HOUSTON – The "Black Thursday" backlash is spreading across social media.
The "Boycott Black Thursday" Facebook page is encouraging customers to avoid stores that plan to open on Thanksgiving Day. The page has already racked up nearly 80,000 likes.
However, campaigns like that Facebook page might just be good advertising for retailers opening on Thanksgiving. A recent survey by Price Waterhouse Coopers found that 49 percent of American shoppers plan to shop, either online or in person, on Thanksgiving morning.
And those shoppers will likely find themselves with more money in their wallet this holiday season, thanks to falling gas prices. If prices stay at the current level, shoppers will have about $100 more to spend on gifts and presents. Experts said that could add up to more than $40 billion in consumer spending.
YouTube has reportedly struck a deal to license music from thousands of independent record labels through rights agency Merlin. According to the Financial Times, people familiar with the matter said the deal ended a dispute that threatened to remove big name artists from YouTube, like Adele.
The agreement also paves the way for the Google-owned company to launch a subscription music service to compete with sites like Spotify. According to the sources, YouTube plans to roll out the new service within weeks, allowing users who pay a monthly subscription fee to listen to music and watch videos without interruption from advertisements.