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How to take advantage of ‘very different’ 2020 holiday shopping season

Just like the rest of 2020, the holiday shopping season will be different as retail industry experts said to expect a longer season with deeper deals from desperate retailers.

Seven out of 10 shoppers polled by Creditcards.com stated they’ll start looking for deals before Halloween, and fewer shoppers are saving up for holiday travel.

Because many retailers are expecting slower in-store sales and can no longer depend on traditional Black Friday sales, industry analyst Ted Rossman believes the discounts will start early in an attempt to extend the season.

“I think the game plan is to really incentivize people early. I think Prime Day moving from July to October really fueled a lot of copycats,” Rossman said of retailers who also began rolling out big discounts in October, including Target and Home Depot.

To find deeper discounts on a purchase, Rossman suggested shopping through a credit card portal, such as Chase or United Airlines.

“You use their link to Nike or Macy’s or wherever you are shopping, and because you clicked through them, they’re going to reward you with a kickback. From there, once you’re on the retailer’s site, you can shop normally. You can use a coupon code, you can use a rewards credit card — now that’s three ways to save,” he told WTOP.

For shoppers who want to keep things simple, Rossman said Cashback Monitor is a good option.

“You can type in the retailer and they’ll compare all the retailers for you … And then they’ll just tell you, ‘OK, this one gives you 11% back, this one gives you 8% back, and so on, so you can make an informed decision,” he said.

For those consumers considering breaking up with their travel credit card, Rossman suggested starting by asking the company to waive the annual fee.

“There’s actually been a real shift to cashback rewards. Most people nowadays are finding that more worthwhile than travel. That said though, you usually get more bang for your buck when you choose travel, so some people like to just save up,” Rossman said of travel cardholders.

Iran’s economy has been battered. Its leaders still think Trump will blink first

CAIRO (AP) — In the heartland of Iran’s famed carpet-making industry, manufacturing has ground to a near halt. Dairies struggle to find packages for milk and butter. Giant steel mills that once drove Iran’s economy have gone silent. Hundreds of thousands have lost jobs, and millions more are at risk. Over more than five weeks of bombardment, U.S. and Israeli strikes hit thousands of factories. The damage is reverberating across Iran’s economy, threatening increasing waves of layoffs, even as Iranians face skyrocketing prices. The cost of chicken is up 75% the past month, and beef and lamb jumped 68%. Many dairy products have increased by half. It could get worse as the United States blockades Iranian ports, choking off many imports and oil exports that bring in billions of dollars. Economic woes sparked the mass protests that were crushed before the war and could again push Iranians into the streets. Still, Iran has its own weapon pointed at the global economy, with its grip on the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s leaders say they will only reopen the key waterway for global energy if the blockade is lifted and the war ends. They are betting that an economy built to be self-reliant under decades of international sanctions can endure the pain longer than U.S. President Donald Trump.
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