organizations or affiliated with larger companies that inspire trust. Most traditional retailers have online presences and smaller niche stores have risen in popularity as well.

The internet has opened a new world of product reviews and hard-to-find options for discriminating shoppers. More people than ever are searching for new products, reading customer and professional reviews and then buying from trusted online vendors. Shopping online has become an accepted and commonplace mode of purchasing. Read the rest of this entry »

Shopping was never so easy till the internet stepped in to offer its services as the chaperone, wheeling the cart behind you, while you shopped tizzy. The reason why online shopping took credence over offline shopping on many counts is also due to its speed and ease of use. It is also on numerous occasions economical and convenient to click and buy. However, by far the best advantage of e-shopping is that the e-shop never sleeps. If you are ready, so is it — to fetch you your command 24×7x365. From an airline ticket, to sending a few sprigs of exotic orchids to your ailing great aunt in Timbuktu, your mouse does all the activity.
But, on the flip side, while it seems to be the best option for the techno-savvy individual who is perennially broke on the question of spare time, it also can be the worst nightmare if caught in the web of deceit woven by unscrupulous dealers whose main motive is to swindle you off your greens. Read the rest of this entry »

Planning a wedding is more than a simple party. Guests must be selected and invited, but invitations must be selected first. You must book many popular reception facilities at least a year in advance and nobody told you how complicated it would be to choose between posies and roses.

Wedding Stress

Wedding related stress can be extremely high. Many brides focus on a wedding as a single opportunity to live out a dream. This puts a tremendous amount of pressure on everyone and everything involved. Flowers, jewelry and cakes must be perfect. The photographers must be top of the line. The reception must be the talk of the town. And we haven’t even discussed the dress or the groom.

Try and relax. Sure, a wedding is a big day, but it a day – not the end of time. A wedding is a celebration of one (maybe two) days that simply kicks off the rest of your lives together. You have years to make great memories together, you don’t have to do it all in a single evening.

Plan Wisely

The best way to plan a wedding is to plan how you will plan. It sounds odd, but putting together a binder with folders, pouches and checklists will help keep you in line and organized. It will also serve as a guide to anything that might need correcting or checking down the road.

Start with the big stuff like booking a church or facility and reserving the reception location. These two items will set your date, if you didn’t already have one, and then you can start filling in the details like music, flowers, caterers and the all important dress. Simply work down your lists until you know you have everything covered and then you can relax and enjoy your big day – after all, there won’t be another one like it.