Consumers

JCPenney Describes Sale as "Doorbuster!"

Lisa Wade | Posted 12.27.2008 | Style

Read More: Conspicuous Consumption, Wal-Mart Death, Walmart, Shopping, Economy, Holiday Season Commentary, Wal-Mart Stampede, J.C. Penney, Walmart Stampede, Feeding Frenzy, Capitalism, Wal-Mart, Consumerism, Black Friday Shopping, Black Friday, Walmart Death, Consumers, Style News

There is something truly amazing about a sign touting "Doorbuster!" sales that shows how quickly we forget, how callous we can be, and the level of incompetence at JCPenney.

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236.com: Retailers To Consumers: "Thanks For Nothing, Jerks!"

236.com | Posted 12.27.2008 | Business

Read More: Retailers, Consumers, Holiday Shopping, Shopping, 236.Com, Business News

Dammit shoppers, you're ruining Christmas! Terrified of how low this Christmas season's sales might turn out to be, retailers have been slashing price...

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Consumer Spending Falls Again

AP | MARTIN CRUTSINGER | Posted 12.24.2008 | Business

Read More: Consumer Spending, Consumers, Money, Economy, Personal Spending, Spending, Business News

WASHINGTON — Consumer spending fell for a fifth straight month in November, the longest weak stretch in a half-century, while incomes declined u...

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Bailout or Not, Nothing Will Be the Same for Drivers or Detroit

Trevor Traina | Posted 12.18.2008 | Business

Vehicle manufacturers must re-engage their owners and offer them innovative services. What if GM included ads in exchange for lower pricing? What if they developed an in-dash system with Google or Apple?

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Many Retailers See Modest Crowds, Cautious Shoppers On Black Friday

The Boston Globe | Nicole C. Wong and Jenn Abelson | Posted 11.29.2008 | Business

Read More: Retailers, Black Friday Shopping, Holiday Shopping, Shopping, Black Friday, Consumers, US Economy, Business News

Stores across the region opened their doors before dawn yesterday with mixed results: Deals on electronics apparently drew avid shoppers, especially a...

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Food Prices Expected To Keep Rising

New York Times | Andrew Martin | Posted 11.26.2008 | Business

Read More: Food, Consumers, US Economy, Food Prices, Food Politics, Business News

For more than a year, food manufacturers have been shaving package sizes and raising prices, declaring that they had little choice because of unpreced...

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Five Mistakes by DC and Detroit Hurt Detroit Three's Survival Shances

Steve Parker | Posted 11.18.2008 | Business

Read More: Russia, Congress, US Auto Industry, Chrysler, Car Dealerships, The Huffington Post, Fuel-Efficient Cars, Honda, Dodge Viper, Cars, Detroit Auto Show, Future of General Motors, Mike Pence, Ford, St. Petersburg, Automakers, Auto Bailout, Obama Auto Industry, Los Angeles Auto Show, Green Cars, Southern California, General Motors, Hybrid Cars, US Senate, Los Angeles Auto Show Green, Electric Cars, Congressional Oversight, Detroit, Greensburg Indiana, Nissan Motors, Detroit Auto Industry, Fuel Economy, Bankruptcy, Gm, Environmentalists, Detroit Three, Jeep Commander. Hemi Hybrids, Washington DC, American Honda, Daewoo, Honda Fit, Continuously Variable Transmission, Barack Obama, American Auto Industry, Las Vegas, Auto Industry Rescue Legislation, Chevrolet Cruze, Chevrolet Volt, Dodge, XTRONIC CVT, South Korea, Kirk Kerkorian, Harry Reid, Consumers, Jeep, Auto Industry Bailout, Europe, Auto Industry, Golden Parachutes, Lordstown, Detroit Automakers, Reid Auto Bailout, Automaker Bailout, Automobiles, Business News

Sen. Reid's new bailout bill for the Detroit Three does not set additional fuel-economy requirements, nor does it establish a government oversight board. That's two strikes against getting our money's worth.

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Consumer cut in spending the most since 1980

AP | JEANNINE AVERSA | Posted 10.30.2008 | Business

Read More: Consumer Spending, Consumer Spending Cut, US Economy, Consumers, Business News

WASHINGTON — Scared and out of money, Americans stopped buying everything from cars to corn flakes in the July-September quarter, ratcheting bac...

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Causes of the Collapse

Rabbi Shmuley Boteach | Posted 10.28.2008 | Living

Sadly, religion in America seems incapable of rising to the challenge of giving people inner contentment and pulling them away from insatiable materialism.

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How To Fix The Mortgage Mess 101

Peter Dreier | Posted 09.30.2008 | Home

Read More: American Banking Association, Industry Lobbying, Bankruptcy, National Home Builders Association, Main Street, Homeowners, Bankruptcy Relief, Bush, Acorn, Wall Street, Center for Responsible Lending, Bail Out, Foreclosure, Consumers, Consumer Union, Consumer Protection, Mortgage, Home News

Helping homeowners directly is a lot cheaper, more direct, and more cost-effective than handing banks $700 billion. It focuses on consumers, not lenders. It stimulates demand rather than rewarding greed.

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Conflicted Consumers

Andrew Winston | Posted 07.01.2008 | Business

Read More: Conflicted Consumers, Consumers, Ethical Reputation Index, Conscious Consumers, Bbmg, Business News

One survey showed that 35% of all Americans have avoided a product because of a company's practices. People may not pay more for green products, but they may punish unethical companies.

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Single Boomers: Marketing Myths and Mistakes

Bella DePaulo | Posted 06.13.2008 | Business

Read More: “Sex and the City, Single Boomer Women, Single Men, Friends, Sales, Golden Girls, Relationships, Housing, Children, Matrimania, Marital Status, Single Boomers, ” Empty Nesters, Travel, Singles, Myths, Friendship, Boomers, Singlism, Advertising, Spending, Desperate Housewives, Marketing, Consumers, Singled Out, Real Estate, Demographics, Finances, Single Person Households, Business News

Advertising is matrimaniacal, and 55% single people said that they were not in a committed relationship and that they were not looking for one.

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What's a Little Marketing Between Friends? Two Years Hard Time

Lucas Conley | Posted 05.23.2008 | Business

Read More: Procter and Gamble, John Mackey, Steve Grover, Advertisers, NASCAR., Word-of-Mouth, Pr, Madison Ave, Marketers, Web 2.0, Marketing, Advertising, Flog, Public Relations, Consumers, Customers, Astroturf, Tremor, Wom, Vocalpoint, Business News

As lawmakers in the UK have figured out, when marketers mingle among consumers, the results are often more artifice than advertising.

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Job Killers -- Or Just More Fear?

Dave Johnson | Posted 05.20.2008 | Business

Read More: Jobs, Corporations, Lobbyists, Budget, California, Economy, Regulation, Consumers, Chamber of Commerce, Recession, Business News

The California Chamber of Commerce has released its annual list of what it calls "job-killer bills." Why is it that the hit-list seems to only target Democrats?

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Record-Breaking Ten Million Consumer Products Already Recalled This Year; Bush Administration's Response: Oh Well.

Linda Cronin-Gross | Posted 05.18.2008 | Business

Read More: Toys, Consumers Union, Product Recalls, Hazardous Products, Lead, Hazardous Product Legislation, Bush Administration, Consumers, Consumer Product Safety, Consumer Product Safety Commission, China, Consumer Products, Product Safety, Business News

A new report just issued by Consumers Union (CU) - and promptly ignored by the mainstream media - says that recalls of toys and other consumer produc...

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Tipping Ought to be Abolished: Let's Just Pay People More Like the Europeans Do

Michael Russnow | Posted 04.30.2008 | Business

I'm well aware that many people in service industries work for low hourly rates and thus need tips to earn a decent wage. The question is, why the hell have we evolved into a tip-earning economy?

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Gold Hits Record $1,000 an Ounce

AP | MAE ANDERSON and LAUREN SHEPHERD | Posted 03.13.2008 | Business

Read More: Gold Prices, Gold $1000 an Ounce, Gold, Jewelry, Consumers, Gold New Record, 18-Karat Gold, Jewelry Prices, Business News

NEW YORK — Bargain-hunting at the local jewelry store just got harder. Gold, which has soared to record levels in the past year, hit a new mile...

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Sales, Dollar Plunge; Oil Soars

AP | MARTIN CRUTSINGER | Posted 03.13.2008 | Business

Read More: U.S. Retail Sales, Consumerism, Weak Sales, Retail, Retail Sales, Shopping, Weak Dollar, Recession Fears, U.S. Consumers, Commerce Department, Recession, Credit Crunch, Consumers, Mall Sales, Malls, Business News

WASHINGTON — Oil hit a record high, the dollar sank again, and consumers stopped buying pretty much everything. Stocks kept gyrating, too, on T...

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Frugal Consumers Swap Steak For Chicken

Reuters | Posted 03.12.2008 | Business

Read More: U.S. Economy, Trading Down, Economic Downturn, Shopping, Inflation, Recession, Credit Crunch, Rising Inflation, Stagflation, Consumers, Consumer Spending, Shoppers, Housing Slump, Business News

At U.S. warehouse club stores, a growing number of shoppers are giving up steak for cheaper chicken. Coffee sales are soaring at McDonald's, while hig...

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Today's Market Crisis: "This Too Will Pass"

Vince Farrell | Posted 03.03.2008 | Business

Read More: Chartwell Captial, Aig, U.S. Economy, Trim Tabs Investment, Monthly Jobs Report, Crude Oil, Craig Johnson, George Soros, Barron's, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Charles Biderman, Recession, Consumers, Business News

George Soros says this is the worst market crisis in 60 years. With respect, I think that's more a political statement than not.

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Investors Still Skeptical About Credit Rescue Plans

Reuters | Posted 12.14.2007 | Business

Read More: Interest Rates, Inflation, Employment, Bernanke, Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, Consumers, Citigroup, Business News

Rescue plans are creeping up everywhere for a hobbled U.S. financial system, though investor reaction suggests none sufficiently addresses the underly...

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US Trade Gap Widens In October To $57.8 Billion

Reuters Via CNBC | Posted 12.12.2007 | Business

Read More: US Economy, Interest Rates, Inflation, Employment, Trade Deficits, Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, Federal Budget, Consumers, Economy, Business News

The U.S. trade deficit widened slightly more than expected in October, as a record high price for imported oil over-powered the export-spurring benefi...

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Long-Feared Consumer Crunch Is Coming

BusinessWeek Via MSNBC | Michael Mandel | Posted 11.20.2007 | Business

Read More: Downturns, Consumer Crunch, Recessions, Shopping, Credit Crunch, Consumers, Business News

The long-awaited, long-feared consumer crunch may finally be here. That might not mean an economywide recession, but the pain for American households ...

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The Myth That Consumers are Drowning in Debt

Stephen Rose | Posted 10.16.2007 | Business

Read More: Consumerism, The American Consumer, Debt, Consumer Debt, Consumers, Household Debt, Mortgages, Business News

Are there some people who have been crushed by their debt? Sure. But the key question is how many.

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