Shop domestic with confidence

16+ min ago (168+ words) Saturday, 29 Nov 2025 BERLIN, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- Some 3,000 Amazon warehouse employees across Germany staged coordinated walkouts on Black Friday, seeking to increase pressure on the company to agree to a collective wage agreement. The strike, organized by the trade union Verdi, targeted one of the busiest online shopping days of the year, when Amazon traditionally records some of its highest sales. Work stoppages hit some major fulfilment centers, including those in the cities of Bad Hersfeld, Dortmund, Frankenthal, Graben, and Koblenz. Verdi argues that Amazon should align wages with standard pay levels in the German retail sector. Silke Zimmer, a member of Verdi's national executive board, said workers were under constant strain. "For our colleagues, every day feels like Black Friday due to work intensification and arbitrary pay practices," she said. Amazon said the strike would not significantly affect customer orders, noting…...

18+ min ago (276+ words) A thirteen-year tradition of shopping the day after Thanksgiving officially opened in Midtown Friday morning with its pop-up shops. Small businesses of all kinds became a collective for shoppers to sift through items of all kinds. The one thing missing is the Black Friday sale that many are used to experiencing. In mid-April, the Trump administration threatened tariffs as high as 180 percent on Chinese imports. While the rates from China shifted to 20 percent, shop owners are feeling the effects of tariffs on imports from many places. "We've paid tariffs of a couple hundred dollars for a shipment," said Shop Good owner Justin Falk. "One of our biggest Christmas orders, we paid $842 in shipping to get it here. We also paid $847 in additional tariffs that we have two separate charges," added Plenty Mercantile owner Brittney Matlock. Matlock said she feels shoppers…...

24+ min ago (125+ words) SAN JOSE, California -- Police in California evacuated a shopping mall Friday, one of the busiest shopping days of the year, after a shooting left two people with gunshot wounds. The shooting was an isolated incident, the San Jose Police Department said on the social platform X. Officers evacuated and cleared Valley Fair Mall in Santa Clara to confirm there was no threat to public safety. The wounded were taken to a hospital, police said. San Jose and Santa Clara are neighboring cities about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of San Francisco. The day after Thanksgiving, known in the retail industry as " Black Friday," marks the official start of the holiday shopping season in the U.S. and is the biggest shopping day of the year....

27+ min ago (234+ words) SAN ANTONIO " It's the holiday season, but will it be easy to find savings on shopping this year? The National Retail Federation expects Americans to break a record this holiday season, projecting shoppers to spend more than $1 trillion. But two San Antonio professors say there's more to this shopping story. David Vequist, a professor of management at the University of the Incarnate Word, told KSAT that while more people will spend money this season, he predicts each person's individual spending likely will be less overall. "The real story is that inflation has picked up the prices of many items, so therefore the actual spending is less," Vequist said. "We've experienced nearly four years of inflation." Wondering why prices for certain products are high this year? Vequist said inflation and tariffs are at the top of the list. In San Antonio,…...

29+ min ago (325+ words) Black Friday 2025 is officially underway " and this year's deals aren't just about tech gadgets, beauty products or sneakers. Streaming services have joined the fray with steep discounts, bundling offers and price cuts designed to tempt viewers just ahead of the holiday season. Many of these offers remain live through to Cyber Monday (December 1). Some of the biggest savings are coming from the usual suspects: Disney+, Hulu, HBO Max (now rebranded simply as Max in many markets), Apple TV+ and others. According to recent deal round-ups, the Disney+ + Hulu bundle (with ads) is discounted to $4.99/month for 12 months " roughly 62 % off the standard price. For those seeking prestige programming, HBO Max's ad-supported plan has dropped to just $2.99/month for 12 months. Meanwhile, Apple TV+ is offering a six-month subscription at $5.99/month " roughly half its usual price " for new or eligible returning customers. Other…...

33+ min ago (136+ words) Black Friday Online Sales Hit $8.6 Billion, Says Adobe Analytics U.S. shoppers spent $8.6 billion online on Black Friday, an Adobe Analytics report showed, as more consumers turned to laptops and phones instead of braving brisk weather to snap up deals during the holiday shopping weekend. Online spending rose 9.4 percent through 6:30 p.m. ET on Black Friday compared with last year, according to Adobe Inc's data and insights arm, which vets e-commerce transactions, covering more than 1 trillion visits to U.S. retail sites. Peruvian Court Sentences Former President Castillo to Over 11 Years in Prison for Rebellion Flights to Philadelphia International Resume After Brief Ground Stop Over Bomb Threat What Are Shoppers Looking for This Black Friday? US Thanksgiving Online Sales Expected to Rise 6 Percent, Salesforce Data Shows...

33+ min ago (136+ words) Black Friday Online Sales Hit $8.6 Billion, Says Adobe Analytics U.S. shoppers spent $8.6 billion online on Black Friday, an Adobe Analytics report showed, as more consumers turned to laptops and phones instead of braving brisk weather to snap up deals during the holiday shopping weekend. Online spending rose 9.4 percent through 6:30 p.m. ET on Black Friday compared with last year, according to Adobe Inc's data and insights arm, which vets e-commerce transactions, covering more than 1 trillion visits to U.S. retail sites. Peruvian Court Sentences Former President Castillo to Over 11 Years in Prison for Rebellion Flights to Philadelphia International Resume After Brief Ground Stop Over Bomb Threat What Are Shoppers Looking for This Black Friday? US Thanksgiving Online Sales Expected to Rise 6 Percent, Salesforce Data Shows...

40+ min ago (295+ words) It's "beautiful" on the outside and "useful" on the inside. As a shopping writer who's also all about saving money, nothing makes my day more than finding an affordable alternative for something I was eyeing." My newest find? This Italian leather bag from Quince is nearly identical to this Milaner bag'but a whopping 72 percent cheaper. The bag comes in more colors than the designer version, including a burgundy shade that's perfect for fall, and it can be worn two different ways, as it includes a shoulder handle and an adjustable crossbody strap." The large version of the bag comes in five colors'brown, white, black, taupe, and merlot red'while the smaller size is available in four shades. Its woven design and gold-colored accents add texture and elevated touches to both dressy and everyday outfits. Plus, it's easy to clean: Just wipe…...

40+ min ago (46+ words) Maryland residents flocked to the biggest mall in the state for Black Friday shopping. More than 80 people killed in campaign that law-of-war experts have labeled extrajudicial murder Ford founder ... Maryland residents flocked to the biggest mall in the state for Black Friday shopping....

42+ min ago (445+ words) Amazon.com Inc.s AI-infused Rufus shopping assistant has new features that make it a "faster, more useful, state-of-the-art shopping companion." Googles agentic checkout feature "can do the heavy lifting to help you get the perfect item without blowing your budget." OpenAI unveiled a free ChatGPT tool it says can generate a personalized gift-buying guide. McKinsey could be right, but for the time being, agentic commerce is in an awkward experimental phase, with companies struggling to solve various technical challenges and negotiate partnerships even as they push out a variety of tools and features to see what works and what doesnt. "There are a lot of really big bets being made right now that consumers want to shop differently and that chat is the way they want to start shopping," said Emily Pfeiffer, an analyst at Forrester Research Inc. "I…...