OnlineShopping posts

J.Crew is a fashion label known for making affordable designer-style ruffled tees, pencil skirts and "boyfriend" blouses accessible to the masses. It's created its own look -- a mix of feminine/masculine chic -- and in doing so, created its own devoted following. With constant online sales campaigns, drawing in fashion-conscious buyers who love a deal, plus smart marketing that promotes the brand as a glamorous yet laidback lifestyle, J.Crew fashion has become in demand at a time when many retailers are struggling to find an identity. Here are 10 things you might not have known behind J.Crew's success story:


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So Canada, which province do you think is bringing sexy back?

With Valentine's Day around the corner, there are many shoppers looking for inspiration on what to buy their Valentine.

Will it be a lacy piece of lingerie? Or will it be a box of chocolates? And who will be giving what?

With online shopping increasing each month in Canada, it's no surprise that eBay Canada has been seeing Canadians shopping for romantic gifts.

But who's buying what? And which province is most focused on love, romance or asking I do?

Taking our cue from eBay Canada's survey of romantic shopping by Canadians, here's the romantic rankings, province by province:

SLIDESHOW: Sexiest Provinces According to Valentine's Day Purchases

Black Friday -- a great American discount shopping tradition the day after U.S. Thanksgiving -- is beginning to make its way north as more Canadian retailers plan to offer discounts in hopes of keeping shoppers in-country. Some malls are opening in the early morning hours of November 23rd for shoppers looking for deals in what might become a new shopping ritual in Canada that resembles Boxing Day. If you're heading out to the sales to browse, or have a product in mind, here are some Apps to guide your shopping and make sure you're getting the best deals around.

TGI Black Friday
For those venturing across the border to scour the sales, or those looking for big box store discounts here in Canada, the TGI Black Friday app can point you in the direction of deals. Search for products and check for updated ads from stores like Best Buy, Walmart and Sears. This app also allows you to create your own shopping list, tick off products as you purchase them and compare prices for the items you desire.

Calling time-starved
and cash-strapped Canadian parents everywhere: there's a new way to shop for second-hand clothing that can only work in your favour.

Minitrade.ca is an online clothing exchange service for parents with kids ages 0-7 launching this week. Offering everything from clothes to Hallowe'en costumes, shoes and bathing suits, the Montreal-based service is offered across Canada and means you don't have to fight traffic or sort through racks and racks of clothing to find the good stuff.

Minitrade.ca's tag line is "Trading your kids clothing simply" and the service is meant to make quality, gently-used clothing available to parents who in turn have quality, gently-used clothing to give. Basically, once you send your children's used clothing to Minitrade, you'll earn shopping credits that will allow you to buy new and used clothing from the service's website. And shipping is free (unless you don't contribute clothing -- then shipping is free if you make a purchase of $50 or more).

This is one of the retail industry's most important seasons and for many families one of the most expensive times of the year. Marketers are pushing everything from essential iPhone carrying cases for your teen to ballet flats for first graders. So how do you reign in the costs while still buying what you need for little Johnny or Jane so they remain too cool for school and you stay in the black? Here are some tips to guide you:

1. Take a Walk Around Your House
Grab a bag and "shop" around your house, looking into the areas where you store old pens, pencils, crayons and markers. Then make a list of what you really need to buy. It's surprising what you can find in a junk drawer when you actually take the time to clean it out.

As the season changes, there's a flurry of activity to get ready for the warm days and (hopefully) endless sunshine.

For so many of us, a trip to the mall (or time spent online shopping) is the way to reduce the list of acquisitions needed for home and closet.

Retailers will be happy to see consumers - in a recent survey from American Express Canada, businesses such as restaurants, grocery, gas, pharmacy and apparel are very optimistic about the next 12 months, with 85 per cent of them saying the future looks bright.

But what does this mean for consumers? What's the lure for us to keep the economic flow going in Canada?

There's no question that mothers deserve our respect and admiration and I'm quite sure that they would be quite happy with any expression of thanks we cared to offer on their special day. Still, most of us want to give more than a hug and a greeting card so here are nine great gift ideas for Mother's Day under $40.

And, remember, most stores have attractive gift cards if you can't decide what your mom would really like.

Chica Wall Vases - Here's something a little different. These vases are, as the name suggests, made to hang on the wall. They are handmade of 100 per cent recycled glass and come in transparent orange, green, yellow, turquoise and blue.

A mom who is into home decor would really get a kick out of these. You can hang just one or multiples. Available at Crate and Barrel online for $12.38 each.

Read on for more great ideas:

Shopping is big business in Canada, especially online, with $15.3 billion spent by Canadians in 2011 on their favourite online shopping sites.

Nine out of 10 of us use credit cards when shopping online and tend to like the big brand names.

The top five retailers that we like to click are Amazon, Apple, Kijiji, Best Buy/Future Shop and Walmart according to comScore.com and we prefer the Canadian websites (no surprise) to find our deals.

So if we're busy shopping online, is our online profile different from our bricks and mortar shopping style?

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I can spend hours looking for information online.

Sometimes its because of work - researching information and finding out answers to questions - but sometimes its a procrastinator's dream - looking up pretty things to buy, reading interesting blogs or reading the news of the day.

Canadians are busy online - according to Kijiji Canada statistics, we're busy looking through 1300 classified ads per minute, which breaks down to 22 searches per second or 185 listings per second.

The most recent statistics confirm online shopping is increasing, with $15 billion spent in 2009.

So what are we searching for online? What is tempting us to spend our hard earned loonies?

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Sick of fighting for parking spots at the mall and listening to piped-in Christmas muzak, I'd been seriously thinking of spending most of my money online over the holidays. The announcement that Free Shipping Day is coming to Canada on December 12th may push me over that digital edge.

What's Free Shipping Day, you ask? That would be the budding tradition American on line shoppers have been observing since 2008 in which, for one day, name brand retailers offer free shipping on all orders purchased through their websites with the promise of delivery by Christmas Eve.
Last year, Free Shipping Day south of the border generated over $942 million in online sales, outpacing Black Friday sales by $300 million and was the third biggest shopping day in U.S. history, according to its founder, Canadian Internet entrepreneur Luke Knowles.

Originally from Regina, Knowles -- who now lives in Colorado -- came up with the idea four years ago when he saw statistics suggesting on line shopping peaks in early December. Knowles realized the majority of shoppers didn't shop at this time because they wanted to -- they were doing it because they thought they had to.
"People were worried their orders wouldn't come through in time so I thought 'let's create a shopping holiday to change shopper's habits,'" Knowles says.