Entries for November 2007

After protests across the Web—including on its own social networking pages—Facebook has backed down from its policy that posted information about the shopping habits of its users.

The program, called Beacon, informed Facebook users' friends when purchases were made on certain online retail sites, including Zappos.com, Fandango.com, and Overstock.com. In some cases, friends were even informed exactly what item was purchased, which ruined some holiday gift-giving plans. The group MoveOn.Org Civic Action started a petition, signed by thousands, protesting the program on the grounds that it violated users' privacy.

Add this to your list of reasons to shop online this season: It might be safer. Last Sunday, 60 Minutes reported that bricks-and-mortar retailers often transmit credit card information through wireless routers, which cybercriminals can access even from outside the store walls.

While sitting in a parking lot outside of Best Buy, Staples, and Home Depot stores, CBS's Lesley Stahl found that the wireless signals for the stores popped up on a regular computer using free software.

Maybe I'm in the minority, but I don't understand the sudden influx of advertisements asking me to share my "story." It's not that I'm a terribly private person—I enjoy a good heart-to-heart—but I don't feel the need to have one with Giant, CVS, or Home Depot, to name a few of the stores who have asked for my "story" in recent months.

In a television ad I saw the other night, Giant, the supermarket chain, told me the story of a young single mom who found great deals at Giant, even on organic produce.

One of my favorite blogs, Zen Personal Finance, has a great post today on why the author, Justin McHenry, doesn't want a ton of Christmas presents this year. He writes:

Don't get me wrong. I want stuff just like anyone else. But I don't want much. And I don't generally want things that anyone would buy me for a Christmas gift. I usually want either big things that are too expensive for anyone to buy as a gift, or very small things that most people would think are insubstantial to give as a gift. No one's going to spring for a trip to Europe for me, and probably no one's going to think that Post-It Notes are a sufficient gift (despite my love of them).

What I don't want are things that clutter my life, like random electronic gadgets, or clothes that I like just enough to keep even though I wouldn't have bought them myself (and also would have some guilt getting rid of). I don't mean to be Scroogey about it; I appreciate the sentiment. I just don't want the stuff.

McHenry says he is asking people to either make a donation in his name or to buy him "experiences," like tickets to an event. It sounds like a great idea, but will people be able to restrain themselves from buying the more traditional gifts?

This past weekend, after my sister found a great pair of Dansko clogs and ordered them online from Zappos.com, her Facebook friends received a newsfeed message that told them she had just "found something cool at Zappos.com." Since she hadn't planned on announcing her purchase to so many people, she quickly deleted the message but not before feeling that her privacy had been invaded.

It turns out Facebook has relationships with online retailers, including Zappos.com, Fandango.com, and Overstock.com, that allow the social networking site to post information when purchases are made. My sister isn't the only one upset by it; the liberal group MoveOn.org started a petition asking Facebook to respect users' privacy and stop the practice. The blog Binary Freedom has asked Facebook not to ruin the holidays by alerting people to their gifts ahead of time.

Facebook has defended itself by pointing out that users can opt out, if they are aware enough to figure out how to do so. (It involves clicking on a box inside your Web browser after transactions or opting out when you next log on to Facebook. My sister, a Web-savvy medical student, didn't notice either option.)

Are those options enough? Would you mind if all your friends were alerted each time you made a purchase? Let me know what you think at alphaconsumer@usnews.com.

Get ready for shopping overload. Starting with this week's Black Friday, which for some energetic customers begins at midnight on Thursday, stores will try to lure people in with holiday music, discounts, and charity events.

The fun will continue on Monday, dubbed "Cyber Monday" because everyone who should be working away at his desk will actually be picking out presents and ordering them online. (Not that I am personally familiar with this. Right.)

With the holidays upon us, I asked Kit Yarrow, professor of consumer psychology at Golden Gate University in San Francisco, to shed some light on why we tend to spend more than we should at this time of year. In fact, retailers usually rely on holiday spending for nearly half of their annual sales. Why are we so well behaved for the first nine months of the year just to blow it all in the last three? And how can I control my urge to buy everything in Crate & Barrel's holiday catalog? Yarrow had answers.

What is it about the holidays that seems to inspire people to spend more money?
It's not just gift-buying. People feel celebratory this time of year. They go out more, have more dinner parties, and want to buy outfits to wear to social events. There's a great desire to decorate the house and bring light into a darker time of year for us.

What's different about this year?
This year, there isn't an income class that isn't affected by something. We have high-income consumers that are a little nervous about spending money because of volatility in the stock market. The middle class are freaked out about the value of their homes, and then the lower-income consumer is strongly affected by gas and energy costs. This is the first year since probably 2002 when everybody in some way is a little bit concerned.

But I don't think it will be a horrible year. Retailers are really pulling out all the stops. They are kind of like desperate lovers courting the consumer. [They're using] promotions, sales, parties, and events. They're much more nervous than consumers are. They think consumers have a limited amount of money to spend, so they want to make sure they are spending it in their store.

That sounds like a good thing for shoppers.
This Christmas, consumers can get fabulous buys. Stores also have decreased inventories, so they won't have tons left for sales after Christmas. Consumers have made it clear that they are looking for bargains. It will be a very price-conscious holiday season.

What about online shopping?
This year, online shopping is ubiquitous. In previous years, it was [either] a savvy group or those with Internet access [who utilized online shopping]. Now, anywhere between 70 and 80 percent of consumers are researching online. When you get numbers like that, it changes everything. There's no way retailers can't give consumers the best deal and hope to win. It makes pricing transparent. That's a big advantage to the consumer.

Can you share some of your own holiday shopping secrets?
I use the computer all the time. Now that we can use the Internet, you can research when things are on sale. If you have a favorite store, then it makes sense to go there for the midnight madness sales. You can get things that are so cheap they are almost free. Retailers are losing money at those prices, but keep in mind, the reason is to get you in there so then you'll do more of your holiday shopping at a little bit of a higher price. Consumers should be aware not to get too wrapped up in the moment.

What about timing? Is it better to buy early or late?
It depends on the exclusivity of the gift. If there's something that's special that [you] want somebody to have, you have to be careful. Retailers haven't ordered as much this year, so inventories won't be as high. I think the first or second time it goes on sale you should get it, because it won't be around if it's a great item.

But if you don't have anything in mind, then right after Thanksgiving, on Black Friday, there are fantastic deals. I also have relationships with salespeople in stores. You can ask them to ring up what you want on a day it will go on sale. This probably wouldn't work at Wal-Mart, but [it does] at department stores. Retailers want those relationships as well. They want consumers to feel connected with them.

So do research beforehand. Make a list. It sounds so Santa Claus-ish, but it helps you get organized. The malls are incredibly fantastic, magical places if you're not stressed out. It's beautiful, it's convivial, it's fun. If consumers feel like they have shopping under control, then they can enjoy being part of the community.

Any other last-minute tips?
Don't go into debt to purchase holiday gifts. Ultimately, your loved ones would rather have a "happy you" than a new toy.

Order gifts for out-of-towners online to save postage costs—70 percent of online retailers are planning free shipping promotions. And ask for gift receipts for all of your gift purchases, and tape them to the product or package right away. Keep your own receipts too—if something that you've purchased goes on sale, you can generally get a price adjustment up to two weeks after you bought it.

It turns out that many people aren't fond of their grocery stores. According to a new survey from IBM, three quarters of shoppers are either antagonistic or have no loyalty toward their grocers.

I can't say I'm surprised. When I ran into a coworker recently at Whole Foods, the first thing we did was to complain about it. I said the lines were crazy; he said it was too expensive.

It's not that it was the store's fault. In IBM's survey, Whole Foods had one of the highest percentages of so-called advocates, at around 41 percent. In general, I consider myself one of them; I'm a big fan of the extensive cheese selections for special occasions. But it's hard to get around the fact that shopping for groceries is a chore. When we're taking time out of the weekend to load up on basic essentials like milk and bread, we're in the mood to complain. (Or at least I am.)

According to Fred Balboni, a global retail industry leader at IBM, it is possible to turn disgruntled customers into happier campers. The key, he found, is to offer high-quality products, an appealing range of merchandise (such as specialty olive oil for the customers who want it), convenience, and customer service. Shoppers want to enjoy their experience, he says.

I think that might have as much to do with the shopper as with the shop.

Even before the turkey is turned into next-day sandwiches, shoppers will be making their holiday lists and getting ready to click their way to purchases. E-commerce holiday sales will grow 19 percent over last year to reach $31 billion, according to research firm eMarketer, even though overall retail growth is expected to reach only the single digits.

But not all Americans will shop online with the same peace of mind they brought (one hopes) to the Thanksgiving table. According to a new survey from Unisys, an information technology consultancy, 40 percent of Americans say they are extremely or very concerned with the security of online transactions, and even more—65 percent—say they were extremely or very concerned about people stealing their credit or debit card information.

The good news is that it's easy to alleviate some of that stress. First, the basics: Never click on links inside E-mails from strangers, and don't use obvious passwords on accounts that contain financial information.

But there are also some more sophisticated measures you need to take. Check with your card provider to see if it offers extra protections, such as a unique credit card number for each store or alerts each time a transaction goes through. Carefully check over your statements during the holiday season to make sure no extra charges are slipping in.

Spammers and other wrongdoers ratchet up their activities during the holidays, so being extra careful makes sense. Knowing you're shopping safely—and avoiding those killer lines at the store—will make you feel calmer than a well-stuffed gourmand after the last slice of pumpkin pie.

The season of indulgence is almost here, and stores are already feeling overstuffed, according to the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Rising debt levels, a struggling real estate market, and high gas prices have turned many consumers into stingy bargain hunters, which means holiday sales could be the slowest in years, the business school reports. Plus, shop inventories are piled up after a warm fall that kept many consumers outdoors and out of the stores.

"Retail marketers, for their part, will do what they can to counter the problems and lure consumers into plunking down their cash and credit cards," Wharton says, "but ultimately their most powerful tool is the one that Wal-Mart has already resorted to: price cutting. That will mean lower profits even if traffic picks up."

For shoppers, that means more deals and discounts, just in time for the holidays.

Revel in foreign culture even when the dollar is down and out.

Author Susan Gregory Thomas started looking into the effect of videos and other products marketed to infants and toddlers around the time she began to have her own children. In her book Buy, Buy Baby, she writes that when she saw her 17-month-old toddler memorize Elmo's theme song within a few minutes, she "knew there was definitely something behind that friendly, furry face." She found that indeed there was. U.S. News spoke with Thomas, a former senior editor at the magazine, about why videos aimed at kids exert so much influence over them and may train their minds more for consumption than for anything educational.

I didn't expect my column on wills and estate planning to generate much controversy. Parceling out family assets isn't exactly a hot topic of public debate.

But I received many E-mails in the days after it was published, some disagreeing with the advice offered in the column and others with follow-up questions. Some experts from the estate-planning field wrote in to share their own experiences.

As Sydney Maier settled into her sophomore year at the University of Illinois-Chicago last year, she came across an offer she couldn't refuse: free food.

At a Subway franchise near campus, Discover Card representatives gave students sandwiches in exchange for filling out a credit card application. Maier signed up and ate a 6-inch veggie sub on the company. A month later, her new Discover card showed up in the mail.

Dear Alpha Consumer,

About eight months ago our son, who is 45, suffered a brain injury, resulting in the loss of short-term memory. He was between jobs, which caught him with no assets and no insurance but about $20,000 in credit card obligations. He is unmarried and has no children.

Although he may get some rehabilitation to develop coping skills, it is also quite likely he will spend many of his future years in some sort of institution. He is presently receiving Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income disability payments. The prospect for greater earnings is not good.