Shop Talk

Glutton fashion, just in time for turkey day

Thanksgiving is fast approaching and you know what that means: It’s time to put away your designer jeans and man Spanx and settle into something a little more … accommodating.

Let us introduce you to Gluttony Pants, the result of a partnership between Betabrand and chef Chris Cosentino. They’re the shade of a perfectly roasted turkey, have pockets the color of cranberries and adjust to three indulgent sizes:  piglet, sow and boar.

The trousers are the first installment in Betabrand’s 7 Sins clothing series for men and women. They’re made in San Francisco, sold only through Betabrand.com and will run you $100.

Not your thing? Well, there’s always dad’s old Sansabelt pants.

(Photos of trousers and Cosentino courtesy of Betabrand.com)

Chicago Tribune treats Cyber Monday shoppers – in stores

The Chicago Tribune is giving the gift of a free issue to Cyber Monday shoppers.  Online, right?  Wrong.  This free newspaper (a 75 cent value) only applies to shoppers who actually venture out to stores today.

The bankrupt newspaper appears to understand the discrepancy.  In a statement, the Tribune defines Cyber Monday as the online version of Black Friday, which is the day when millions of shoppers hit stores. 

Today, many of those shoppers are back in the office — and who knows, maybe they’re using their fast Internet connections to shop online.  At least, that’s why Cyber Monday grew in popularity a few years ago, when many people still had dial-up or even no Internet connections at home.

“Chicago Tribune is here this season to help you make the holidays memorable on a budget.  We hope this free copy highlighting the best deals will help so you can spend more time with friends and family and less wondering where to find bargains,” senior vice president of advertising Bob Fleck said in a statement.

It’s a bit of a strecth to say that the issue really highlights Cyber Monday.  Readers must flip to page seven for offers the paper suggests readers take advantage of (during their lunch break).  What can they choose from?  If someone is spending the day online, why not do it from the comfort of a new $139.97 Sweetheart Rocker chair from Classic Oak Designs?  If their eyes hurt from squinting to look at a small computer screen, they could upgrade to a 21.5 inch model from Staples, and save $60 or $70 — $60 according to Staples.com, $70 according to the paper.

The newspaper also has an online page dedicated to holiday sales and deals.

We’re not sure, but perhaps the Trib is making the paper free today to cheer up readers who had to shell out $1.99 for Thursday’s Thanksgiving issue filled with ads aimed at Black Friday shoppers.  It was the second year in a row that the paper raised the Thanksgiving price at newsstands to $1.99.  The normal daily price is 75 cents.

Black Friday: Tourists rescue New York

Though many New Yorkers complain that tourists are underfoot and in their way, retailers across the city see them, and their strong euros, pounds and Canadian dollars, as a blessing.

Tourists helped Saks Fifth Avenue’s flagship store last quarter perform in line with the chain’s other stores, and Macy’s CEO Terry Lundgren told Reuters on Friday that lately he was hearing more languages besides English than ever on the store floor.

Judging by some of the shoppers Reuters interviewed this week, visitors from abroad plan to spend plenty in New York:

- “Stuff is always cheaper here anyway and even more so with the dollar,” said Katy Moore, a visitor from Ireland, who was shopping at Foot Locker on Thanksgiving day.

-  Laurence Moran, a 30 year-old actor visiting from London, was waiting in line with a couple hundred people outside the Abercrombie & Fitch in Manhattan to splurge… on himself. Weak pound or not, Moran said he could not resist the Black Friday sales.

- Deb Curley, a British tourist in her 60s, said , “The toy stores here are crazy. We have nothing like this in England.”

In addition to these shoppers, Reuters encountered tourists from Israel, the Netherlands, Canada, Belgium, Venezuela, Vietnam and many other countries intent on shopping til they drop.

Check Out Line: A Black Friday extravaganza!

Today’s a serious shopping day for serious shoppers.

Black Friday is no longer a sport for the leisurely shopper. From our late-night rounds, it became clear that people were lining up all over in the dead of night (and some earlier than that!) not just for the fun of it but out of necessity.

While many of the stoutest shoppers were grimly determined to get their deals and get out, there was some fun and holiday cheer.

At a Best Buy in Springfield, Pennsylvania at midnight, the 50 people in line created an atmosphere part football tailgate and part Department of Motor Vehicle tension. A card table was set up near the end of the line, but the reception on that end was quite frosty, possibly “enhanced” by the consumption of cheap beer.

But for the most part, the deals were the thing.

Take Nate Bryan of Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, who arrived at 2:30 am EST this year to get a laptop for his daughter.

“It’s normally $1,000 and now cut in half. That $500 can go to other things,” he said.

Too much turkey to fell Americans: Dunkin’ Donuts

Heaps of turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce will induce a collective food coma on Thanksgiving, sending a majority Americans to their beds for a much-needed nap, if one is to believe a survey released on Thursday by coffee and doughnut chain Dunkin’ Donuts.

About 58 percent of the 500 Americans Dunkin’ Donuts surveyed this week predicted they would succumb to sleep during the holiday next week, according to the chain. Overeating will do that to you.

Unsurprisingly, more men than women are expected to nap, and the number of people jealous of those napping will overwhelmingly be women. But perhaps the fellas, exhausted from carving the turkey, just need to rest before settling in for all that football watching.

Helpfully, Dunkin’ Donuts stores will be open until 2:00pm on Thanksgiving, selling coffee to caffeinate the masses, and maybe keep some of the guys out of the doghouse during the year’s biggest holiday.

(PHOTO: Reuters)

Turkey Talk Time

Thanksgiving is a week away, let’s talk turkey.

It’s time to defrost your bird, says Mary Clingman, director of the Butterball Turkey Talk-Line (1-800-BUTTERBALL).

Clingman and her fellow Turkey talk specialists field about 100,000 panicked calls from home cooks each year and have dubbed this Thursday ”national thaw day.”

To avoid a “turkey-cicle” Butterball competitor Foster Farms (1-800-255-7227) suggests that cooks allow two days to defrost a 12-lb bird in the refigerator and about five days for a turkey twice that size.

Retailers like Wal-Mart are using inexpensive turkey and fixins’ to lure shoppers at a time when the sluggish national economy and still rising unemployment is preventing some cooks from going all out on Thanksgiving. Meanwhile, some frugalistas are planning potlucks or other arrangements that help share the cost of the meal.

Here are some other tips from the folks at the turkey helplines: 

*Make sure your oven is big enough for your bird

Check Out Line: Bargain hunters trolling the web

Check out consumers stepping up their online bargain hunting ahead of the holiday shopping rush.

According to Hitwise, searches for retailer promo codes rose 19 percent last week compared with 2008.

Those numbers should rise headed into “Cyber Monday” – the Monday after Thanksgiving when retailers shift from in-store to online promotions.

Last year, Hitwise said searches on a portfolio of search terms for specific retailers (i.e. ‘target coupons’, ‘target coupon codes’ and ‘target free shipping code’) peaked during the week of Cyber Monday, up 76 percent from 2007.

So who is doing this searching? Hitwise looked at the demographics of online bargain hunters in the 8 weeks ending Dec. 27, 2008. It found the split is even for male and female searchers. Just over half of the searchers were between the ages of 25 to 44, and Hitwise said the younger searchers, aged 25 to 34, were more likely to search for retailer coupons than the rest of the online population.

It also found the greatest share of searches are from those making between $30,000-$60,000 and $60,000-$100,000.

Also in the basket:

Consumers shrug in the face of lean inventory

Lean inventory may be the secret weapon that retailers are depending on to survive the holiday season with earnings intact.

But consumers don’t exactly seem to be quaking in their boots at the prospects of finding empty racks this Christmas season.

According to the ICSC, with 18 days until Black Friday and 46 shopping days until Christmas, the consumer appears “unfazed” by reports of retailers running low on inventory.

The ICSC and Goldman Sachs’ 2009 Holiday Spending Survey found that 81 percent of consumers said lean inventories are not motivating them to shop earlier than in past seasons.

One culprit behind the nonchalance?  Gift cards.

According to the survey, 48 percent of holiday shoppers said that if they can not find the gift item they are looking for, they will buy a gift card.

“It is surprising that consumers are not willing to shop early for holiday gifts to get the best selection,” said Michael Niemira, ICSC’s chief economist.  “Bargains seemingly may matter more than selection for the consumer, which is why more consumers this year than in any recent time plan to shop on the day after Thanksgiving (16%) —which now should be dubbed Bargain Friday.”

Check Out Line: Young professionals trimming turkey-time travel, spending

Check out a survey showing that younger U.S. consumers are trimming travel plans as well as turkeys during Thanksgiving.      More young professionals (37 percent) are adjusting their Thanksgiving travel and spending plans than the affluent and general population (both 30 percent), according to a survey by American Express. Young professionals are defined as less than 30 years old, having a college degree and a minimum annual household income of $50,000.      The young guns also are pulling back in other areas:   * 11 percent of young professionals plan to drive instead of flying, compared to 7 percent of the general population and 6 percent of the affluent, who are defined as having a minimum annual household income of $100,000.       * 8 percent of young pros plan to shorten their stay for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, compared to the affluent and general population (both 3 percent).    * 7 percent of young pros will use rewards points, miles and special offers to offset the cost, versus 4 percent of the affluent and 3 percent of the general population.      Overall, American Express found 30 percent of U.S. consumers plan to adjust this year’s travel plans for Thanksgiving — historically one of the busiest travel days of the year — but only 21 percent expect those expenses to decline from last year.      Those who are changing their plans said they will rely more on travel by car, stay for a shorter time and cash in rewards to help pay for holiday trips as they become more selective amid the high unemployment and soft housing market.

However, in a positive sign, sales at U.S. retailers excluding vehicle sales rose for the second straight month in September, raising cautious optimism consumer spending could support the economic recovery.      The American Express survey also showed that the young professionals are cutting back for Halloween, when consumers spent $5.8 billion last year according to the National Retail Federation.      * 36 percent of young pros are buying less expensive costumes and decorations.  The rate is 16 percent among the affluent group and 15 percent among the general population. 

* 26 percent of young pros are making their own costumes or using hand-me-downs.  Again, that is higher than the 13 percent of affluent respondents and 11 percent of the general population.       Looking ahead to the winter holiday season, sale prices are still king when it comes to early shoppers.  Eighty-two percent overall said they would be enticed by some sort of discount, with almost all of the young professionals (96 percent) and affluent (94 percent) agreeing.      It appears easier to entice the young set.  They would be willing to spend with discounts as low as 10 percent, according to American Express.  The affluent said it would take a discount of nearly 30 percent, on average, for them to buy.        Also in the basket:

Pepsi, Anheuser to jointly buy goods, services

Kraft opens $50 mln Russian biscuit factory

Host Hotels beats estimates on cost cuts

Diageo’s Q1 sales dip 6 pct, sending shares lower 

Early or late — Thanksgiving shift doesn’t phase Wal-Mart

Retailers say it can be difficult to measure their monthly sales results accurately on a year-over-year basis because of calendar shifts — sometimes a holiday falls in one month, boosting results, while the next year the holiday shifts into a different month, hurting results.

The most drastic case of this is usually seen in March and April, when the timing of the Easter holiday can help March sales and hurt April, or vice versa.

As monthly sales results came in today, numerous retailers, including Target, Saks, and Pacific Sunwear, said the timing of Thanksgiving (Nov 27 this year vs. Nov 22 last year) hurt their November results. The later Thanksgiving meant fewer busy post-Thanksgiving holiday shopping days in this year’s November period, they said, making sales figures look especially weak.

For instance, Target’s same-store sales fell more than 10 percent. It had warned that the calendar shift eliminated 7 holiday shopping days from November and pushed them into December, which would drag down November’s results. Saks and Pacific Sunwear also reported lower November same-store sales.

But the Thanksgiving shift was apparently not a big deal for industry leader Wal-Mart. While most retailers reported a drop in November same-store sales, Wal-Mart posted a stronger-than-expected 3.4 percent rise.

And in contrast to many others, Wal-Mart’s November monthly reporting period ended on Nov. 28 — Black Friday. That meant the discount behemoth had just one post-Thanksgiving day in November compared with most retailers whose November reporting periods ended on Nov 29 — giving them two supposedly busy post-Thanksgiving shopping days in the month.