Today is “Cyber Monday”—a designation originating a few years ago when consumers returning after Thanksgiving to their speedy work computers caused a huge spike in online holiday sales.
Actually, according to Duquesne University Marketing Professor Audrey Guskey, online shopping will be pretty steady from now on, but the busiest days will be from December 5th through the 14th, when there's still plenty of time to receive delivery before Christmas. And "Black Friday" is not usually the biggest day for traditional retailers--instead, the Saturday and Sunday before Christmas see the highest sales volumes.
Guskey says more than half of online retailers expect their holiday numbers to be up at least 15% this year—the one bright spot in a landscape where brick and mortar sales are expected to be either flat or slightly down.
Even with the huge growth in e-commerce, Guskey says it’s only 8% of holiday sales—most shopping is still done in stores where decorations, music and crowds contribute to the holiday mood.
Showing posts with label Business. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Business. Show all posts
Monday, November 30, 2009
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Survey says CVS Pharmacies in 9 States Sell Expired Products
Surveyors affiliated with Change to Win recently visited 310 CVS Pharmacies in nine states, and found that almost 60 percent of those stores were selling expired items, including milk, allergy medicine and products for infants and children. In the Pittsburgh region, 20 out of 30 CVS stores had found this problem.
Ken Love, Pastor of Kerr Presbyterian Church in Penn Hills, spoke at a downtown protest in front of the Smithfield Street CVS store. He finds the news to be appalling. He says this issue is something the public needs to know about, and he wants the Allegheny County Health Department to do something about it. Some stores, like the Smithfield Street location, have more of this issue than stores in Upper Saint Clair or Mt. Lebanon. There is a trend that more of these products sold after the expiration dates occur in poorer neighborhoods, and Love says he blames corporate greed.
It's important that pharmacies sell up-to-date products, because over time, medications can lose potency after an expiration date, or sometimes gain potency, says Hal Sanders, of the Western Pennsylvania Single-Payer Health Care organization. It is a hazard for consumers.
Nettie Pelton was personally affected by the situation. She says she bought an allergy product at the downtown pharmacy a few weeks ago, and it had been stamped months past its expiration date. The product was not as strong as it should of been, and she now keeps an eye out for such issues.
Calls made to the CVS District Manager in Pittsburgh have not been returned.
Ken Love, Pastor of Kerr Presbyterian Church in Penn Hills, spoke at a downtown protest in front of the Smithfield Street CVS store. He finds the news to be appalling. He says this issue is something the public needs to know about, and he wants the Allegheny County Health Department to do something about it. Some stores, like the Smithfield Street location, have more of this issue than stores in Upper Saint Clair or Mt. Lebanon. There is a trend that more of these products sold after the expiration dates occur in poorer neighborhoods, and Love says he blames corporate greed.
It's important that pharmacies sell up-to-date products, because over time, medications can lose potency after an expiration date, or sometimes gain potency, says Hal Sanders, of the Western Pennsylvania Single-Payer Health Care organization. It is a hazard for consumers.
Nettie Pelton was personally affected by the situation. She says she bought an allergy product at the downtown pharmacy a few weeks ago, and it had been stamped months past its expiration date. The product was not as strong as it should of been, and she now keeps an eye out for such issues.
Calls made to the CVS District Manager in Pittsburgh have not been returned.
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