Dillard’s, Macy’s face off
Where high-end purses are big business for the holidays, retailers also recognize the down trend in the economy and are trying to move merchandise.
Over the weekend, Dillard’s had an advertised sale on all their purses, including Coach and Dooney & Bourke. Customers could get 30% off any bag, on top of any existing discounts, through today (Monday). When Macy’s caught wind of what their competition was offering, they jumped aboard and offered the same in an unadvertised sale, which also ends today.
An employee behind the Coach counter of Macy’s at Penn Square Mall Saturday said when customers came to her counter and talked about what Dillard’s was offering, Macy’s had to compete … and so they did.
Be on the lookout for unannounced sales in the future. Stores have to stay competitive in this economy and the consumer may be in the position to win out.
-Erica Smith, Copy Editor
Jargon mastery noted by The Onion
From The Onion:
Manager Achieves Full Mastery Of Pointless Managerial Jargon
“Due to the increased scope of the project vis-à-vis Tuesday’s meeting, compounded with our aforementioned desire to maintain quality without increasing cost, an as-yet indeterminate amount of time will be allocated to our newest venture,” Atkins said without once stuttering. “You should all be proud of the amount of effort and energy you have put forth thus far, and can be certain the project’s conclusion will become more apparent as the tasks become increasingly more finite.”
Welcome to my world.
Don Mecoy
Business Writer
Get inspired
Best magazine covers
I’m an admitted list junkie. It’s the time of year for best of the year and worst of the year lists. One of my favorite lists, and one that doesn’t attract a lot of attention, is the best magazine covers of the year. One of this year’s winners contains an sparkling depiction of the year in investing. Portfolio magazine created the image seen above. To see the rest of the winners, go here (but be prepared to click through page after page to see them all, which would qualify as one of my 10 worst popular Web designs.).
If you like year-end lists, Rex Sorgatz again collects many of them at his site. For example, 10 worst corporations, three dumbest movies, best science images and most popular top 10 lists.
Don Mecoy
Business Writer
Americans’ leisure time declines
Americans have a lot less leisure time than they did last year, according to a recent poll.
The median number of leisure hours dropped 20 percent this year to an all-time low of just 16 hours a week, according to a Harris Interactive survey of 1,010 adults. However, respondents said they are spending more time watching TV, exercising and with family and kids.
The average American spends 46 hours a week working, which includes housekeeping and studying. When Harris first asked this question in 1973, the median was 41 hours a week.
In 2008, Americans increased their work week one hour, yet claim to have lost four hours of leisure time. Where did the rest of the time go? We have a theory. As the American economic situation worsened, people who were worried about their jobs spent more time “just checking in” via computer or wireless device. While our respondents didn’t consider this as time spent working, they also didn’t count it as leisure time and landing instead in a nebulous grey area.
Also, as leisure time shrinks, Americans appear to be indulging more in solo activities. Four of this year’s top five choices are typically done alone: reading, watching TV, exercising, and computer activities. Reading, watching TV and exercising all increased this year, while computer activities dropped 2 points. While this may seem counterintuitive, since our research indicates that US Internet penetration is at an all-time high, it does add credence to our theory that Americans may be spending just as much or more time on computer activities, yet are considering this time as neither work nor leisure.
Don Mecoy
Business Writer
True love’s Christmas gifts more expensive
A 33 percent gain in the cost of swans helped boost the price of the gifts in ”The 12 Days of Christmas” by more than 8 percent, according to the annual calculation by PNC Wealth Management. It was the second-biggest price increase since the company began tracking the index more than two decades ago.
The seven swans a-swimming proved to be a driver of this year’s index, carrying the greatest weight with a whopping 33.3 percent increase due to their scarcity. True Loves will spend $5,600 this year for Swans compared with $4,200 in 2007, accounting for $1,400 of the $1,573 increase. The swans typically have the largest swings in price in the PNC CPI.
Much like the government’s CPI, the PNC CPI also measures a “Core Index”—up just 1.1 percent this year – that excludes the swans. The core Consumer Price Index excludes volatile energy and food costs and is generally lower than the headline figure.
The swans, at $5,600, are the most expensive of the gifts, which this year total $21,080.10. However, if one were to buy all of the gifts in all 12 verses of the song, the true love’s tab would come to $86,608.51.
Don Mecoy
Business Writer
Cyber Monday not what it sounds like
Cyber Monday is a recently coined term created by online retailers to refer to the Monday following Thanksgiving. It plays off the “Black Friday” concept. However, it does not mean that Monday is the busiest online shopping day during the holiday shopping season (although I heard a radio reporter refer to it as such today).
According to Wikipedia, in 2005, the year the term “Cyber Monday” was coined, the busiest online shopping day of the year in the U.S. was actually Dec. 12, two weeks after “Cyber Monday.”
Like much of the retail information that floats around these days, Cyber Monday is more about marketing than news.
Don Mecoy
Business Writer
