Holiday spending at retailers’ Web sites jumped 15 percent on Cyber Monday, the Monday after Thanksgiving, from a year ago, according to research company ComScore Inc.
• 75% off, free shipping: Cyber Monday, version '08
• Turnout strong, but sales may not last
SAN FRANCISCO -- Monday will be one of the biggest online shopping days of the year, and also one of the most treacherous.
NEW YORK -- This Christmas, make an early New Year's resolution: I will not bring home T-shirts made in China as souvenir gifts from my travels.
More than 10 hours before Sears at Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg was to open Friday -- when many were still devouring their Thanksgiving turkey -- a man set up camp outside the store's front door, hoping he'd be first in line to buy a steeply discounted television set after the store opened at 5 a.m.• Photos: Black Friday
Shopping sensibly Wal-Mart worker trampled to death Shoppers cautious on Black Friday Twitter: Read Black Friday Tweets How to make the most of your holiday shopping
NEW YORK -- Shoppers, who had snapped their wallets shut since September, flocked to stores before dawn Friday to grab deals on everything from TVs to toys on the traditional start of the holiday shopping season, feared to be the weakest in decades.
Shopping sensibly How to make the most of your holiday shopping Shopper arrested at Gurnee Mills
Jessica Sedgwick: It seems like this year's holiday makeup sets were created to unleash our inner Picasso. We get to experiment with tubes and palettes of endless shades and textures. We can play with a "spherical brush" that floats across our eyelashes in a 360-degree angle. Become your own personal high-tech makeup artist with a few fun, new makeup sets.
It's wild. It's a ritual. And it's one way to save money on holiday gifts in these financially trying times. But blazing out in the early morning hours after Thanksgiving to hit stores for "doorbuster" sales that often start at midnight sure isn't the only way to snag a great bargain this holiday season - as even the retailers rolling out the Black Friday deals acknowledge.
Best Black Friday bargain Web sites
Tell us: Where have you found great deals?
Chicago diamond experts say they've seen wholesale prices for certain diamonds drop 30 percent in the last month. Investment-grade diamonds have dropped even more drastically in price.
Dear Readers: In the days following Black Friday -- that nationwide orgy of shopping right after Thanksgiving -- Team Fixer always seems to get letters from people who felt things didn't go as planned.
The Fixer has saved you...
After pushing steep discounts throughout November that are usually reserved for the day after Thanksgiving, retailers from Kohl's to Toys ''R'' Us are offering even bigger cuts and promotions for Black Friday in a frantic bid to pull in shoppers. But the bargain hunters showing up for the early morning specials on toys and TVs are not expected to buy with the same gusto as a year.
Jessica Sedgwick: What do you get for the girly-girl who loves all things makeup, skin and hair? How about a special holiday gift set that only comes around once a year and is filled with the best little products each brand has to offer? Whether it's a co-worker in an awkward "Secret Santa" situation or a friend who loves to try out new things, a holiday set could be an easy hit.
Blog: Shopping with Jessica More in Fashion/Beauty
The Gap considered removing smiling portraits of Jennifer Hudson from its new holiday ads after her recent tragedy, but decided to keep the images after the grieving star said she wanted to go ahead with the campaign, a representative for the clothing chain said Friday.
Trump: Hudson safe at my hotel
Hudson suspect will stay behind bars
Jessica Sedgwick: It all started with a girl on the L. Or, more important, the L girl. The impossibly beautiful girl who could be yours if you could just, ya know, talk to her. "I take the L to work every day, and I started standing on the L, seeing a really attractive girl and thinking, 'I'd really like to talk to her but there's no way I can,' " says Josh Galecki, president of Chicago-based Loop Apparel. Pump up volume B spot jackpot Shopping: Updates from our blog
Fans of Oprah Winfrey can find their hero's favorites lines at Oprah's new online store. The site, www.theOprahstore.com, launched this weekend, features most of the products that can be found at Oprah's brick-and-mortar store at 37 N. Carpenter, across from Harpo Studios. The 'O' blog: All Oprah. All the time.
Macy's kicked off one of Chicago's favorite traditions Saturday with the unveiling of its State Street store's animated window display and the Great Tree in the Walnut Room.
• Photos: Holiday spirit
I often receive e-mails from women who struggle to find "age-appropriate" clothing. For instance, can women over 30 still wear skirts that stop short of their knees? Is it OK for a woman in her 50s to shop at Forever 21? (I say yes to both, by the way.)
Keep those receipts!
Casting call
Shopping: Updates from our blog
