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INSIDER

BLACK FRIDAY

Retail sales fell 1.1% in November, biggest drop in 7 months

The U.S. Commerce Department also revised Octobers number, saying on Wednesday that retail sales actually fell 0.1% that month, instead of rising 0.3% as it previously reported. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)NEW YORK – Retail sales fell 1.1% in November, the biggest drop in seven months, as Americans held back on spending at the start of the holiday shopping season. The Commerce Department on Wednesday also revised October’s report, saying that retail sales fell 0.1% that month, instead of rising 0.3% as it previously reported. Economists expect retail sales to continue to fall this month as virus cases spike and states add tougher restrictions. “It will take a miracle to keep retail sales positive in December," said Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at global financial group MUFG.

Pulaski Police Department will protect your holiday gifts from porch pirates

PULASKI, Va. – With Black Friday deals here and Cyber Monday sales coming, it may be best to send your Christmas gifts to the Pulaski Police Department for protection. To avoid any porch pirates, Pulaski police are allowing residents to store their presents at their department. Last year, the community crime prevention effort led to several packages stacked up in the locked hallway. “In order to keep the Grinch from ruining Christmas for people and protecting them off the porch and we had a good response last year,” Police Chief G.W. The police department posted some examples on how to write the address to assure it gets sent to their station.

Black Friday sees record online as US shoppers stay home

Black Friday online sales hit a new record this year as pandemic-wary Americans filled virtual carts instead of real ones. Consumers spent an estimated $9 billion on U.S. retail websites on Black Friday, according to Adobe Analytics, which tracks online shopping. Field said stores may be rethinking the cost of paying employees and opening on Thanksgiving when they could easily make up for those sales online. Adobe expects Monday to be the largest online sales day in U.S. history, with estimated spending of $10.8 billion to $12.7 billion. One reason for the big numbers is that people are shopping online for things such as groceries and alcohol that they bought in person before the pandemic, Adobe said.

Downtown Lynchburg women’s clothing boutique holds grand opening on Black Friday

LYNCHBURG, Va. – One business gearing up for Small Business Saturday just opened its doors on Black Friday. Ayven Avenue Boutique, a new shop that sells women’s clothing and accessories, is located on 5th Street in Downtown Lynchburg. “We really feel like small businesses need some support this year. So, we wanted to get down here and just be a part of the community and let everyone know that we’re here,” Howell said. The original boutique was located on Leesville Road but shut its doors after two years.

Roanoke shoppers keep Black Friday shopping tradition alive

ROANOKE, Va – The coronavirus pandemic didn’t stop some eager shoppers in Roanoke this Black Friday. People like Lynn Wampler always make sure to get in line early to get their holiday shopping done. Virginia Tech Professor of Finance Derek Klock says major retailers started their Black Friday deals early to avoid large crowds. “It hasn’t been so much Black Friday or Black Friday week it’s been Black Friday November. Black Friday turnout may have been lower this year as most people will wait to shop on Cyber Monday.

The Latest: Illinois surpasses 12,000 deaths from COVID-19

(AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Illinois has risen above 12,000 deaths from COVID-19, while also surpassing the 700,000 mark for confirmed coronavirus infections. The Health Department said the situation constituted an “alert,” and said that nationwide, infections had risen by over 8% last week. Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech have asked the FDA to allow emergency use of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate. The state health department reported 5,704 new cases on Friday, putting the state at 3,476 deaths and 295,001 cases since March. ___TORONTO — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he expects more than half of Canadians to receive a COVID-19 vaccine by next September.

Virus keeps Black Friday crowds thin, shoppers shift online

Black Friday shoppers wear face masks as the leave Saks Fifth Avenue flagships store empty handed, Friday, Nov. 27, 2020, in New York. Crowds at stores were dramatically diminished as shoppers shifted online. Black Friday is projected to generate $10 billion in online sales, a 39% bump from the year ago period, according to Adobe. And Cyber Monday, the Monday after Thanksgiving, will remain the biggest online shopping day of the year with $12.7 billion in sales, a 35% jump. At a popular shopping area in St. Petersburg, Florida, several storefronts were empty, and the only line was at a plasma donation center.

France postpones 'Black Friday' to help locked-down shops

The approach of “Black Friday," originally scheduled for Nov. 27 in France, had brought the dilemma to a head. The director of Amazon France, Frederic Duval, told France Info radio on Friday before the meeting that the e-commerce distributor was ready to sign up to a delay. The delay applies only to Amazon France, he added. “If we can’t open our shops for Christmas it will be very difficult for the sector,” she said. “There are already a lot of flower shops that suffer greatly so, today, we need help and coherence.”

Holiday shopping in a pandemic: Snag deals, avoid scams and shop local

We’ve seen online shopping takeover during this pandemic and the Better Business Bureau Serving Western Virginia expects holiday shopping won’t be any different. According to the BBB, 80.5% of consumers in 2020 have reported online purchase scams and lost money, up from 24.3% in 2019. With many people new to online shopping Better Business Bureau has a few online safety tips and reminders. The top motivating factor for people who made a purchase, then lost money was price. Small businesses were forced to close starting in March until some as late as June and July.

Virginia ABC cancels remainder of this year’s promotions. Thanks, 2020.

The Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority will be canceling Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Door Busters and Spirited Thursdays promotions, according to a statement tweeted out by VABC on Tuesday. “In a ‘normal year,’ Virginia ABC would be gearing up for fall and holiday promotions right now. A combination of factors has led us to the decision to move away from most of our usual promotions through the end of 2020,” said Virginia ABC CEO Travis Hill in a statement. In his statement Hill cites inventory challenges, ongoing technical upgrades and the strain of one-day sales on customers and employees as the main reasons for the decision. If you go to the VABC website and select the “on sale” box in the product search page, you can see the latest items that have gone on sale.

Walmart to spread out deals to avoid Black Friday crowds

NEW YORK – Walmart says it will spread out its traditional one-day Black Friday deals over three weekends in November in an effort to reduce crowds in its stores during a pandemic. The discounter, based in Bentonville, Arkansas, will kick off the deals online Nov. 4, with new deals in stores on Nov. 7. The second event will begin online Nov. 11, followed by a similar sales event in stores Nov. 14. It will wrap up its discounts online Nov. 25 with new discounts in stores Nov. 27, the day after Thanksgiving and the traditional Black Friday. This holiday season, many stores are starting their holiday deals in October.

Pandemic pushes start of holiday shopping earlier than ever

(AP Photo/David Zalubowski)NEW YORK – Add last-minute holiday shopping to the list of time-honored traditions being upended by the coronavirus pandemic. Black Friday has long been the unofficial start to the U.S. holiday season, though retailers have been pushing holiday shopping earlier for the last decade or so. The first big holiday push will come from Amazon, which is positioning its mid-October Prime Day as a kickoff to the holiday shopping season. Even with the early start to the season, holiday sales are expected to deliver smaller gains than in recent years. Joel Bines, who runs the retail practice at AlixPartners, thinks the earlier shopping will stick even when the pandemic is over.

Target joins Walmart in ending Thanksgiving store shopping

NEW YORK Target is joining Walmart in closing its stores on Thanksgiving Day, ending a decadelong tradition of jump-starting Black Friday door buster sales. Now, the virus has turned the holiday shopping model upside down. Historically, deal hunting and holiday shopping can mean crowded events, and this isnt a year for crowds, Minneapolis-based Target said in a corporate blog posted. Despite competition from Thanksgiving shopping, Black Friday ranks as either the top or No. Like Target, other retailers will also likely start holiday sales even earlier to stretch out crowds.

Coronavirus might mean less Corona beer on Cinco de Mayo

But we’re referring to Corona beer and Cinco de Mayo. Typically, the dominant choice of beer for those celebrating Cinco de Mayo is Corona. But Corona likely will be consumed way less than usual due to the coronavirus pandemic, that is unrelated in name. In February, a report in the Denver Post said Corona was taking a public relations hit due to people fearing they would get coronavirus by drinking Corona. Cinco de Mayo has surpassed St. Patrick’s Day and the Super Bowl for beer consumption on one day, with Corona virtually holding a monopoly on advertising and sales for beer on Cinco de Mayo, according to Loop Insights.

Merry “Clickmas”: Black Friday online sales hit record $7.4 billion

This year’s Black Friday was the biggest ever for online sales, as fewer people hit the stores and shoppers rang up $7.4 billion in transactions from their phones, computers and tablets. That’s just behind the $7.9 billion haul of last year’s Cyber Monday, which holds the one-day record for online sales, according to Adobe Analytics. Adobe expects online sales to jump to another record this Cyber Monday with an estimated total of $9.4 billion. Much of the shopping is happening on people’s phones, which accounted for 39% of all online sales Friday and 61% of online traffic. All the online shopping may have helped thin the crowd at malls on Black Friday.

TVs hot item many people in search of as Black Friday shopping begins

He was one of about two dozen people in line around 4 p.m.“I need to get a Playstation. I know there’s good deals on televisions,” Hayth said. By the time Target opened at 5 p.m., the line to get in stretched down to the Petco. “We’ve got to get three giant teddy bears," said Alicia Talbott as she waited in line. According to the National Retail Federation, 114.9 million people are expected to shop on Black Friday in 2019.

Target hiring 130,000 temp workers for holidays

Target said Tuesday that it would hire more than 130,000 temporary workers for its stores and distribution centers. UPS also announced plans Monday to hire around 100,000 holiday workers, roughly the same number as last year. And Amazon said it would announce its holiday hiring plans in the coming weeks. Target will pay $13 an hour to seasonal workers for the first time and offer them discounts at stores. The escalating trade war and the growing possibility of a recession have not changed retailers' hiring plans.

Walmart removes 1,000 3rd-party items from website after shootings

- Walmart has removed about 1,000 third-party items from its website in the wake of two mass shootings after determining the products violate company policy, a company spokesperson told CNN. A recent review focused on gun-related items after 31 people were killed in mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, earlier this month. Last week, Walmart pulled displays of violent video games in its stores. At least 31 people were killed in separate shootings earlier this month in an El Paso Walmart and outside a strip of entertainment venues in Dayton. The 21-year-old suspect in the El Paso shooting surrendered to police on the day of the attack.

7 questions you were too embarrassed to ask about Prime Day

If years past have been any indication, there will be a LOT of hype about Prime Day. Every year it seems to be a little different, but Prime Day is typically bigger and better each year, and its held in mid-July. Prime Music, Prime Reading, Prime Book Box if you have kids -- we just found out about this while researching this article and signed up immediately. Wait, Prime DAY or Prime Days? Why do I keep hearing about Prime Day launches?For a limited time, new products will be released just to Prime members.