Yiwu City in China is bustling with activity as it prepares for the Spring Festival, attracting shoppers from across the country to stock up on festive goods ahead of the major holiday celebration.

China's Yiwu City Gears Up for Spring Festival with Welcoming Shoppers

According to experts, inflation, supply chain crisis, and pandemic will impact the shoppers and retailers during the holiday period in the United States. This special broadcast of WION-VOA tells you about the impact of inflation on American shoppers and businesses.

Experts: Supply chain issues and online sales to impact retail in US

A supermarket chain in The Netherlands has come up with 'chat checkout'. These are checkout counters where cashiers also strike a conversation with the customers and help them beat loneliness. Palki Sharma tells why more countries should do something about loneliness, and talk about it.

Gravitas: In Netherlands, 'chat checkout' to help lonely shoppers

Amazon.com Inc said it is rolling out biometric technology at its&nbsp;Whole&nbsp;Foods&nbsp;stores around Seattle starting on Wednesday,&nbsp;letting&nbsp;shoppers&nbsp;pay&nbsp;for items with a scan of their&nbsp;palm.

The move shows how&nbsp;Amazon&nbsp;is bringing some of the technology already in use at its namesake brick-and-mortar, Go and Books stores to the grocery chain it acquired in 2017.

The system, called&nbsp;Amazon&nbsp;One,&nbsp;lets customers associate a credit card with their&nbsp;palm&nbsp;print. It offers a contact-less alternative to cash and card&nbsp;payments,&nbsp;Amazon&nbsp;said.

The deployment stops short of introducing&nbsp;Amazon's cashier-less technology at&nbsp;Whole&nbsp;Foods, which critics have said would result in job cuts.&nbsp;Amazon&nbsp;One still requires scanning items at checkout, and the company said it will not impact jobs at&nbsp;Whole&nbsp;Foods.

Amazon&nbsp;said its biometric technology will be live at a&nbsp;Whole&nbsp;Foods&nbsp;near its headquarters in Seattle on Wednesday and will expand to seven more stores in the metro area in coming months.

Amazon.com Inc said it is rolling out biometric technology at its Whole Foods stores around Seattle starting on Wednesday, letting shoppers pay for items with a scan of their palm.

Amazon.com Inc said it is rolling out biometric technology at its Whole Foods stores around Seattle starting on Wednesday, letting shoppers pay for items with a scan of their palm. The move shows how Amazon is bringing some of the technology already in use at its namesake brick-and-mortar, Go and Books stores to the grocery chain it acquired in 2017. The system, called Amazon One, lets customers associate a credit card with their palm print. It offers a contact-less alternative to cash and card payments, Amazon said. The deployment stops short of introducing Amazon's cashier-less technology at Whole Foods, which critics have said would result in job cuts. Amazon One still requires scanning items at checkout, and the company said it will not impact jobs at Whole Foods. Amazon said its biometric technology will be live at a Whole Foods near its headquarters in Seattle on Wednesday and will expand to seven more stores in the metro area in coming months.

Amazon to let Whole Foods shoppers pay with a swipe of their palm

The American shopping fest known as Black Friday lured more buyers this year but they spent less per person thanks to great bargains, an industry group said Sunday.

More than 154 million people made purchases during the four-day retail extravaganza that began Thursday on Thanksgiving, compared to 151 million last year, the National Retail Federation said.

Shoppers spent an average of $289.19, compared to $299.60 in 2015.

Sales over the Thanksgiving holiday, which extends into so-called Cyber Monday, are a good indicator of the health of US consumer spending.

Online sales dominated. A total of 44 per cent of those who took part in the NRF survey said they had bought via the internet while 40 per cent went to a brick-and-mortar store.

&quot;It was a strong weekend for retailers, but an even better weekend for consumers, who took advantage of some really incredible deals,&quot; NRF president Matthew Shay said.

The most popular day to shop online was Black Friday itself, the day after the Thanksgiving holiday. Of those who purchased online over the four-day period, 74 per cent did so on Friday, up 1.3 per cent from last year.

And of the people who went to actual stores over this shopping period, 75 per cent did so on Black Friday, up 3.4 per cent from last year, the NRF said.

Millennials, aged 18-34, drove the increase in shopping, with eight out of ten buying something over the long weekend.

Around 56 per cent of smartphone owners and 53 per cent of tablet owners used these devices to assist with their shopping.

The study was carried out by Prosper Insights &amp; Analytics with a sample of 4,330 people on November 25-26 and has a margin of error of 1.5 percentage points.

(AFP)

More than 154 million people made purchases during the four-day retail extravaganza that began Thursday on Thanksgiving

The American shopping fest known as Black Friday lured more buyers this year but they spent less per person thanks to great bargains, an industry group said Sunday. More than 154 million people made purchases during the four-day retail extravaganza that began Thursday on Thanksgiving, compared to 151 million last year, the National Retail Federation said. Shoppers spent an average of $289.19, compared to $299.60 in 2015. Sales over the Thanksgiving holiday, which extends into so-called Cyber Monday, are a good indicator of the health of US consumer spending. Online sales dominated. A total of 44 per cent of those who took part in the NRF survey said they had bought via the internet while 40 per cent went to a brick-and-mortar store. "It was a strong weekend for retailers, but an even better weekend for consumers, who took advantage of some really incredible deals," NRF president Matthew Shay said. The most popular day to shop online was Black Friday itself, the day after the Thanksgiving holiday. Of those who purchased online over the four-day period, 74 per cent did so on Friday, up 1.3 per cent from last year. And of the people who went to actual stores over this shopping period, 75 per cent did so on Black Friday, up 3.4 per cent from last year, the NRF said. Millennials, aged 18-34, drove the increase in shopping, with eight out of ten buying something over the long weekend. Around 56 per cent of smartphone owners and 53 per cent of tablet owners used these devices to assist with their shopping. The study was carried out by Prosper Insights & Analytics with a sample of 4,330 people on November 25-26 and has a margin of error of 1.5 percentage points. (AFP)

US Black Friday: More shoppers this year but less spent per head

shoppers

Shoppers, News on Shoppers, stories on Shoppers, articles on Shoppers, Shoppers stories at Wion, Shoppers news, Shoppers latest news