Articles about Shopping

Online shopping has been enjoying something of a boom thanks to the pandemic, but a new report indicates that not all retailer sites are as good as they could be.

In a test of the websites of over 250 UK online retailers, Edge Testing Solutions looked at factors including, load time, navigation tools, image quality and broken links.

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Just because people can't go out to stores doesn't mean they've stopped buying things and a new study by app marketing specialist Liftoff and fraud prevention firm Adjust shows a boom in mobile shopping apps.

Engagement has surged 40 percent, with 14.7 percent purchase rates compared to last year's 10.5 percent. Looking at data over the past two years and the trend is even more apparent, with purchase engagement up a huge 110 percent.

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Well, folks, Christmas 2019 is now in the rear view mirror. Hopefully you and your family had a wonderful holiday. Following Christmas, there is one big important tradition -- Amazon's bragging! Yes, every year, the online retailer loves to brag about its successful holiday shopping sales. They are always the best ever, of course, and this year, things are no different.

Yup, Amazon is claiming that it had record-breaking sales during the 2019 holiday shopping season. While the company doesn't share actual sales numbers, I actually don't doubt its claims. This year, when I went to brick-and-mortar stores on Black Friday (and the days after), the stores were clearly experiencing a huge drop in foot traffic. In other words, Amazon has seemingly continued its trend of cannibalizing traditional retailers, but this year, it seemed much more dramatic. Hell, I ended up doing 90 percent of my own Christmas shopping on Amazon and I don't even have Prime!

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Walmart stores are fairly ubiquitous in the USA. The retailer sells pretty much everything too. For instance, in one outing, you can buy tires, a gallon of milk, and a pair of shoes. Are the stores the most clean or well organized? No, not at all. In fact, a trip to Walmart can feel like a journey to hell, but overall, they provide a passable shopping experience.

Believe it or not, some people do their food shopping at Walmart too, as many of the stores have full grocery sections, including fresh produce. While in Florida on vacation earlier this year, I even encountered a dedicated Walmart grocery store --- it only sold food. Walmart even lets you do your grocery shopping online (pickup or delivery), including by voice, thanks to its Voice Order feature. To make this feature better, Walmart has now added Siri support. Yes, you can use the voice assistant on your Apple device to add items to your online Walmart grocery cart.

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The much-maligned Dash button from Amazon is being killed off for good. Having previously announced that they were being discontinued, Amazon has announced that as of the end of this month, it will no longer be possible to place orders via a physical Dash button.

This does not mean that the Dash ordering service is ceasing completely -- it will continue to exist in the form of virtual Dash button that can be accessed from a range of devices.

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Once you sign up for Amazon Prime, it's hard to imagine how you ever lived without it. Well... that might be a slight exaggeration, but it's easy to fall in love with the service. Now Amazon is giving would-be subscribers another reason to sign up, and an added bonus for those who already have.

Amazon Day is a US-only service -- for now, at least -- that gives subscribers the option of consolidating all of their deliveries for the week on a day of their choice.

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Thanksgiving is Thursday next week, and yeah, it is a nice holiday. If you are a computer nerd or technology enthusiast, however, the following day -- known as Black Friday -- is far superior to "Turkey Day." On Friday, there will be many great discounts on tech products, including computers, components, accessories, and more.

Newegg has long been a favorite store of in-the-know system builders, and as usual, the website will once again have Black Friday deals this year. Well, calling it Black Friday is a bit of a misnomer, as this year, the special sales begin on Monday the 19th. Yes, Newegg is getting a huge jump. Best of all, the company's discounts have already hit the web, allowing you to come up with a game plan in advance.

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Thanksgiving is coming, which makes me rather happy. I love catching up with family while chowing down on turkey, stuffing, and the like. After the big meal, I like to go through the paper advertisements for stores such as Target, Best Buy, and Kohl's to find the best deals. Then, that night at midnight, I leave the house to score some things I want for Black Friday! In the digital age, this sort of outdated -- I can just as easily shop online, but I cherish the experience. It's fun.

Microsoft has been making quite a mess of things with buggy Windows 10 updates and failing to put USB-C on its latest Surface Laptop 2 computer, but understandably, some of y'all still want/need a Windows PC. If you need a new computer, Xbox, or other tech-related product, Microsoft has finally revealed Black Friday 2018 sales. These are not just deals from Microsoft's own store, but on Windows 10 PCs found at other retailers too.

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Earlier this year, I was on the fence about renewing my Amazon Prime account. Don't get me wrong, it's a great value, but I have been on a quest to save money. Then life happened, and I totally forgot about the upcoming Prime decision. In August, the service auto-renewed, and rather than fight for a refund, I decided to just keep it. Why? Well, besides enjoying the streaming video service, I love the "free" shipping aspect. I justified it by telling myself that with the holidays soon approaching, I would be thankful to have Prime for gift buying.

Well, today I feel sort of like a fool. You see, Amazon announces that all shoppers will get free shipping with no minimum dollar amount required. In other words, one of the biggest perks of Prime service -- not needing to spend at least $25 for free shipping -- is just being given away to all.

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Over the years, the way we interact with the world around us has changed considerably. Where once analog and physical interactions ruled, now we value digital, virtual and simulated experiences -- some of which bridge the gap between these worlds.

For example, buying goods online or through a mobile app and then picking them up at a local store is a cross-platform experience for the modern age.

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After years of pleading from its customers, Amazon is finally making it possible to collaborate on lists on the site.

While it has long been possible to share a personal list with friends and family, the ability to allow other people access has remained a distant dream -- aside from the event-specific Wedding Registry feature. At long last, people are now able to contribute to a shared list for any sort of event.

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For the fashion conscious, the change in seasons usually follows a change in wardrobe and when it comes to upgrading a wardrobe, everyone has different requirements.

But, there are people who avoid retail at all costs, shopping on the internet and ordering everything to their home. You can go one step further as many high street retails have sophisticated apps which make online clothes shopping a pleasant experience. We’ve picked three of the best.

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We are right in the middle of the holiday shopping season. If you haven’t yet started buying Christmas gifts for friends and family, you should probably start soon. After all, you don’t want to be stuck on long lines because you waited until the last minute, right?

If you are stumped regarding what present to get for that technology enthusiast in your life, Logitech is hoping to inspire you. You see, today, the company launches three new bundles built around its popular Circle 2 Wi-Fi camera. Even better, the bundles will get big discounts starting this Sunday.

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Amazon is gearing up for Thanksgiving and Christmas with a new discount scheme. The online retailer has introduced a new "Discount provided by Amazon" tag, discounting independent merchants' prices -- at its own cost -- by up to 9 percent.

This is the first time Amazon has taken control of third party pricing, and in shouldering the cost itself the company is helping to ensure competitive pricing across the board, keeping customers on the site.

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A picture, they say, is worth a thousand words. When you're searching for something on eBay, it can be hard to find quite the right turn of phrase to track down precisely what it is you mean. To help overcome this problem, eBay has now launched a new Image Search option.

The feature lets you take a photograph of an object -- or upload an image they already have --and use it to search for similar items that are for sale. This is just one of two new tools that eBay has launched to make it easier to find exactly what you're looking for without having to think about how a seller might have described it.

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