Internet Shop Girl

For owners of iPod Touch and the iPhone, the Coupon Sherpa should be one application to have. Use this to find coupons at any store you may find yourself in. There are over 100 stores supported for this feature, and the number is still increasing.

How does the Sherpa work? Follow the instructions after the cut…

Incidentally, the application is available for free download until April 24. But otherwise, you can get Coupon Sherpa at $1.99 once the promo is over.

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Online shopping giant, Amazon.Com has just launched its Game Downloads section early this week. The site is offering about 600 titles each downloadable at $10 per game.

According to its Vice President of Video Games and Software, Greg Hart, the new service would benefit a lot of their customers, as the site offers a safer alternative to downloading, while consistently providing the same quality service and convenience to its loyal clientele.

Developers may also display their wares on the site, so the service work both ways.

Downloading a game will allow the user to test it for a full thirty minutes or so, before deciding if they want to get the full version or simply pass up.

As this is just the launched, full versions of games like Jewel Quest II, The Scruffs, an Built-A-Lot  may be downloaded free of charge for a limited period.

The game selections aren’t popular titles, by the way, but casual games. According to Greg Hart, “Casual Games are a natural fit with our demographic. We have 88 million active customers who can appreciate the convenience of the true amazon shopping experience combined with the casual games experience.”

Eventually the game downloads section should widen its scope and may begin offering mainstream and popular titles in the future.

Everyone is feeling the crunch. Times are indeed hard especially for those going into the business of retail. and according to this report in the Financial Times, retails sales has seen a decline last December, even if it was the holiday shopping season. Compared to last year, sales we off 9.8%. The decline was more than what economists have expected and because of this, there is a predicted 1.2% fall in the coming months following.

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To celebrate the cartoon’s 10th year, Simmons Jewelry Co. is coming out with a 12-carat diamond encrusted, limited edition Spongebob Squarepants pendant. This will be set on display at Park City, Utah when the 2009 Film Festival even opens there later this month. After which, the pendant will be auctioned off at the Diamond Empowerment Fund.

The full press release after the cut…

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Last month, Amazon.com introduced their newest packaging system, when it sent out this letter to all of their online customers.

This move is now being followed by other online sites like Best Buy and Sony Microsoft. They, too, are gearing up for a more user-friendly, environmentally-sound packaging.

In fact, this video release will show how much committed they are to this new cause.

I for one am very pleased to know this. Most online shoppers are aware of how rigid unwrapping packages are, especially gadgets.

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I can honestly say shopping for gifts is not at all fun this year. And I know a few friends who have been foregoing gift shopping and haven’t been completing their Christmas list yet. The stores in the mall aren’t also as crowded as before. It’s just hard for everybody, I suppose. No one is on a shopping mood and that’s hard to understand for most women who make shopping their therapy.

As a result, many stores are either closing down or are going the extra mile just to encourage shoppers to spend on their merchandise.

But according to this article from WWD, the men’s department doesn’t seem to have this problem. In fact, out of all the other merchandise in stores today, it’s the one thing that’s actually picking up in sales.

• Men’s wear is a surprising holiday performer — relatively speaking, at least. While men’s may not be the savior retailers need to salvage the dismal season, it’s managing to outperform other merchandise categories for most large stores. “It’s less worse by half,” noted David Fisher, executive vice president and general merchandise manager of men’s wear for Bloomingdale’s. The relative strength of men’s apparel is an aberration that has come as a surprise to most merchants. In past economic downturns, men’s has traditionally been the first purchase consumers delay. And with the recession decimating the male-oriented financial sector — through October, 130,000 financial jobs had been eliminated this year, according to CNNMoney.com — it would be logical to assume men’s wear would take a major hit. But instead, stores report that men’s is holding its own, although the sector, like most this season, has been highly promotional. Britt Beamer, founder and chairman of America’s Research Group, said men’s wear “essentials,” such as dress shirts, are doing well this season. “Consumers are in survival mode,” he said. Daniel Butler, vice president of retail operations for the National Retail Federation, said that during the holiday season, the reluctant male shopper finally hits the stores, giving men’s wear categories a boost. With business as sluggish as it has been this year, the uptick is more evident this time around, he believes.

Have men began to see shopping as therapy too?

Ikea’s 2009 pieces are already in their latest catalogue. You can download it here.

I’ve spent about an hour every day this week trying to pick up a few last-minute Christmas gifts.  While I love online shopping knowing a particular store’s shipping guidelines can be a bit aggravating to say the least. 

Just today, I visited five different stores.   One store will ensure Christmas delivery via standard shipping.  Another requires two-day air and another offers free "site-to-store" standard shipping rates but won’t guarantee on-time in-home delivery.

If you can relate (and if you are in a bit of a  gambling mood),  continue reading this article from Consumer Affairs.com that indicates that you’ll have a 39% chance of getting your Holiday gifts on-time if you order them by December 19th.

Shoppers who would rather buy online than fight crowds at the mall need to keep a close eye on the calendar — they have about a week left to shop online before retailers start scaling back shipping guarantees.

That’s according to the 2006 eHoliday Mood Study, conducted by BizRate Research for Shopzilla and Shop.org. The study 76 online retailers and found that the number of retailers who guarantee that standard shipping orders placed by December 18 or 19 will be delivered by Christmas Day (39%) nearly doubled from last year (19%), despite there being one less business day to ship merchandise this year due to Christmas falling on a Monday rather than a Sunday.

Continue Reading…

More Shopping Blogs:

• Kid’s Bargain Style
• Shoe Boxers
• Shopping Tips Online
• Style Fix

Alright, I’ll admit…even though I am absolutely anti-Black Friday the store ads are starting to get tempting.  I am constantly reminding myself…"be patient…Monday is coming soon".

Have you heard of Cyber Monday yet?  It is the online equivalent of Black Friday minus the cold parking lots, long lines and crowds. 

Many online retailers suggest that there is a spike in online purchases the Monday following Black Friday.  This is often attributed to people shopping online at work after the Holiday weekend…(shhh…don’t tell the boss!)  Thus, the marketing term, "Cyber Monday" was born.

While Cyber Monday may not be the busiest online shopping day of the year, online retailers are certainly trying to take advantage of the term’s growing popularity.   Online-only retailers like E-Toys.com, Amazon.com and Overstock.com are offering special discounts and free shipping on Cyber Monday. 

Other stores such as Target, Sears and Wal-Mart will have similar sales and specials.  Many of these offers are available at CyberMonday.com.

If you are extra patient (or just procrastinate like me) you will also be able to catch some great online deals the week of December 5th.  For many online retailers this is the last week that for buyers to have items shipped before the holidays so they announce numerous "last chance" offers.  

What do you think?  Does the early bird get the worm?  Or are you willing to wait a while for some last minute steals and deals?