Save some money and gas by shopping on the internet

Lizzie Tyner | RSS | Sun, Dec 13 2009 | 6 Comments

Do you remember when shopping on the internet was scary and mostly a really sketchy thing to do? I do. But now, shopping for just about anything on the internet has become not only acceptable and safe but (for the most part) much less expensive than shopping for things in stores.

I’ll give a good example for clothing purchases. I recently stopped into a store, that I typically shop at on the internet, but was with a friend of mine at a mall, and saw a pair of blue jeans that I had to have. Well, instead of buying them on site, I went to the retailer’s website on my cell phone, only to find out the jeans were discounted on the website and were only 2/3 of the price the store wanted. I was amazed.

This kind of thing happens all the time. You don’t have to be at a store in the mall to notice price difference between a retailer and its website. For example, if you want an item from Wal-Mart that isn’t food or things like toothpaste, they are typically cheaper on the Walmart.com website and the store offers free site-to-store shipping. One thing that kind of irritates me though is that the store will not accept the internet price in store.

There is also a lot more selection when it comes to shopping on the internet. Sometimes Bryce and I shop at Old Navy for our clothes because they are stylish and inexpensive, not to mention our kids like the clothes too. The problem is when we go to the store, it usually looks like it has been hit by a train. Everything is scattered all over the place, and the clearance section is particularly bad. But because Old Navy’s sizes are usually the same no matter what style you’re getting, we can shop for the clothes on the internet now. We usually save a bit of money there too because we’re actually able to find clothes that fit and we like in the clearance section.

When we’re shopping online, we don’t have to make the journey all the way across town to get to the store either, so we can save that money and save it, or spend it on something that we need like groceries.

These days, you can buy anything on the internet (and usually for cheaper too). While I wouldn’t buy it right now, Amazon sells groceries on its website. If you look, it is kind of like Costco.

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Tags: blue jeans, shopping on the internet, wal mart

Target will rent out retail space to Radio Shack for mobile phone sales

Jennifer McClelland | RSS | Sun, Nov 01 2009 | 5 Comments

Target will be starting mobile phone sales inside its stores. While most retail stores such as Target and Walmart and even Best Buy offer mobile phone sales, the way that Target is going to be selling mobile phones will be a bit different than others do.

Target will be outsourcing its mobile phone sales to Radio Shack. Because of this, Radio Shack will be opening up kiosks inside the store. Any consumer will be able to buy the same brands they can get other places. They will have T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon Wireless.

According to the article, you won’t be able to buy Sprint phones at the kiosks, but I can’t see that holding because Sprint has always been one of the main carriers that sold at Radio Shack stores.

This could be a good idea for smaller retailers; however Target is a pretty big store with a large retail footprint. Target has the ability to sell and the room to sell the phones and plans, but I suppose that they have felt as though this would be the best way to do it and would benefit everyone in the deal.

There wasn’t a lot of information released about the deal between Target and Radio Shack. However, an analyst at Wedbush Morgan Securities in Los Angeles, California said that Kiosk Operations (a subsidiary of Radio Shack that will be operating the kiosks inside the Target stores) is likely paying Target for the ability to operate In its stores. He said that it is likely for the company to pay between $30,000 and $40,000 per year for retail rent. It is likely that Kiosk Operations will also be paying Target a small amount of its sales, which is probably going to be less than 10 percent.

Source

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Tags: radio shack stores, t mobile, target stores

Walmart stores miss forecast, bad news for even discount retailers.

Jennifer McClelland | RSS | Thu, Jan 08 2009 | 0 Comments

Today Wal-Mart cut its 4th quarter earnings forecast because same-store sales had missed projections. The new forecast means that even discount retailers are having a hard time with the troubled economy.

Today’s reports were, not surprisingly, dismal, and accompanied by at least a dozen profit warnings, including Macy’s and Target.

Overall same-store sales dropped 1.7 percent in December and 2.2 percent for the whole November-December season, the International Council of Shopping Centers reported, marking the worst holiday since at least 1969, when the ICSC started keeping track. – CNBC.com

It goes on to say:

The biggest surprise came from Wal-Mart, which reported its same-store sales rose 1.7 percent last month, well shy of the expected 2.8-percent increase, and slashed its forecast. – CNBC.com

So, you’d think because of these problems, prices would fall, but I’m seeing the opposite at my local Wal-Mart. About a month ago, prices were falling, but now they’re on their way back up…

Source

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Tags: earnings, economy, December