Gift Ideas

With online shopping becoming the wave of the future (if it isn’t already), it can become a daunting process trying to shift through thousands of retailers. Luckily, there’s one brand we know will stand the test of time while also offering quality items — both essential and waitlist-inducing.

QVC has been a beloved household name for years, with its flagship shopping TV show commonly played on a loop throughout the day. Its online shop is just as good, though (and just as easy to use and save).

from beauty items to kitchen grabs — including best-selling outdoor patio furniture — QVC has virtually anything you can search for on the internet, gifts included. Not to mention, its regular discounts are a nice touch.

Just for you (and with

A new retail and e-commerce report finds inflation is affecting the shopping habits of 85% of Americans, leading most to reduce their purchases and feel unhappier buying online.

In the report published Thursday, Morning Consult found that 77% of Americans are shopping less to save money. Only 41% said they enjoyed online shopping in June, down from 50% in March.

The report warns against blaming supply-chain issues for the trend. It notes that Americans, especially the millennials who make up most online shoppers, have less money to spend as consumer prices rise.

“Online shoppers are reporting fewer delayed orders, but as consumers begin deferring discretionary purchases because of inflation, shopping for fun isn’t what it used to be,” the report stated.

Many shoppers also are coping with inflation by looking for discounts and shopping at discount stores, Morning Consult reported.

Some retailers say the findings are spot-on.

“We sell pet

Retailers can bar shoppers for – in their view – returning too many items or making too many complaints, as Nannette Herbert has discovered.

Herbert told Guardian Money she has been banned by a number of retailers – including Amazon and Waitrose – for making complaints and refund requests.

Businesses are sometimes alerted when a customer displays “unusual” activity, such as requesting what might be viewed as a disproportionate number of refunds, and can block them from making future purchases.

Consumers can also be banned for making too many complaints if the retailer believes they are abusing the process.

Amazon told Herbert, who lives in London, that it was closing her account last month, saying she had “consistently requested refunds for a large number of orders”.

She says

Bill Maher has a warning … online shopping is taking a not-so-hidden toll on America … and he makes a case that going OG shopping is better for your head and the planet.

The “Real Time” host went scorched earth on people who like to order 9 pairs of pants to find the one that fits just right … only to return the other 8. Those boxes go somewhere … yep, landfills, oceans . .. not good.

The visual tells the story … buy a small item, it comes in a big box. Buy 3 items … you get 3 big boxes. When you add it up, it’s kind of an environmental disaster.

And, then there’s the human toll … Americans don’t leave their homes like they used to because it’s easier to push a button than to start a car and drive to a mall. Thing is … Americans

New survey results exclusively previewed by Chain Store Age reveal limits on the effectiveness of online influencers.

According to a survey of 1,000 US adults commissioned by online expert review platform The Desire Companyinitially released to Chain Store Age, nearly all (90%) respondents are overwhelmed to some extent by volume of product information when shopping online. However, this does not necessarily translate to reliance on influencers.

In fact, a vast majority of respondents (87%) said it is likely that influencers don’t even use the products they advertise and only 11% believe that a social media influencer with millions of followers is a trustworthy source of information.

More than four in five (82%) respondents who have purchased something based on an influencer’s pitch say they have had some sort of negative experience with the product, with the most common being that the product didn’t match the influencer’s claims (41%