readings on shopping

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SHOP SMART

Shopping season starts out big, big, big! By Robin Melen on November 30, 2012 12:01:00 am

Now that two of the biggest holiday shopping days are behind us, how did we do? Reports are generally that Black Friday was a hit, that Cyber Monday was huge, and even that Thanksgiving Day shopping did better than expected.

The NRF says that about 35 million people abandoned turkey dinners, football, and family time Thursday night and went shopping, up from 29 million last year. And on Black Friday three million more people hit the sales this year than last.

Online shopping was the big winner, which is no surprise to us. There are just so many great sites to see and bargains to be had that it’s hard to resist the urge to shop at home in pj’s and slippers. According to a survey done for the NRF by BIGInsight, a record 247 million shoppers visited stores and websites over Black Friday weekend, up from 226 million last year. Making sure to take advantage of retailers’ promotions to the full extent, the average holiday shopper spent $423 this weekend, up from $398 last year. Total spending reached an estimated $59.1 billion.

People didn’t wait for Cyber Monday, either, with a reported $1 billion spent online on Black Friday alone, according to new figures from market analyst ComScore.

NRF also asked shoppers which days they shopped online–more than one-quarter (27.0 percent) of holiday shoppers said they shopped online on Thanksgiving Day, and nearly half (47.5 percent) on Black Friday.

All this is great news for the economy, of course, as well as for bricks-and-mortar retailers and online merchants. This just might be the holiday season we need to get us moving again! Happy shopping !

Questions :

1. Explain Black Friday, Cyber Monday. And the expression « bricks-and-mortar retailers.

2. What does NRF stand for ?

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By Janice Hudson | Mar 31, 2012

The dirt on green shopping The price tag used to be the biggest influence on most buying decisions but increasingly, shoppers are taking a more critical look at retailers. Savvier than ever, many people are now demanding products that are local, green and organic. Concerns that used to be on the fringe of retail have become important for shops looking to woo new customers while still keeping regulars happy.

Carbonstok is one Halifax store embracing this trend. Gordon Stevens launched the Barrington Street business two and a half years ago and it carries a selection of home accessories, stationary and gifts. Not every product in the store is eco-friendly but the company tries to stock durable, well-designed products. “Weʼre trying to not be heavy-handed on the environmental side of things,” Stevens says. “We seek out products that are well designed and well manufactured. For example, if a home accessory is made of stainless steel, its design and its material will make it last longer—functionally or aesthetically.”

Few other retailers at the time were selling green products in Halifax, so Pʼlovers filled a void in the market. “We had things like bulk environmentally

cleaning products, compact fluorescent light bulbs, non-toxic paint and some organic foods,” Crocker says. The store now carries a range of organic clothing and bedding, baby-care items and toys, cookware and personal-care items, as well as alternatives to non-sustainable products, such as soy and bees-wax candles instead of petroleum-based candles.

“Popular products include a line of colourful hand-blown glasses fashioned from old beer bottles. The store is also carrying a new collection of hard-baked porcelain cookware that acts like Teflon but without the harmful chemicals.

With the demand growing for earth-friendly products and with more retailers jumping on the green bandwagon, itʼs not always obvious what products are actually green.

Questions :

1.What new products are customers appeal to ?

2.What’s Carbonstock marketing policy ?

3. Examples of non-sustainable products

4. What could be a drawback when buying « green » ?

Aliquam

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The tea leaves of holiday giving By KATHY GRANNIS, NRF SPOKESPERSON | Published: NOVEMBER 29, 2012 Be the first to comment | This entry was posted HolidaysResearch When it comes to gifts, regardless of the season, there’s no question that the age old saying “it’s the thought that counts” rings true. But this holiday season, it looks like gift-giving might actually be back in fashion after taking a hiatus the last few years. And from what we can see, shoppers aren’t skimping on presents for others or themselves!

Thanks to a shaky economy, gift-giving has varied greatly from year-to-year since 2008. At the end of 2008, when we first entered into our recession, consumers had to think fast, and think twice, about how to approach spending during the holidays. Spending on gifts from 2007 to 2008 decreased more than eight percent. And in 2009, it was more of the same as the “holiday season of the serious bargain hunter” heated up a competition for customer dollars. By the end of 2010, retailers saw signs of improvement in the economy and in consumer spending, with many holiday shoppers starting to feel comfortable buying gifts like jewelry and electronics again – items that had taken a back seat to more personal and practical items. In 2011, retailers entered the holiday season optimistic that consumers would take advantage of their promotions, and they were right as gift budgets increased across the board. This year, it looks like shoppers are growing their shopping lists. According to NRF’s 2012 holiday spending survey released in October, a few signs point to a very healthy return to gift-giving:

Looking to trim their budgets in 2008, 2009 and again in 2011, consumers this year plan to spend more on gifts for friends. The average person buying gifts for their ”besties” will spend $104, up from $97 last year.

• Pets, babysitters, postal workers and other community acquaintances stand to benefit more this year too. The average person will spend more than $63 on some of the most important people – and pets – in their lives, up from $56 last year.

• And apparently there are a few co-workers out there who can expect something special this holiday season too – spending on them will grow to more than $73, up from $69 last year.

One type of gift that hasn’t changed in recent years is the “self gift.” Our research shows that millions of people plan to take advantage of retailers’ holiday sales and promotions to buy non-gift items for themselves or their family. Do you really think people are standing in line at midnight to buy discounted 55″ televisions for their children, or their parents? Highly unlikely.

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This year:

• Six in 10 Americans say they will take advantage of the discounts over the next few weeks to purchase non-gift items.

• Spending on these “self gifts” will reach $140, the most in the survey’s 10-year history. In 2004, that figure was a mere $89.

• Over Thanksgiving weekend, eight in 10 holiday shoppers said they planned to scoop up some great online and in-store deals Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

So what are people buying this holiday season? A lot of everything.

In mid-November we asked people what kinds of gifts they had already bought. A few key items stand out:

• Gift cards reign as the most requested and the most purchased gift item. Shoppers today recognize that gift cards are both personal and practical. NRF’s gift card survey found that eight in 1o will buy at least one gift card, perfect for the six in 10 who requested them. And, over Thanksgiving weekend, nearly one-third of all shoppers said they bought gift cards.

• Toys are hot once again. The emergence of Furby and hot electronic kids toys may have helped boost the percent of people looking for toys this year – 45 percent plant to buy toys, up from 43 percent last year.

• Nearly six in 10 will buy clothes and accessories – the most since 2006. • Retailers have created buzz this holiday season with their exclusive labels • and product offerings, helping drive people straight to the cashmere • sweaters, winter coats and other apparel fashions. There may be no direct connection to whether or not gift-buying indicates how people really feel about their finances or the holiday season, but one thing is for sure this year – holiday shoppers are in the mood to celebrate it with their loved ones, and a few perfect gifts could go a very long way in making this a holiday to remember.

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VOCABULARY. TRANSLATE INTO SPANISH:

regardless of :

gift-giving

skimping on presents :

shaky economy :

to enter a recession :

bargain hunter :

to take advantage of the promotions :

their »besties » :

bargains :

non-gift items :

to scoop up :

a gift card :

holiday shoppers :

Lorem Ipsum Dolor Printemps 2012

READING COMPREHENSION:

1. What has been the major tendency og holiday shoppers in the last few years?

2. What ‘s the average budget spent on gifts for this year?

3. What are the most requested gifts?

4. When was the spending on gifts at its lowest rate?

5. When did retailers start to see signs of economic recovery?

6. What gift hasn’t changed over the last years?

7. Who are being benefit from this year increase on the purchases?