Things To Do In SW Florida

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO, HALELUYA HADERO and ALEXANDRA OLSON, Associated Press Business Writers

NEW YORK (AP) — Retailers in the U.S. rewarded shoppers who ventured out for Black Friday with giveaways and bigger-than expected discounts on a day that still reigns as the much-hyped kickoff of the holiday shopping season despite losing some luster.

Department stores, shopping malls and merchants — big and small — see the day after Thanksgiving as a way to energize shoppers and to get them into physical stores at a time when many do the bulk of their browsing and buying online.

Enough consumers enjoy holiday shopping in person that Black Friday remains the biggest day of the year for retail foot traffic in the U.S., according to retail technology company Sensormatic Solutions.

At Macy’s Herald Square in Manhattan, a steady stream of shoppers early Friday found some shoes and handbags priced half-off, special occasion dresses marked down by 30%, and 60% off the store’s luxury bedding brand. read more

Black Friday has become something of an anachronism in the e-commerce era. The day after Thanksgiving marks the official start of the holiday shopping season, but retailers already have spent weeks flooding their websites and customers’ email inboxes with early Black Friday offers.

If history is any guide and advertisers are to be believed, the best bargains still are to be had from Black Friday through Cyber Monday, a four-day period known in the retail world as BFCM for short. That may be especially true for big ticket items, seasonal merchandise and the latest trendy products.

Consumer advocates note, however, that deep discounts are not a once-a-year opportunity. They advise shoppers to comparison shop, research price histories and to read the fine print to make sure they are buying what they really wanted at a good price.

That said, some people enjoy stepping out from behind a computer or phone screen to take in the holiday atmosphere and music at a local mall or shopping area. Retailers are promising in-store experiences and exclusives to get them through the door. A number of stores that were closed on Thanksgiving reopen early Friday as retailers work to kick the holiday shopping season into high gear. read more

Looking for a holiday gift for the arts lover in your life?

New merchandise at the Morse Museum of American Art gift shop commemorates the 25th anniversary of the famed Tiffany Chapel going on view at the Winter Park institution.

The beautiful chapel was created by glass artist Louis Comfort Tiffany in 1893, designed to last six months at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. But more than a century later it’s still wowing visitors at the Morse. As part of the museum’s celebration, the chapel has been reunited with a Tiffany mosaic, titled “Fathers of the Church,” for the first time since that 1893 expo. “Fathers of the Church” is now on a long-term loan to the Morse from The Neustadt Collection of Tiffany Glass in Queens, New York.

New gift-shop items celebrate both works of art.

The design of a happy-hour bag ($72) is inspired by details from the tabernacle door on the altar of the Tiffany Chapel and was made especially for the museum. Its features include an inner pocket to store small items and a shoulder strap. read more

Ted Rossman | (TNS) Bankrate.com

There are plenty of conversational landmines to avoid around the holiday dinner table. Money leads the way, according to a recent Bankrate survey. We found that only 38% of U.S. adults are comfortable discussing their bank account balances with family members and close friends. Fewer than half (47%) are comfortable discussing their love lives, and just 52% are comfortable talking about their credit card debt.

In comparison, Americans are a lot more amenable to chatting about potentially sensitive issues such as their weight (71% are comfortable), their political views (78%), their religious views (81%) and their health (also 81%).

I’m surprised at how many people view money as an off-limits conversation topic. Only 14% of U.S. adults believe that money is a normal discussion topic at holiday gatherings with friends and family members. It still comes up, though. For example:

—19% have given financial assistance to a friend or family member at a holiday gathering. read more

By Lauren Schwahn, NerdWallet

Black Friday is fast approaching, and shoppers are gearing up. The National Retail Federation expects more than 183 million people to shop over the weekend spanning Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday this year. But fraudsters are preparing for Black Friday too, looking for opportunities to steal your money or personal information.

Before you dive into holiday shopping, learn how to spot common scams and protect yourself.

1. Phony order and delivery notifications

Fraudsters commonly send phishing emails and text messages impersonating delivery services or popular retailers like Amazon. These messages, which typically claim there’s an issue with processing or delivering the order, may request payment information or include malicious links.

A message might say something like, “Part of your address is missing. Please click on this link to complete the address,” says Raj Dasgupta, senior director of global advisory at BioCatch, a fraud prevention firm.

If you get a similar message when you’re not expecting a package, that should raise doubts, Dasgupta says. But even if you have ordered something, don’t overlook warning signs. read more