Posted on 08/14/2015 7:12:00 AM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) —Americans spent more in July than they did in June.
They bought a lot of furniture and cars and spend money in bars and restaurants, according to the latest government report. That's the good news.
But many well-known retailers are struggling.
Macy's and Kohl's both reported sales and earnings this week that missed forecasts. They also issued disappointing guidance. And their stocks sank.
Macy's CEO Terry Lundgren said Wednesday that "throughout the first half of the year, overall consumer demand has been restrained."
Lundgren said the strong dollar continues to hurt the company because tourists are spending less at some of the company's flagship stores.
(Excerpt) Read more at wdsu.com ...
Prices and selection are better, fellow consumers’ reviews generally are far superior to the knowledge of the floor salespeople in a retail store.
I’ve noticed more and more in recent years, asking someone for help in a store is generally useless. The people working there generally have no knowledge of the products in their own stores. It makes for a frustrating shopping experience unless you know exactly what you want, and exactly where on the shelf it is, so you can grab it and go.
but even that could change quickly if clothing sizes were really standardized)...”
Would that be such things labeled as “One size fits most” and we find ourselves relegated to pull on polyester everything? I long for the days of real fabric slacks that are lined, fit properly and last more than one season. Tired of the sleezy, bag lady look in women’s clothing.
A $92 million last year. Not much but they are busy building market share. It’ll start ticking up as our prices will inevitably increase.
Until Bezos has a distribution center within 100 miles of 99% of the U.S. population, Amazon will never stop expanding. And until Amazon stops expanding, they will never show a profit. At least if Bezos can help it.
He wants to build a 100-year company.
Well, I’m a guy, so I may have a different opinion.
But I do know that “M” or “L” can vary significantly from clothing vendor to clothing vendor.
Even the numbered sizes vary wildly.
I don’t know why the industry can’t see to get it’s act together on this - it costs consumers time and money and I can’t see how it results in any more sales than if they’d just tell you what you’re going to get accurately.
I have a Sam’s premium card. They let the points build up over a year. Last February got over $700 back. In addition, now doing another incentive for so many $s spent at Sam’s, get $10 to use at checkout. Already have $70 built up.
One thing that is becoming annoying to me is the preponderance of websites for brick and mortar stores that do not reflect what the store carries. Lots of retailers have websites that are so populated with 3rd party sellers that almost everything on their website says "web only". So, if I logon to Macy's, Target, Best Buy, Home Depot or wherever and it says "web only", I simply order from Amazon. If I can't get it from the store and have to order online, I'll order from the people who are the best at online orders.
I believe he was being facetious.
I agree with you about the men’s sizes, although women’s isn’t really much better. Impossible for me to buy my son or grandsons any shirts on line. Brand name means little any more. I’m one of those that needs to hold it up, look at it, feel the fabric, check the seams and stitching, determine possible shrinkage and try to picture how it’s going to look after it’s been through the washer and dryer.
It’s one of the reasons why I often just give up, buy fabric and make shirts for the guys myself. Unfortunately I’ve found that the quality of the fabric available seems to have also deteriorated over the past few years.
Plus the fact you don't have to leave the house and can look at a variety of products. Then you have actual customers giving their opinions of the pluses and minuses of each item. A couple of days later the doorbell rings and there is a box on your porch. Love me some Amazon.
I’ve been a Prime member for 7 years.
I’m beginning to notice Amazon often is nowhere near the cheapest price available.
I think their algorithms are set up to see if they can shoot you a highball price occasionally.
Example: iPhone case
bought one 30 months ago for $14
need a new one basically the same brand/model for new phone
Amazon - $30
eBay merchant - $15
Here in NYC, the doorman signs for the packages and puts them in the package room. An automated building system sends you an email when your package arrives, and you go down and sign for it.
You can sometimes get a better price on Amazon if you log out and clear your cookies . Look for the item and add it to your cart and then log in
Made in China clothes
I don’t know if this helps, but when I buy online, I buy from Lands’ End.
Their quality is almost always decent, and they have online tailoring for a lot of items. Their return policy is basically no questions asked, even after they’ve altered something for you.
Some of their “work clothes” (I work in an office) such as long-sleeve cotton dress shirts are way better quality and are more durable than what you’d get off the shelf in the men’s department at a department store. I wear odd sizes that I rarely find at a department store - with them I get everything fitted to order for about the same price.
What I generally do is order one. If it fits right, I order five or six. If not, I send it back and get another with the fit adjusted until it’s right. I’ve never had a problem with their consistency once I know what the size is and my wife can then order more and know that it will fit me.
Just my experience. I’ve been a customer since before the Internet was an option for ordering.
Yes and these days I’m careful to cross-reference with other competing merchants. When you’re retired you have time to shop with a bit more in depth looks.
I suspect getting out of the failing Sears empire is quite beneficial for them also.
What's the criteria for "rich"? I have $7 in my wallet.
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