March Retail Sales Soar Following Third Stimulus Checks
Staying Financially Hopeful During the COVID-19 Pandemic
"Drunk shopping" represents $30B of annual online sales, putting brick and mortar on the rocks.
Happy post St. Patrick's Day weekend! It's Tuesday, which means if you were out celebrating, your hangovers should be wearing off right about now. :|
According to a survey by Finder.com, in 2017 68 million Americans admitted to some form of imbibed online spending to the tune of $448 on average per person. In total, us consumers spent $30 billion! What's more, we (ok, really me) have a tendency to think it's the Millennials pushing this digital heavy trend. Not the case. Generation X dished out the most money on average tallying $738.87 while everyone under the age of 34 spent around $206.11.
Best deals in January!
Protect Your Self Before You Wreck YourSelf: How to Avoid Holiday Shopping Email Scams.
This is the no judgement zone, so if you are out shopping on Christmas Eve, more power to you. One thing you shouldn't do (and I WILL judge you for this) is rush around like a crazy person. Why? You are more suceptible to online shopping SCAMS. If you are reading this in a mall/store/in the car on your phone, sit down- take a breath, read through this two minute read SLOWLY. It could prevent future data breeches, compromised bank accounts or fraudulent purchases. Check it:
Scam #1: The shorter browser on your email:
The scenario: According to PayPal 80% of US shoppers will use a mobile device this season to purchase items- add in shopping frenzie and it’s a recipe for confusion.
Watch for: shorter URLs when going to retailer sites or those that end in an odd domain (.XT .TIN etc)
Protect yourself: Go directly to the retailers app in order to purchase. It’s a protected environment and makes the margin of error smaller.
Scam #2: The FedEx email.
The scenario: December 20th is the deadline for two-day shipping and December 21st is the deadline for overnight- again this is playing into the consumer’s need to get things out and delivered.
Watch for: Subject line that says “FedEx Delivery Problems Notification” email asks recipients to open an airbill that’s attached.
Protect yourself: DO NOT OPEN THAT ATTACHMENT that could be a virus! Instead: look on your receipt and call Fed Ex. Give them the airbill number you have and confirm that way. Also Fed Ex will not send you an email if there was a problem delivering- they let the recipient know by putting something on the door or will send it back.
Scam #3: The Bogus App
The scenario: You may want to get that last minute deal, and there is an “app” that promise that- the problem is, it’s a ruse to get your personal and private information.
Watch for: Misspellings in apps, bad grammar no reviews, odd art that doesn’t look legit.
Protect yourself: Download apps from the Apple store or a trusted site. Reviews are KEY.
Scam #4: Insecure Network Connections
The scenario: you are in area where you are connecting to wi-fi in order to make a purchase on your phone, however you are using an insecure connection leaving your personal information vulnerable.
Watch for: a warning it’s an insecure wi-fi connection OR a site that doesn’t have HTTP in front of it.
Protect yourself: ONLY shop on sites that have the HTTP in front. Further, if you get a coupon notification asking for credit card info in exchange for free merchandise, that is ALSO A SCAM!
Under Pressure: Last Minute Shopping Tips to Save your Sanity.
TFW we think we are organized AF/top of our game until we realize we have THREE MORE PRESENTS TO GET.
I know our community well and can therefore say with 99% certainty, we are all done with shopping. Further, we pretty much ready to move on dot org to 2018 STAT. If you are new, just reading this or for some odd reason have procrastinated until the last second, I gotchu. Check out the segment I did on Inside Edition re: Black Friday shopping tips that still apply now! - HH
#TBT This is not a drill: Know your Consumer Rights!
#TBT Trust issues: Is Amazon's Monopoly-like behavior breaking Anti-trust laws?
Throwback to last summer when Amazon's market cap was approaching $1 trillion, Jeff Bezos was being heralded as "the richest man in the world" and $AMZN was being accused of creating a retail monopoly/violating anti-trust laws. I'm here to tell you why that's not the case... the monopoly/anti-trust part!
Dancing on My Own: Walmart's Response to Product Selling Out in 2.5 Seconds.
Summertime Sadness.
Friday Fake Out: The Sultans of SWAIN- the aftermath of Tiffany's epic counterfeiting battle over Costco
Admit it: if you got to Costco, there is something intruging about the jewelry section—specifically when it boasts $10K "Tiffany & Co." rings for a mere $2500. How can that be? Costco certainly is the place where discounts run plentiful, but this seems too good to be true. Here's a little secret: it is.
#TBT WJA Keynote speech re: HENRYS: Who are they and where are they now?
In March of 2016 I had the insanely awesome opportunity to address the esteemed members of the Women's Jewelry Association's "In the Know" at their annual meeting. In my keynote speech, I discussed the state of the economy when it comes to making luxury purchases. Check out my predictions.
