Filthy Commerce

More blogging elsewhere

I apologize for the sporadic updates in December. And what a month! Oh, to have picked fights over the usefulness of gift guides, or the emotional minefield of the handmade gift, or to have more closely monitored the holiday sales!

Alas,I've been busy over at Dollars & Sense, doing a series on the little things that add up to form your everyday money philosophy. And the great people at Bitch offered me an eight-week gig blogging about television for them. Until the first week of Ferbruary, I'll be over there on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. So far, I've written about Wanda Sykes, Sweet Dee Reynolds, holiday movies, Nip/Tuck and the Style Network's What I Hate About Myself. And then there was wrapping up the TWoP recapping for Flash Forward. AND the day job.

With luck, I will be able to resume posting more once I'm on winter vacation -- because oh, ho ho, do I have a few things to say about the reinvention of conspicuous consumption, skinflint fatigue, and why user reviews need to be banned.

But enough about me! What have you all been up to?

Holiday update: Monday, November 30, 2009

Hey! Did you know it was Black Friday last week? And that it's Cyber Monday today?

How could you not, with the breathless media coverage and the ceaseless email promotions and the holiday music that is now permeating the public sphere. But the question is: Did people spend on Black Friday?

Well, sort of: Total Black Friday sales edged up a scant $200 mil to $41.2 billion. BUT that's due to an increased volume of shoppers, not an increased rise in per-shopper spending. More people came out over the weekend -- 195 million shoppers, or 13% more than last year -- spending per shopper dropped 8% to $343.31. ("More Shoppers Hit Stores, But Spend Less Each," WSJ, Nov 30, 09) What this suggests: more people came out for bargains, and their definition of "bargain" is stricter than it used to be.

Also of note: Although total Black Friday sales hit $41.2 bil, online shopping only accounted for $913 mil -- or 2% of the total haul. It's not clear why just yet: I will be interested to see if Cyber Monday and Free Shipping Day on December 17 generate more sales. But my general sense going into this season is that e-commerce is still primarily a niche option for most holiday shoppers. It would be interesting to find out why.

[Interesting: the average online order jumped 35% to $170.19, people bought more items per order, and they did less window-shopping in favor of very specific items. Are we looking at leading-edge bargain hunters?]

You'll all be relieved to know that nobody lost their life at the hands of greedy Wal-Mart shoppers this year, although a Wal-Mart in Upland, CA, closed down in the face of savage crowds for a bit.

Where to point and click for e-holiday shopping

My friends and family are far-flung, and after the first few years of frantically shopping-and-shipping, I've decided to cut out the horrible Post Office ordeal and just go with e-commerce. I thought I'd share some of my favorite places for shopping. Please feel free to add yours!

A $45 Thanksgiving? Wal-Mart's got it for $20

O, excitement! We just finalized our Thanksgiving menu ...

Holiday update: Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Scared of being stuck with a lot of merchandise they'll have to ditch at clearance prices, retailers are paring down their toy inventories now. The lesson seems to be "If you want it, get it now." ("Retailers Cool to Hot Toys," AP, Nov 10, 09)

Following on the heels of a survey that reports 36% of holiday shoppers planning a practical Christmas, retailers like Whole Foods and Staples are pushing pragmatic gift options. ("Gee, Thanks for the Socks," MediaPost, Nov 11, 09)

And Wal-Mart is hoping to avoid another trampling death: it's opening its stores at 6 a.m. on Thanksgiving morning and keep them open nonstop through Friday night. No word on whether the employees who have to work the Turkey Day shift will get bonus pay for their trouble. ("Retailers Take Steps to Tame the Black Friday Crowds," NYT, Nov 11, 09)