Posts Tagged ‘consumerism’

Online Shopping Gets Smarter [Than You]

Wednesday, May 4th, 2011


(credit: Unhindered by Talent)

Guess what? Retailers are getting smarter and smarter when it comes to separating you and your cash (or credit card info, to be more precise).

First there was members-only designer discount site Gilt Groupe, with time limits for checking out with your items. Then we saw the daily deals companies like Groupon and LivingSocial. There’s Rent the Runway, where you can rent a hot little piece of couture for an event for under $200.

And now, for a mere $30 monthly subscription fee, online shops like JewelMint will get to know your tastes and offer up pieces it’s sure you’ll like. All based on an algorithm. This is in some ways even cooler than the computer from Star Trek: The Next Generation that made Captain Picard all those cups of tea with a simple voice command.

The online shopping world will surely continue to evolve, getting cooler, more convenient, and quite a bit more manipulative in the process. So don’t forget to bring your brain when you go on your next online shopping spree.

Think you’re a conscious consumer? Take our Where Does the Money Go? challenge!

Black Friday’s Supertroopers

Friday, November 26th, 2010

It’s Black Friday, the biggest and most aggressive shopping day of the year. Stores slash prices and determined shoppers wait up all night, push each other, bribe each other, and occasionally trample one another to get their hands on the goods.

This year has seen an increase in the number of shoppers from the broke years after 2008, and the L.A. Times was kind enough to interview some of the consumer warriors swarming the local malls.

Best Quotes

  • “It’s cold, cold, cold, frustrating and stressful standing for five hours but you just do it. My mother-in-law put me in this spot.” – Monica Ferreira, 27, hoping for a $600 washer-dryer from Sears
  • “We are in it to win it. Go hard or go home.” – Ilene Agan, 27, veteran Black Friday Shopper at Toys R Us
  • “This is professional shopping for a lot of these customers, and they know exactly what they want. They plan these things, they have their routes and they make a beeline.” – Mike Boylson, Chief Marketing Officer, JCPenney
  • “Maybe I’m sacrificing too much for this TV.” – Vanessa Barrera, 20, Sears

First Impression Of The New iPhone: Negative

Thursday, July 15th, 2010

Apple’s newest flashy iproduct might not be making quite the positive splash they’d hoped for…

  • Consumer feedback has been harsh on the latest iPhone, reporting that when it is held a certain way reception is sketchy and calls are sometimes dropped.
  • As a result, shares of Apple Inc. have dipped, leaving the company scrambling to issue software updates and attach a bumper accessory to fix the problem.
  • Analysts, however, are doubtful that this blip in Apple stock will have any lasting effects. Apple products like the iPad and iPhone are still too widely popular to truly lower Apple’s stock valuation.

Best Quote

“Checks into Apple’s supply chain do not indicate slowdown in build plans or demand. But a greater focus on this issue could create risk to estimates.” – Shaw Wu, Analyst, Kaufman Bros.