Shopping

Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the holiday season have become prime targets for cybercriminals in recent years, as online retailers make it a global phenomenon that is no longer a one-day only event. As we approach this time of the year, cybercriminals will be looking to take advantage of the millions of shoppers who will take to the internet in search of the best deals.

This holiday season, more people than ever before, will shop online in the interest of public safety due to COVID-19, some of whom will have little to no previous experience navigating online shopping and almost no internet security knowledge.

Companies that connect employee experiences with customer experiences improve both, with dramatic boosts in revenue growth and customer satisfaction according to a new study.

The research conducted by Forrester Consulting for Lucidworks finds most brands put personalization and omnichannel capabilities at the top of their enterprise-level priority list. however, two-thirds of respondents report an inability to consistently service customers across touchpoints and personalize those experiences.

A new threat intelligence report from Imperva Research Labs looks at the varying cybersecurity attack risks facing the retail industry.

The findings suggest peak levels of traffic will be seen throughout the holiday shopping season as large numbers of consumers turn to online channels to purchase goods. Shortly after stay-at-home orders were issued, web traffic to retail sites spiked by as much as 28 percent over the weekly average.

I am currently testing the TCL 10 5G UW smartphone, and it is absolutely unreal how great it is for only $400. Not only do you get a huge 6.53-inch FHD+ display, but a Snapdragon 765 processor, 6GB RAM, 128GB storage (plus microSD slot), and an impressive 4500 mAh battery.

The phone comes pre-loaded with Android 10, but TCL promises an upgrade to Android 11 too. Hell, it even has a 3.5mm headphone jack. And yes, the cameras take excellent photos. This is seriously a lot of value for such a paltry price -- especially since it is compatible with Verizon's super-fast 5G UW network.

Apple's new Mac computers have changed everything. These machines are powered by the company's own ARM-based "Apple Silicon" processor called "M1" instead of Intel's chips. You know what? The M1 is delighting both consumers and professional reviewers thanks to the excellent battery life and impressive performance. It's really exciting stuff, folks.

There are two new Mac laptops that are powered by the Apple M1 processor -- the MacBook Air and the 13-inch MacBook Pro. The Mac mini is the only desktop powered by the M1, and thanks to its lack of a display, it is incredibly affordable. Just how much is the new Mac mini? Well, it starts at only $699.

If you've ever tried to order a recently released tech product, like a new game console or the latest hot graphics card only to find it's sold out, you've no doubt felt frustrated. It's even more frustrating when the product then appears on secondary market sites at many times the original price.

What you're seeing here is probably the action of automated shopping bots that scoop up products for resale at a profit. Is this a form of cyber attack or is it just rather shady commercial activity? We spoke to Ameya Talwalker, co-founder of Cequence Security, to find out more about the behavior of these bots and what can be done to curb their activity.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.