Retail spending dipped in November compared to October, as holiday sales bit into inflation. Isabel Pavia/Getty Images hide caption
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New research tackles the central question about "buy now, pay later": Does it encourage people to overspend? Peter Dazeley/Getty Images hide caption
In a year marked by inflation, 'buy now, pay later' is the hottest holiday trend
A shopper browses Black Friday sales at a Macy's store in Jersey City, N.J. Kena Betancur/Getty Images hide caption
Clothing stores have been cutting prices, trying to sell off their glut of inventory. Stefani Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Banners promote Small Business Saturday in West Reading, Pa. on Nov. 25, 2017. Jeremy Drey/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle/Getty Images hide caption
A postal worker carries packages through the snow on Jan. 3 in Washington, D.C. Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images hide caption
From living rooms to landfills, some holiday shopping returns take a 'very sad path'
A shopper shops at a retail store in Glenview, Ill., Dec. 16. The National Retail Federation, the nation's largest retail trade group, said this month that the holiday shopping season appears to be on pace to exceed its sales growth forecast of between 8.5% and 10.5% despite additional challenges this year, from a new variant of the coronavirus, to soaring inflation. Nam Y. Huh/AP hide caption
A delivery person rides a bicycle past a storefront in New York City. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images hide caption
You might still have time to buy holiday gifts online and get same-day delivery
People walk by a hiring sign in a store window in New York on Nov. 17. Spencer Platt/Getty Images hide caption
How understaffed are stores? Smaller retailers feel the holiday-shopping strain
A sign promote sales at a clothing store in a Colorado mall. David Zalubowski/AP hide caption
Target says having its stores closed on Thanksgiving will be the new normal, permanently ending a tradition that it embraced for years. The move, announced Monday, comes as the Minneapolis-based discounter and other retailers including Walmart and Macy's will be closed for the second Thanksgiving in a row. Matt Rourke/AP hide caption
Buy now, pay later and online returns are just a couple of the hidden costs of holiday shopping. the_burtons/Getty Images hide caption
A person walks in an Ikea warehouse in New York City on Oct. 15. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images hide caption
An inflatable snowman and candy canes are part of the decorations that adorn houses in Brooklyn's Dyker Heights neighborhood on Dec. 22, 2020 in New York. A shopping surge by households this year has snarled up global supply chains, and now the race is on to get products on shelves in time for Christmas. Mark Lennihan/AP hide caption
An employee organizes an aisle at Mary Arnold Toys, New York City's oldest toy store, on Aug. 2. Kena Betancur/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
Santa's sleigh is looking emptier. Fewer toys, higher prices loom for holiday season
Kathleen Murray gave family members Advent calendars that, alongside candy, included hand sanitizer and masks. "It's the closest thing to safety that you can give them," she said. Nicholas Murray hide caption
For Christmas, My True Love Gave To Me ... Hand Sanitizer, Because It's 2020
Shoppers walk through Macy's in New York on Black Friday last month. Retail sales declined 1.1% in November, according to the Commerce Department. Kena Betancur/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
U.S. Retail Spending Declined The Most Since Historic Plunge In April
Patio tables are empty at a diner this week in West Hollywood, Calif., after Los Angeles County banned outdoor dining amid the pandemic. The struggles of restaurants and retailers are expected to have led to sharply slower job growth last month. Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
People shop at Macy's in New York on Black Friday, Nov. 27. Kena Betancur/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Black Friday shoppers wearing face masks wait in line to enter a store at the Glendale Galleria in Glendale, Calif., on Friday. Ringo H.W. Chiu/AP hide caption
People walk by a Black Friday promotional at Cookie's department store Friday in the Brooklyn borough of New York. Bebeto Matthews/AP hide caption
Retail sales fell 1.2 percent in December, the most in nine years. The drop cut into forecasts for economic growth. David Zalubowski/AP hide caption
Customers flood Walmart's Bentonville, Ark., store on Thanksgiving Day in 2016. Gunnar Rathbun/AP Images for Walmart hide caption