The city's proposal to rezone part of the Upper West Side to discourage big box chain stores and banks from proliferating will have "unanticipated consequence," according to the Columbus Avenue Business Improvement District. BID Executive Director Barbara Adler tells us the city's plan "is a solution looking for a problem. We have no problem on Columbus now. Columbus has been able to weather all markets for many years, it's in the historic district, it's different from Broadway and Amsterdam, and we feel tampering with our storefronts and telling property owners what they can or can't do would be huge mistake. " more ›

For years, many New Yorkers have enjoyed the pleasures of drunk shopping—whether it's for a snazzy suit or a puppy, the phenomenon is nothing new—the fashion blog Racked even has a regular column called "Drunk Shopping." Today, the Times looks at the people who prefer to drunk shop on the internet, where no one can peer pressure them into buying anything but themselves, and oh, it is magical: more ›

Sure, some people really dig lining up for deals for Black Friday but this year at least it seems the best deals have been saved for those who wait until the last minute. Left and right stores are marking down whole sections, and sometimes even the whole store, anywhere from 40 percent (Abercrombie & Fitch) to 50 percent (Toys R Us) to 60 percent (Gap). Procrastinators win! more ›

NYC was thankfully spared the worst of Black Friday—after all, nobody got pepper sprayed or shot here. But that doesn't mean it was a walk in the park: tens of thousands of NYers across the state lugged their tryptophan-enriched bodies to stores to suss out deals. And along with them came long lines, fights, and looting. And this is exactly why one can't just go around promising "hot shirtless guys" all willy nilly. more ›

While tomorrow is "Black Friday," the official start of the Christmas shopping season, many retailers have been opening their doors today, on the Thanksgiving federal holiday, to give Americans a chance to spend their money without going to the 5 a.m. doorbusters and not killing workers in a stampede. And, retail experts say, it's the 99% who are the Black Friday fiends. more ›

Say goodbye to these bargains: Syms Corporation, including its subsidiary Filene's Basement, have filed for bankruptcy, and plan to close all 46 of their stores. Syms acquired Filene's Basement out of bankruptcy protection in the spring of 2009 for $62.4 million, but struggled to make the chain profitable again. “Blame the economy, blame the world. I wouldn’t call it expected, but I wouldn’t call it surprising,“ St. John’s University business professor Anthony Michael Sabino told the Post. more ›

Now that the MTA will be shut down tomorrow at noon, people are seriously stocking up for a weekend at home. Mandi at The Bike Writer tells us the line outside the 14th Street "around the block... They started passing out bon bons to appease the crowd." more ›

Century 21 may be taking over 60,000 square feet near Lincoln Center, but the discount retailer is also expanding its 22 Cortlandt Street location. DNAinfo reports that Century 21 will, in celebration of its 50th anniversary, "add about 76,000 square feet of new retail space... including a cafe and additional dressing rooms and bathrooms." more ›

It looks like the specialty shopping website Etsy really stepped in the hand-crafted, organically-sourced dog doo. The popular site recently changed its privacy settings without adequately informing users they could opt out, and now their real names, reviews, favorites, and shopping histories are available to their Facebook friends. What this means is that if you're shopping for a gift for your Aunt Sylvia, and you use Etsy's new Facebook-linked "personalized suggestion" feature, you may find out a little too much information about Sylvia's kinky purchases. And some people are finding that if you search a name on Google, that person's Etsy profile comes right up! more ›

Forget Black Friday, retailers are looking for a little Christmas miracle with last-minute Christmas shoppers hitting the stores today. The AP explains, "For stores, this 11th-hour dash caps the best holiday season since 2007, and possibly the best ever. With Christmas falling on a Saturday this year, Friday is a holiday for most workers. That allowed shoppers to hit the stores first thing in the morning." Burning up your cash today, celebrating Baby Jesus tomorrow—Christmas, it's a helluva holiday! more ›

Now that Black Friday is over, let's survey the damage some shoppers did. A 23-year-old student who had been camping outside at the Union Square Best Buy since Tuesday afternoon bought "a Sony laptop for $399, saving $300, and buy a 32-inch Samsung TV and Nintendo Wii, both for just $435, saving more than $300." He told the Post, "When I finally got in, it felt like the gates of heaven opened up. I had to miss a couple of days of school to be here." more ›

This is just kind of sad. According to the NY Post, scientists have discovered that shoppers stumbling upon a sale experience the same rush of endorphins that people experience when they're sexually aroused. (Now try to walk through Herald Square without hearing thousands of silent orgasms.) Anyway, the researchers hooked their subjects up to eye-tracking devices that showed them pornographic pictures, and then clippings from sale promotions, and the levels of excitement were the same! At least one New Yorker wasn't surprised, she told the paper that bargain shopping is "just like sex. Sales feel great for a moment, then you wake up the next morning, see the bill, say, 'What the hell did I just do?'" Men, you are one chocolate sale away from being replaced. more ›

Last night marked yet another night of synergy between designers and shoppers as Fashion's Night Out inspired New Yorkers to buy all night long at some of the city's hottest stores. Created by Vogue editrix Anna Wintour, NY1 describes the night as "meant to unite designers and retailers for one special night to put some sparkle back in the eyes of shoppers—and to get them off the streets and into the stores" all around the world. It also allowed for some more outlandish behavior on the part of Naomi Campbell. more ›

Women! First they're all obsessed over their $400 shoes, and now they're like "I keep my money in my bank account and my 401(k)." According to a new survey, half of the city's young women are more interested in saving money than they were a year ago, thanks to that pesky recession. Law professor Anthony Sabino told the Post, "These women will devote much more effort to saving their money on the simple pleasures like, 'Do I need another Starbucks or the hundred-dollar jeans when I can buy a pair for $50.' That is an important first step." So long, $12 coffee. more ›

The 163-year-old church that formerly housed the Limelight will now be known as the Limelight Marketplace. Times they are a changin'. The mini mall opens this Friday at 2 p.m.—it boasts 20,000-square-feet and 60 shops, cafes and food concessions throughout multiple levels (here's a sneak peek at what's inside). Get ready to party... right? Just leave your glow sticks and blow at home. more ›

A juror passing judgment on a credit card thief allegedly swiped plastic from the man sitting near her—who was also a juror in the case! The News reports that 20-year-old Jennifer Mercado returned from lunch carrying several shopping bags full of new shoes. She now claims that John Postrk gave her permission to use his American Express card because "He came on to me... It's a he-said, she-said situation. In court, they will find out he's lying." Postrk's lawyers say the credit cards, along with his metrocard, disappeared from his coat pocket on March 8, the first day of the trial. "You've got to be really stupid to do that in front of a judge, court officers, law enforcement and all the cameras in this building," said one courthouse employee, who'd heard about the case. more ›

It's beginning to look like the glitzy, upscale Plaza Hotel may go the way of Tavern on the Green. After a century in the business, the landmark hotel and playground to Eloise is losing its cache, and its profits too. Where the Plaza's gilded halls are concerned, do New Yorkers want in with the new, out with the gold? more ›

Theft among retail workers is up — particularly the fraudulent use of gift cards, the Times reports. According to a recent study, store workers, not shoplifters, are responsible for the majority of the estimated $36 billion per year that is heisted from retail establishments, and a growing number of thieving employees are using gift certificates to commit their crimes. more ›

Even in spite of the at-times-pouring rain, shoppers flocked to stores yesterday to take advantage of big sales—and perhaps return some Christmas gifts. With items on sale for 60-75% off, there were deals, but only if you could find the products. One woman told 1010WINS that she had been eyeing $11.99 pajamas at a JC Penney before Christmas, "Now there's nothing. Everything's been picked over." more ›

From the Daily News: "Nigel Tetteh of the Bronx bought clothes at the flagship Macy's store for his dad. He was headed for nearby Victoria's Secret and JCPenney to hunt for gifts for his girlfriend - even though she had accidentally locked him out of his apartment. 'I'm upset at her, but I won't let Christmas go by without getting her something,' said Tetteh, 24." more ›

So what was the scene like inside of Macy's Herald Square yesterday, as their flagship store went up in flames? Okay, it was just a small fire, but it evacuated the store as thick, black smoke traveled throughout floors. One tourist said, "I don’t know why they didn’t immediately evacuate the [entire] building. I was very scared." more ›

CNN Money reports, "Cyber Monday sales rose 14% this year compared to 2008 and consumers also bought nearly 30% more items per order versus last year, according to research firm Coremetrics. Also, the firm said shoppers bought 10% more items per order online than they did in stores on Black Friday." It's suspected that sales could be $900 million. However, one analyst told Bloomberg News it doesn't mean the retail sector is going to have a happy holiday, "Online retail sales are still the vast minority of total holiday sales. Being such a small number, the results aren’t going to change overall sales this holiday at all." more ›

The National Retail Federation says that Black Friday weekend sales grew slightly, 0.5% over last year, because shoppers were snatching up bargains. The NRF, which expects holiday spending to fall 1% this year, said, "While retailers are encouraged by the number of Americans who shopped over Black Friday weekend, they know they have their work cut out for them to keep people coming back through Christmas. Shoppers can continue to expect retailers to focus on low prices and bargains through the end of December." more ›

Anecdotal reports suggest that crowds on Black Friday—the day after Thanksgiving—were up compared to last year, but retailers won't know how that translated into sales for another few days. Macy's president and CEO Terry Lundgren told the NY Times that over 5,000 waited outside the Herald Square location yesterday (more than last year) and said this year's customer was going to be more careful, "They've got a budget that they’ve planned to spend and I think most consumers will stick to that. We expect that this will be a market-share holiday season. We don’t need consumers to spend more money. We just need to make them spend more money with us." more ›

While many are celebrating the slashed prices today, Reverend Billy and his Stop Shopping Choir are lambasting the Black Friday masses and the corporate overlords that preside over them. This morning the good Rev hit Macy's for his annual Buy Nothing Day. In an op-ed yesterday, he wrote, "We'll be there at 5am, when shoppers who have been up all night wait in line rush the glass doors. This is the human comedy at its most sad, and it is an environmental shopocalypse." more ›

Like clockwork, stores hyped up their Black Friday/Doorbuster sales and potential shoppers waited outside for hours, in hopes of getting great deals. A crowd was waiting outside a Jersey City Best Buy; one person told WCBS 2, "There's a lot of people on this line for laptops, like HP laptops for $197. Normally it's $500 or $600," with another possibly bragging that he "was here yesterday since 12 o'clock in the afternoon"—as in noon on Thanksgiving. more ›