SHOPPING

As you're shopping this holiday season, you can count on being asked this question at least one: "Do you want the extended warranty?" We're finding out if you should purchase or pass.

In a world where retail rules, Christmas continues to creep up year after year.

Alice Thompson was awarded £185,000 after being told she could not work shorter hours to pick up her child.

We somehow made it to August, which means it’s back-to-school time for students and teachers everywhere.

Y'all, the next best thing to Christmas is quickly approaching: Amazon Prime Day 2021.

Is your dad more sporty, more outdoorsy, more artistic or something else entirely?

LYNCHBURG, Va. – There’s a new store coming to River Ridge in Lynchburg. Carter Bates is the latest retailer opening during the shopping destination’s redevelopment. The store has served the Hill City for more than 25 years although it was previously located in the Candlers Station Shopping Center. “Carter Bates carries upscale and unique fashion and accessories. They carry a lot of fantastic brands such as Brighton and Tommy Bahama -- so women’s apparel, accessories, shoes, handbags; a lot of great items,” said Katie Farris, marketing manager for River Ridge.

ROANOKE, Va. – Love shopping and dining in downtown Roanoke? You’ll soon be able to double your money with a gift card incentive program from Downtown Roanoke Inc. Starting Wednesday at 8 a.m., if you buy a $25 Downtown Roanoke Gift Card, you’ll receive a bonus $25 gift certificate to spend at 51 participating restaurants and shops. The promotion is an effort to help businesses during slower months that are already suffering because of the pandemic. Below is a list of where the gift cards and gift certificates can be redeemed:Retail:310 Rosemont - 312 Market StArtsy June- 209 Market StreetAzar Jewelry & Estate Sales - 32 Market SqBitterSweet Boutique - 307 Market St SEBook No Further - 112 Market St.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The North Carolina-based department store chain Belk says it will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The Charlotte Observer reports that private equity firm Sycamore Partners made the announcement on Tuesday. The firm owns Belk and says it will continue with “normal operations” as it goes through bankruptcy. Sycamore Partners says it expects to emerge from bankruptcy by the end of February. Belk has more than 20,000 employees at its nearly 300 stores in 16 Southeastern states.

Area small businesses are also feeling the pressure because while ordering from their websites is as easy as Amazon, they don’t have thousands of people working with dedicated shipping channels like national retailers do. “They’re going back to check their tracking. They want their package and it literally still says that it’s sitting at my house and it’s not,” Vaughn said. Vaughn has been accused of fraud, threatened with bad reviews, and plagued with customers who say their packages never showed. Vaughn insures her packages, but said customers don’t want to deal with the post office, they expect her to fix it.

Shopping online has always been popular, and add in an unruly pandemic and it’s become the most convenient way to get things done these days, and there’s an unexpected player in cyber retail: local business. Now more than ever, the call to shop local is more important than ever, and if you didn’t know, a lot of local businesses are offering online ordering -- and most places will ship things right to your door. Book No Further in Roanoke, an independent book store, is one local business that has thrived at selling online, despite competing with powerhouses such as Amazon. That’s what is so great about buying from an independent book store -- the entire experience is personal. “You can only get that kind of service from independent book stores,” Vest said.

That’s according to Michelle Aznavorian, who owns Mayberry Furniture and Antique Mall and A Shade Brighter Art and Furniture Outlet. But if you’re native to Virginia, you know just how welcoming Downtown Moneta can be. Just take a look at the aforementioned Mayberry Furniture and Antique Mall and A Shade Brighter Art and Furniture Outlet, for examples. Let’s start with Mayberry Furniture and Antique Mall first. Supporting small businesses is always important, but now more than ever, these one-of-a-kind stores in Downtown Moneta deserve all the attention this holiday season.

Amazon Prime Days are here, and as the author of this story, I have to tell you: I did a LOT more online purchasing than I planned on, just while sitting around my house in quarantine last year.

ROANOKE, Va. – With corporate giants dominating online holiday sales, small local businesses are relying on shoppers’ dollars this holiday season to stay afloat. After 38 years of business, this year started off slow for Laura Duckworth, co-owner of Gift Niche in downtown Roanoke. Duckworth said sales normally trickle in at the start of October, but December’s sales alone help support her business till at least March. And other business owners seem to be in the same boat. I just take it day by day.”But to the business owners who are looking for a light at the end of the tunnel, Dale said keep pushing forward.

Starting Saturday, Walmart began counting customers who enter and exit the store “out of an abundance of caution,” the retail giant says. Back in April, Walmart started restricting the number of people inside its stores to not exceed five customers per 1,000 square feet or about 20% of a store’s capacity, according to CNBC. However, the retailer reportedly stopped physically counting people as they came inside and left. As of Monday, more than 68,500 people are hospitalized with COVID-19 across the country, more than at any other point during the pandemic, according to the COVID Tracking Project.

Bed Bath & Beyond is cutting back on its coupon mailers. The company says they aren’t going away completely, but in a bid to boost profits and be more competitive on pricing with competitors, the company is planning to scale back. Bed Bath and Beyond says it has seen more than one million new customers this year, in large part due to the pandemic. It said those new customers skew younger, on average, and are 20% less likely to use a coupon.

You can get them all on Amazon, and since it’s Prime Day, why not treat yourself to something special for your kitchen? Instant Pots are insanely popular, so if you already have one, you know just how versatile this kitchen appliance can be. It’s really great for steaming veggies, too. Really nice Dutch ovens can get really expensive, but this one on Amazon is a reasonable price, and it’s a great quality. Having both of these items in your kitchen will be great additions.

Y’all, the next best thing to Christmas is quickly approaching: Amazon Prime Day 2020. You can already start “watching” items you’d like to get an alert on, whenever they go on sale on Amazon Prime Day. In the app or on the website, when you look up an item, check for the Prime Day badge, which means it’s a Prime Day Deal. Amazon Prime Day 2020 notification directions. Now you, my friend, are full of knowledge and power to take on Amazon Prime Day 2020.

ROANOKE, Va. Count Kohls among the nationwide retailers who will not be open this Thanksgiving. The retail giant made the announcement on Wednesday, with CEO Michelle Gass saying, The holiday season is when Kohls shines brightest, and as we move into the holiday season of this very unusual year, we are adapting our plans in response to changing customer expectations and behaviors.We are deeply appreciative of how our team of Kohls associates have shown up to serve our customers through this pandemic and know that they will continue to show Kohls at our best throughout the holidays, continued Gass. Kohls said it made the decision given the importance of safety and convenience. Other retailers who will not be open on Thanksgiving Day include Best Buy, Dicks Sporting Goods, Target and Walmart. Best Buy announced its plan earlier on Wednesday.

LYNCHBURG, Va. – Monkee’s of Lynchburg will close for good at the end of June. In an Instagram post, the company wrote the Lynchburg location didn’t bring in enough business to justify an operation. According to the the store’s website, Monkee’s of Lynchburg, which is in the Boonsboro Shopping Center, is the fourth location in Virginia and the 27th in the country.

DANVILLE, Va. – Shoppers will soon have one less option at the Danville Mall. JCPenney announced it is closing the Danville location. The location inside Danville Mall is one of the 154 JCPenney stores closing down in the near future. It’s not clear yet when the Danville store will close. For a full list of JCPenney store closings, click here.

ROANOKE, Va. – At 11 a.m. Friday, Valley View Mall will open for the first time since March 25. Mall management announced Tuesday that the mall will be open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday. The announcement did state that individual store hours and restaurant operations may vary. While the mall is opening, there will be noticeable changes for mall goers. Below are some of those changes:

ROANOKE, Va. – As more people are staying home and practicing social distancing, the task of getting groceries is becoming increasingly challenging. Consumer Reports senior editor Tobie Stanger blames poor supply-chain planning for some of the difficulties. While some grocery workers may be at home sick or caring for others, delivery services are also gaining more customers so all around, it’s been hard for them to keep up. You can also find groceries and toiletries at places that aren’t supermarkets, like CVS or Lowe’s. If you prefer to use grocery delivery or pickup Stanger has some special tips for that as well.

We get that there are much bigger problems in the world, but we couldn’t help but laugh at some of these hilarious posts people are making about how much they’re missing Target. If you’re a Target lover, we feel confident you will enjoy these posts just as much as we do. — Rory (@rcdaly95) March 31, 2020I had a dream that I went to target & woke up thinking my dream was real. Now I'm upset #imisstarget — KCB (@kaseytheginge) October 31, 2014I miss the days of wandering aimlessly through the aisles of Target. #TARGET pic.twitter.com/KuPF3EAblD — jess (@jess_arabie) April 3, 2020Getting dressed up to go to #Target cause that’s one of the only places I’m allowed to go in this free world.

ROANOKE, Va. – As soon as The Fresh Market opened Thursday, senior shoppers like Mike Nolin and Debby Kingsbury headed in to get their groceries. A sign on the Roanoke grocery store doors asks people to dedicate 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. every day to senior shopping, but that didn’t stop some younger shoppers from getting what they needed. That makes it even nicer when the stores, like The Fresh Market here, can open up for that population,” said Nolin. Also like Nolin and Kingsbury, the coronavirus is on her mind when she goes out in public. Other stores have also jumped on the senior shopping hour bandwagon:

One of our favorite TV deals yet ... also from Target. You might even be able to get deals up to 70% off on select items (plus free shipping). At Levi’s, the company is offering 40% off full-priced items and an extra 50% off on sale items, plus free shipping when you enter CYBER. Forbes put out a handy list of the best Cyber Monday deals, which included this great find. We could round up TV deals all day.

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.

ROANOKE, Va. – Free downtown parking during the holidays returns to the Star City on Wednesday. Downtown Roanoke, Inc. is bringing back its validation program, Park DRI, through Dec. 18. The free parking is valid for four garages in downtown Roanoke. "We really want to get people down here to do their holiday shopping. It just makes it a little bit easier for people to get down here and get a spot and go shop," said Jaime Clark, marketing and communications manager for Downtown Roanoke, Inc.Click here to see which garages you’ll be able to park in for free.

After Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Giving Tuesday is here to encourage the holiday spirit of giving. Michelle Miller has more.