Best Buy extends streak of quarterly losses as Americans direct more money to essential purchases
Best Buy reported another quarterly drop in sales as the nationโs largest consumer electronics chain wrestles with cautious spending by Americans as they prioritize essential purchases and pay more for things like rent.
Best Buy's shares up after chain posts smaller-than expected sales decline for 4Q
Best Buyโs shares rose on Thursday as the nationโs largest consumer electronics chain posted a smaller-than-expected sales decline for the fiscal fourth quarter, signaling that the bottom of spending for gadgets may be in sight.
Best Buy reports Q4 sales miss hurt by supply chain clogs
Best Buy reported a shortfall in sales for the holiday quarter as the nationโs largest electronics chain struggled with limited supplies of holiday products and was forced to reduce store hours because of a shortage of workers due to omicron.
Here are the best Cyber Monday deals, according to KPRC 2 consumer expert Amy Davis
Hopefully you didnโt blow your whole budget on Black Friday, because there are some seriously good deals online today. Then when you use the promo code POWERUP, youโll get an extra 15% off. When you use the promo code CYBERMON20m youโll get $10 off when you spend $50. You can stack those savings on top of whatever deals the retailer is giving today. If you sign up for Rakuten with my promo code and use it to buy anything for $40 or more, we will both get $40.
Holiday trends to watch: Adult Play-Doh; stores that ship
(AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)(AP) โ The pandemic is turning this into a holiday shopping season like no other. And with more people shopping online, stores are doing double duty as shipping centers to try to get gifts to doorsteps as fast as possible. Meanwhile, Best Buy says that 340 of its stores are being specially designated to handle a higher volume of online orders, though all its stores ship e-commerce packages. Its goal: to have the 340 stores ship more than 70% of its ship-from-store units during the holiday quarter. Typically, 25% of holiday shopping is based on impulse, according to Marshal Cohen, chief industry advisor at NPD Group, a market research firm.
Retail sales grew a slower-than-expected 0.3% in October
NEW YORK โ Retail sales in the U.S. grew a sluggish 0.3% in October, even as retailers offered early holiday discounts online and in stores. October's growth was much smaller than in September, when it rose 1.6%, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. It as hoped that retailers would be able to entice Americans who to get a jumpstart holiday shopping and avoid crowds. Online shopping sales rose 3.1% last month, the Commerce Department said. But at clothing stores and sporting good shops, sales fell more than 4%.
Job hunting? See whoโs hiring in Houston for the holiday season
HOUSTON โ The holiday shopping season is quickly approaching, and some companies will need some extra help to fulfill orders this year. Companies such as Target, Amazon, and FedEx are hiring seasonal workers for the holiday shopping season. FedExFexEx is hiring seasonal delivery drivers to quickly and efficiently deliver packages to customers during the holiday shopping season. Click here to applyUPSUPS is hiring seasonal delivery drivers to deliver holiday packages to customers during the shopping season. MacyโsMacyโs is hiring seasonal workers in all Macyโs locations in the Houston area, including the Galleria.
Pandemic pushes start of holiday shopping earlier than ever
(AP Photo/David Zalubowski)NEW YORK โ Add last-minute holiday shopping to the list of time-honored traditions being upended by the coronavirus pandemic. Black Friday has long been the unofficial start to the U.S. holiday season, though retailers have been pushing holiday shopping earlier for the last decade or so. The first big holiday push will come from Amazon, which is positioning its mid-October Prime Day as a kickoff to the holiday shopping season. Even with the early start to the season, holiday sales are expected to deliver smaller gains than in recent years. Joel Bines, who runs the retail practice at AlixPartners, thinks the earlier shopping will stick even when the pandemic is over.
Businesses weigh reopening - or close again - as cases rise
Businesses reopening across states after months of shutdown have been met with fanfare. Its not the reopening businesses were hoping for. Apple, which started reopening its stores May 11, has closed at least 32 stores in hot spots like Florida and Texas. Some businesses have been requiring customers and employees to sign a waiver saying they wont sue if they get sick. Adam Orman, who runs LOca dOro Italian restaurant in Austin, Texas, may delay a planned July 30 reopening for outdoor seating.
US consumer spending up 8.2%, partly erasing record plunge
(AP Photo/Jim Mone)WASHINGTON American consumers increased their spending by a sharp 8.2% in May, partly erasing record plunges the previous two months, against the backdrop of an economy thats likely shrinking by its steepest pace on record this quarter. In May, those stimulus checks were no longer counted as income for most people. Besides whatever unemployment aid states are providing to the 30 million jobless Americans, the federal government is providing $600 a week in additional benefits. Without the stimulus checks or an extension of unemployment aid, it's unclear whether consumers will keep spending freely. It shows that consumers have gradually but consistently increased their spending since the government distributed the stimulus checks in mid-April.
Analysis: In some places in Texas, sales tax revenues have risen during the pandemic
The latest state sales tax distribution to cities based on Aprils taxable sales was down 11.1%. At the same time, the sales tax allocation to San Marcos rose 51% for the same period. Some local governments will be taking bigger hits in sales tax revenue than others, and a few are prospering because of changes in shoppers habits. Round Rock gets the local Dell taxes from online sales even if the buyer is in Fort Stockton. San Marcos gets the Best Buy local taxes even if the buyer is in Corpus Christi.