Retailers are highlighting two very different realities emerging among squeezed US shoppers

Tech Insider : Economy
dollar general store
A shopper at a dollar store in Brooklyn.

Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Dollar General just showed how bad things are for budget-conscious shoppers

Tech Insider : Economy
A customer shops at a Dollar General store.
A customer shops at a Dollar General store on March 17, 2022 in Vallejo, California.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

I've been on more than 20 cruises. Here are the 9 things I never buy on board.

Tech Insider : Travel, Travel
cruise ship docked in port
I rarely ever buy a drink package, regardless of which cruise line I'm sailing with.

Shutterstock

The rise and fall of Allbirds: How the buzzy sneaker company went from IPO darling to trading below $1

Tech Insider
A neon Allbirds sign on the side of a grey building.
Allbirds announced weak earnings in August.

Spencer Platt/Getty Images

I took my kids shopping for school supplies at Walmart and Target. I found way better clearance deals at the latter.

Tech Insider
Author Terri Peters smiling at a Walmart
I went back-to-school shopping at Target and Walmart.

Terri Peters

Working for Doordash and Grubhub increasingly feels like a 9-5. And that may be bad news for the companies.

Tech Insider : Economy
A DoorDash driver in car
Gig delivery workers are independent contractors, but some say their work looks more like that of employees at times.

DoorDash

The baseline price tag for looking cool for school is $1,000 for 9 hot items

Tech Insider
Gen Z TikTok-approved back-to-school items include the Airpods Max, the Adidas Gazelle sneakers, and the Owala FreeSip water bottle.
Gen Z TikTok-approved back-to-school items include the Airpods Max, the Adidas Gazelle sneakers, and the Owala FreeSip water bottle.

Jeremy Moeller/Getty Images, Amazon

A Walgreens employee describes routine theft at his store — and how he's not allowed to stop it

Tech Insider
Walgreens at night
A Walgreens employee said his store is doing little to combat theft, including by repeat offenders.

Andrew Kelly/Reuters

See inside the luxury shopping village that's like Disneyland if you're looking to pick up Dior and Gucci at a discount

Tech Insider
Bicester Village
Bicester Village is a designer outlet shopping center, located in rural England.

Alexandra Bacon

After trying on shirts at Old Navy, Banana Republic, and Gap, I found the most expensive items weren't worth the splurge

Tech Insider
Ted wearing three different black polos. On the left, a polo from Old Navy. In the middle, a polo from Banana Republic with four buttons going down the top. On the right, a polo from Gap with two buttons going down the top.
I tried on similar shirts at Old Navy, Banana Republic, and Gap.

Ted Berg

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