And so we come to our last post (and newsletter !) of 2015, with 2016 just a couple of days away (or perhaps a couple hours…
Tag: holidays
East vs. West: Where Did Christmas in the U.S. Start? (And Where Is It Headed?)
As with sports and hip-hop rivalries, we enter the holiday week with a good-natured “throwdown” on which coast, and its culture, gets more of the credit for creating Christmas in the U.S.
Holiday Snapshot: Shopping Goes Cyber, EMVs Go Slower, Customers Keep Going
As we hit the midpoint between the Black-and-Cyber shopping weekend, and the big event of Christmas itself, with Hanukkah now behind us and New Year’s (and the post-holiday sales!) still ahead…
If Even Buskers Take Cards — Shouldn’t You?
A sweet holiday-themed news item comes our way from overseas, and not only is it too good not to share, but it may be a harbinger of things to come: Cards, and contactless and e-payments will increasingly be taken in places where no one ever expected…
More pie, more metrics, a little EMV, and other tasty holiday insights
It’s not just “Thanksgiving” that comes at the end of November for most Americans now, but also “Black Friday.” The latter is almost as much an alternate organizing metaphor for the long weekend’s…
How “Black Friday” Almost Came Early — and other Thanksgiving/”Franksgiving” Tales
Happy short week! It’s become something of a tradition here on the AVPS end of things to get our blog post and newsletter out early during Thanksgiving…
Black and Cyber All Over: Holiday Shopping Is Here
Total U.S. holiday spending is expected to increase under 4% from 2014’s results, according to the National Retail Federation, but per Forrester (research group) online spending is expected to jump 11% over last year… (exceeding) $95 billion this year.”
International Blog Post Edition: Singles Day & MasterCard’s Global Liability
There’s a “quickening” at year’s end, with all the preparations, travels, gatherings, and, of course, sales and transactions that mark the season, and much of the particular corner of it that we cover here.
This is Your Holiday Season — And This Is Your Holiday Season on EMV
Now that the Trick or Treat candy is all in the “half off” bins at the store, the home stretch of the year — and the holidays — begins in earnest.
