It may not be over yet, but retailers are breathing a sigh of relief and celebrating a successful holiday season, thanks to a last-minute surge in sales.
On the heels of a record Black Friday followed by a Cyber Monday that went down as the highest-grossing online shopping day in U.S. history, there's one thing retailers know for sure -- shoppers love a good deal.
Between smartphones, social networks, tablet PCs and Internet-ready gaming systems, today's families are more connected than ever, with schools, libraries and organizations nationwide increasingly rolling out programs devoted to extolling the virtues of technology. But in the rush to welcome new generations to the growing high-tech community, we're also making a grave mistake by doing perilously little to prepare children and adults for life in a wireless world.
Having recently traded in their chunky tubes for high-definition flat-screens, most consumers aren't finding a compelling new reason to go out and buy more TV sets.
Call it a clear sign of a recovery: Sales of luxury skincare have rebounded sharply.
Apple's iPad is just one year old, and more than 15 million customers have voted with their wallets. The tablet is officially mainstream.
The video game industry came out swinging ... and won.
The video game industry has decided to shoot the messenger.
You could be sitting on a pile of cash.
As cotton prices keep setting records, clothing sellers are challenged to do everything they can to avoid passing the cost on to shoppers. If they raise prices, they risk losing their customers.
The long-promised and never delivered concept of bringing the Internet to the living room is finally here.
Preliminary reports of sales on Black Friday weekend are coming in.
Ultra-low prices for flat screen LCD TVs are typical for Black Friday. But this year, the best deals are expected to come even later in the holiday season and into early 2011.
Retail sales rose in September, the government reported Friday, fueling hopes that momentum will translate into a robust holiday shopping season for retailers.
The stereotypical "gamer" is a teenage boy locked in his basement, playing World of Warcraft with a cube of Mountain Dew at his side. But games on social networks like Facebook have redefined the genre, and they're reaching previously untapped customers: Older women have become a key fan base.
It's not every day you meet a chief executive officer named "Punkass." Especially one who runs a $200 million company.
Since he took the helm in 2001, Campbell Soup chief executive officer Doug Conant has had a great run turning around the once ailing food manufacturer. But now he's facing a challenge no Campbell investor ever wanted to hear: America's growing disinterest in soup.
Google's Android operating system edged out Apple's iPhone operating system for the No. 2 spot in the U.S. consumer smartphone market in the first quarter, research firm NPD Group reported Monday.
The battle over shelf space in the beer industry is about to heat up with the entrance of a new brand to the refrigerators at 7-Eleven. And it's the nearly 6,000-strong convenience store chain that is making the private label brew, called "Game Day."
It might not be your local diner, or your mom's kitchen, but Subway is making a big bet that it can entice the morning crowd to see egg yolks in the color scheme of its bright yellow sandwich shops.
Mike Sorrentino, otherwise known as "The Situation" of MTV's "Jersey Shore," is hoping to get a cologne on the market that will smell like money.
Shoppers may have boosted retailers with slightly better sales this year. But only when compared to a disastrous 2008. And that's no guarantee that consumers' shop 'til you drop mentality is back.
In January, sales were up 13 percent over the year before, reported industry analyst the NPD Group, and that trend continued in February, with a 10 percent boost over 2008.
If you expect holiday bargains to get better as Christmas Eve draws near, you may be disappointed this year.
It's getting to be that time of year again: The leaves change, the temperature drops, and we redecorate our living rooms, desks, cars, and backpacks with shiny new electronics.
Christmas has come early for retail stocks. The Standard & Poor's Retail Index is up 72% from its lows in March, compared with a 61% gain in the broader S&P 500 Index over the same period.
Free downloads nearly killed the record business. A generation of youthful customers got used to the idea that music should be given away. Compact disc sales fell around 15% annually year after year.
updated: Mon Jun 01 2009 17:27:00
G4tv's Kevin Pereira has the details on the latest video games on the market.
Millions of people download 99-cent games for their iPhones. An increasing number of Web sites offer free online games. And consumer spending is down amid a global recession.
Millions of people download 99-cent games for their iPhones. An increasing number of Web sites offer free online games. And consumer spending is down amid a global recession.
It took a while but video game sales might finally be feeling the effects of the slow economy. The industry that's often been hailed as recession-proof has posted some dismal sales numbers recently.
In the latest sign of consumers in distress, online holiday sales registered a first-ever decline in seven years, according to sales tracker ComScore.
Many Americans are finding ways to trim their holiday budgets this year, but reports are showing that buying video games is one place consumers are not cutting back.
Holiday shoppers continued their trek to malls and big-box stores Saturday, amid early indications of slightly higher Black Friday sales to kick off the season.
U.S. consumers have been buying significantly fewer cell phones but paying higher prices for them, according to a research firm
America's two largest hot dog makers are waging a wiener war as grills fire up this summer, hoping to win over customers and secure the No. 1 spot
With the gray clouds of recession looming over their businesses, consumer product companies - from cars and home appliances to gadgets and clothing makers - are trying to color their way out of an intensifying spending slump.
Sure, the economy is weakening, the housing market is slumping and gas prices are soaring, all of which weaken holiday shopping demand. But analysts say there is another reason why shoppers aren't splurging: Not enough new fashion.
Americans aren't in the mood to spend extravagantly this holiday season.
Retailers are slashing prices to try to jumpstart holiday sales, but many Americans plan to wait until after Thanksgiving to buy gifts, according to a new survey by market research firm NPD Group.
Exclusive release arrangements, plus aggressive price cuts for high-def DVD players, are designed to persuade consumers to finally choose between HD DVD or Blu-ray
Toy sales climbed in the first half of 2007 as new product innovations helped lift overall industry sales, a report released Friday said.
The explosion of the premium-jeans market has created intense competition among small denim manufacturers, but there isn't enough room for everybody.
Toy sales inched upward in 2006 helped by the last quarter of the year which included the critical holiday season, a report released Tuesday said.
If this year's Black Friday deals left you breathless, prepare for a more aggressive onslaught of heavy discounts as anxious retailers pull out the stops in the final make-or-break weekend of the 2006 holiday shopping season.
With just two weeks to go until Christmas the nation's retailers should be getting worried that consumers have been slow to rev up the pace of their holiday shopping, industry experts said Monday.
You weren't imagining things. Finding a PlayStation 3 in November really was a Herculean task.
Reports of lackluster sales of Microsoft's Zune that surfaced earlier this week might be a bit premature.
Major retailers reported mostly weak sales gains for last month, a sign that the recent retreat in gas prices didn't really help buoy consumer spending in October.
Smartphone makers are aiming to extend their reach beyond corporate walls, but consumers may not heed the call.
As gasoline prices continue to flirt with new record highs, they're also having a chilling effect on consumers' ability and inclination to shop for the latest fads like a pair of Gap's blue-black skinny jeans.
It's no surprise that mayonnaise, that creamy, tasty staple of the American fridge, is well beyond its salad days.
Other than being rich and controversial celebrities, what other attribute do Paris Hilton, Donald Trump, Britney Spears and Kobe Bryant have in common? A new survey says they all also make consumers want to buy less of the products that they peddle in ads.
The recently released, groundbreaking eight-year federal study refuting the weight loss and disease fighting benefits of low-fat diets sparked controversy and has added to Americans' increasing confusion over what to eat. If you're thinking of ditching that low-fat diet, here's a quick comparison of the low-fat and high-fat (or mo'-fat) lifestyles.
Jeans, suits and pajamas were the most sought-after clothing items last year, according to market research firm NPD Group, which estimated that totaled apparel sales last year grew 4 percent to $181 billion in 2005.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Despite a disappointing holiday season, video game sales around the U.S. reached an all time high in 2005.
Now that the Atkins diet craze is dead -- the low-carb craze creator Atkins Nutritionals filed for bankruptcy in 2005 -- what'll be the next fad for food companies to jump on?
Retailers expect to see a flurry of sales in the last two days before Christmas, especially as many more shoppers this year say they will be buying their gifts later than ever.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - New York city's transit strike, which went into effect Tuesday, couldn't have come at a worse time for the city's retail industry, as shoppers and merchants make the final sales push in the last five days to Christmas.
With 10 days left until Christmas, some retail experts are saying that holiday sales could come in surprisingly weak this year unless consumers step on it, and soon.
Snooze after that Thanksgiving meal and you could lose out on the juicy deals that some retailers will offer to shoppers as early as midnight on Thursday.
Consumers are curbing their driving habits as high gas prices decrease demand, a marketing information company said Tuesday.
Americans are increasingly more likely to order and eat meals in their cars, according to a published report.
Retailers primed their stores for the lucrative back-to-school season, pulling out all the stops to get the attention of anxious parents and students before the first semester dawns.
Retailers seem ready for school to start earlier every year, even before kids are done packing for summer camp.
This holiday weekend Americans will show their patriotism with flags, fireworks...and food.
Sometimes good computer games fall through the cracks because of weak marketing, too many other titles coming out at the same time or lack of consumer interest because the games aren't from a hot genre.
LOS ANGELES (CNN/Money) - American gamers, it turns out, were lukewarm about Playboy. But what will their reaction be to Jenna Jameson?
The average selling price of technology products declined during the month of November, due in large part to Black Friday promotions, a report said Wednesday.
Shoppers flocked to stores for last-minute Christmas gifts Friday but retailers were wondering whether it would be enough to rescue a lackluster holiday sales season.
Bad news for retailers: Shoppers seems to be winning the game of chicken this holiday season.
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Looking back, we all should have guessed that 2004 would be the year of sex and video games.
It doesn't matter if you've been naughty or nice, you might not find that Nintendo DS, Microsoft XBox or Sony PlayStation 2 under the tree for the holidays.
This winter's shopping spree won't be the wildest on record—NPD Group found that 90 percent of consumers plan to spend the same as, or less than, they did in 2003. Even so, a handful of products ar...
Apple's mini iPod is expected to be a hot holiday pick this year but for gift-givers looking for other options, industry watchers say there are plenty of new gadgets that pack in the "must-have" appeal.
The last thing retailers want for Christmas is bored shoppers.
In popular lore, the well-dressed man charts a steady course: the blue blazer, the gray flannel suit, a solid pair of wingtips.
The room is white--pristinely white. We're inside the sensory panel room at Wendy's headquarters in Dublin, Ohio, where employees of the $7.3 billion fast-food giant get to taste-test new products ...
While most kids probably aren't counting down the days to that first school bell, the nation's retailers can't wait to hear it soon enough.
Free-falling prices for plasma TVs, portable DVD players and notebook computers could heat up sales of consumer electronics, making the category a hot-seller for two upcoming crucial sales periods -- back-to-school and holiday buying, according to the latest report from market research firm NPD Group.
Would you buy anti-odor underwear, or collagen-infused socks, or sweat-free T-shirts?
Check out the hot summer look for teens this year: scandalously short miniskirts, tiny shorts, sheer shirts and tank-tops.
Search the Web for small-business accounting software and you'll find dozens of titles. With so many choices, purchasing the right software for your small-business can be a knuckle-biting experience. But it doesn't have to be.
Americans who've pledged allegiance to low carb diets are in for a rude shock. According to a new report Monday, consumers aren't cutting down on carbs as much as they thought they were.
A superhero with spider-like abilities, a child wizard and a fearsome green ogre may be just what the doctor ordered to lift the toy industry out of the doldrums.
Move over Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Shaquille O'Neal. Faced with lackluster sales of sporting goods -- and fading euphoria over big-name athletes -- Reebok's ongoing experiment with the world of hip-hop and rap could show the industry the way back to growing sales.
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Aging game machines and the lack of a substantial price cut took their toll on the video game industry in 2003 as sales slipped 4 percent from 2002 totals to $11.2 billion.
The nation's record companies Wednesday sued another 532 people for illegally distributing copyrighted music over the Internet, stepping up their attack against online music piracy.
Remember the "Flashdance" look -- tank tops and oversized sweatshirts with the collar torn off? Or the old 1980s Madonna gear -- mesh shirts, tiny minis, day-glo tube socks and jelly bracelets?
I'll admit it: I'm getting a little too old to game. But I'm still young enough to know a killer product when I see one. Like the new videogame Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. Now, if you're over 35 o...
When Robin Southgate designed the world's first weather toaster for his final project at Brunel University in Britain, he gave himself a tough criterion: to make an informative statement on white b...
Say farewell this summer to tie-throttled necks and blazer-burdened shoulders. More corporate types are exchanging their formal business suits for casual khakis and cotton culottes. General Dynamic...
Almost 80% of the 77 million boomers buy toys for their tots -- often oldies but goodies. MONEY compiled a list of classics introduced at least 25 years ago (excluding trains and board games). This...
Isn't it too soon to worry about inflation? After all, except for a blip here and there, price increases have been moderate so far in this recovery. There's a lot of slack in the economy. At 7% of ...
Consumer confidence has been tumbling for four straight months. According to University of Michigan polls, it is now at the lowest point since February, and consumers are even more depressed than t...
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