shopping

How did Black Friday become America’s biggest shopping day of the year? It may surprise you to learn that the way it started had nothing to do with shopping at all. NBCLX’s Janine Doyon traced the history of Black Friday from its origins in 1960 to the nearly week-long celebration of consumerism it is today.

Black Friday is the nation’s biggest shopping day and its impact on the environment is equally huge. But it’s possible to take advantage of those giant Black Friday sales while keeping your environmental impact low. Here are three tips to make your discount shopping more environmentally-friendly.

There’s always at least one hard-to-please person on your holiday gift list. To help, CNBC Make It compiled a list of 15 new and creative gift ideas under $50.

After opening all your Black Friday orders, you can just gather all that packaging on the floor and take it to the recycling bin, right? Not so fast — it’s not that simple. NBCLX’s Fernando Hurtado talked to a recycling expert about exactly what packaging can get recycled, and what is still destined for the landfill.

Donations are steady, but foot traffic at Chicago-area Salvation Army stores has dwindled under capacity restrictions and coronavirus fears, threatening the organization’s pivotal rehabilitation programs that benefit from store sales. In all, Chicagoland Salvation Army thrift stores are down $9 million dollars as a result of summer pandemic closures and capacity restrictions, said Major Kendall Mathews. Eighty cents of every…

Illinois’ Tier 3 restrictions are taking a toll on small businesses and nonprofit organizations. Foot traffic is down at Salvation Army thrift stores, and the loss of revenue could mean cuts to programs when they need them the most. NBC 5’s Chris Hush explains.

Before you check out on your favorite retailer’s website this holiday season, read these 10 ways to protect yourself from cyber criminals.

Your Black Friday experience may not look or feel the same this year, but experts say retailers are still offering deals for shoppers this holiday season. 

The acceleration of coronavirus cases is causing an existential crisis for America’s retailers and spooking their customers just as the critically important holiday shopping season nears

As Illinois enters Tier 3 of coronavirus mitigations Friday, small businesses shared their concerns and a push encouraging customers to shop local. NBC 5’s Charlie Wojiechowski reports.

Walmart beginning Saturday is starting to monitor and count the number of customers entering its stores, again, as Covid cases surge in the U.S.

The latest “Trouble In Toyland” report highlights toys that have been recalled but could still be bought online. Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul discusses how to keep your family safe this holiday season.

Most shoppers who traditionally rush to Black Friday sales will instead be crowding online checkouts this year.

Thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic, Amazon wasn’t able to have Prime Day in July this year, but from midnight pacific time on Tuesday, Oct. 13 through Wednesday, Oct. 14, the sale is on with exclusive discounts for Amazon Prime members.  According consumer psychology expert Kelly Haws, like Black Friday or Cyber Monday, the idea with Prime Day is that Amazon “tries...

After scheduling and rescheduling, Amazon announced that Prime Day, its annual global sale event, will take place October 13 and 14. We spoke with DealNews.com consumer analyst Michael Bonebright, who offered tips about how to get the most out of Amazon Prime Day 2020.

With the pandemic, the number of packages has spiked — and so have the shipping surcharges at United Parcel Service. The shipping company said Friday in a memo that it’s tacked on additional fees for some packages shipped within the U.S. and others shipped internationally. In the memo, it listed the shipping surcharges, which depend on the item’s weight, when it...

Target is joining Walmart in closing its stores on Thanksgiving Day, ending a decade long tradition of jump-starting Black Friday doorbuster sales. The move, announced Monday, comes as stores are rethinking the Black Friday in-store bargain shopping as they try to curb the spread of the coronavirus, which has seen a resurgence in a slew of states. Walmart, the nation’s...

Target is joining Walmart in closing its stores on Thanksgiving Day, ending a decade long tradition of jump starting Black Friday door buster sales. The move, announced Monday, come as stores are rethinking the Black Friday in-store bargain shopping as they try to curb the spread of the coronavirus, which has seen a resurgence in a slew of states. Walmart,...

Forget about making shopping fun. As clothing retailers and others try to stay viable during the coronavirus pandemic, they’re hoping steps like cleaning during store hours, offering hand sanitizer and other safety measures will bring in customers to spend.

Solutions range from reserving sanitized fitting rooms to window shopping You might be thinking twice about venturing to the mall to try on clothes in a fitting room, because of the coronavirus pandemic.  You’re not alone.  Sixty-five percent of women said they will not feel safe trying on clothes in dressing rooms, due to the COVID-19 crisis, according to a...