A few months ago, we looked at the hardships facing the European olive oil industry as unpredictable weather led to poor harvests and diminishing supplies over the last year. Not only have olive oil prices risen across the globe as a result, but this production crisis has also given fraudsters a golden opportunity to exploit the lack of supply. For instance, this week authorities in Italy and Spain seized more than 68,000 gallons of olive oil that was deemed “unfit Continue reading
The annual sales bonanza known as Black Friday now lasts for much longer than 24 hours, beginning in the days before Thanksgiving and continuing on through Cyber Monday. And while a record number of American consumers turned out at stores to check out this year’s bargains, they didn’t exactly spend a lot of money. According to data from the National Retail Federation, an estimated 200.4 million people shopped over the five days after Thanksgiving, amounting to more than 60 percent Continue reading
Shoppers have two options when it comes to ringing up their items at the grocery store: pushing their cart to a cashier or opting for a self-checkout kiosk. The latter path became particularly popular during the pandemic when overwhelmed supermarkets sought to keep customers and employees at a distance. Store owners also figured that self-checkout stations would cut down on labor costs as shoppers did the scanning and bagging themselves. Walmart, for instance, retooled its cashier lanes to accommodate more Continue reading
Over the last few years, thousands of people have attempted to go viral on social media by eating an unbelievably hot tortilla chip. Branded the “One Chip Challenge” by the Austin-based company Paqui, the super spicy snack came packaged in a coffin-shaped box that dared eaters to wait as long as possible before drinking anything after ingestion. This led to countless videos online where people pleaded for water or shoveled ice cream into their mouths as a result of this Continue reading
America’s biggest retailers have often embraced product returns as a key aspect of their business, starting with J.C. Penney and his namesake company in the early 20th century. Allowing customers to return any product with no questions asked, other big companies like Walmart and Amazon would go on to follow his example in the years to come. “It’s a hallmark of successful American retail,” said Dale Rogers, business professor at Arizona State University. “If you make it easy to shop, Continue reading
Stroll by the tennis courts in your local park on a sunny day and you’re bound to see plenty of people swinging racquets, but some of them won’t be playing tennis. They’re taking part in the nation’s fastest growing sport: pickleball, a paddle game where players hit a hollow plastic ball back and forth over a net. Unlike tennis, pickleball requires little prior skill or innate athletic ability to enjoy, allowing it to amass an enormous following in a short Continue reading