Holidays
Why the chocolate in your holiday candy could be ‘fake’ this year
Planet A Foods’ ChoViva chocolate alternative Planet A Foods If you’re unwrapping chocolate this holiday season, it might not contain any actual cocoa. Market turbulence, ethical concerns and sustainability questions have sparked a movement among some chocolate makers to scrap cocoa in favor of alternative ingredients — prompting calls that the real deal could soon […]
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‘To sustain the ride, they started to dilute it’: How Black Friday became a retail letdown
Black Friday early morning shoppers rush in as the doors are opened at a Walmart store in Fairfax, Virginia, Nov. 28, 2008. Gerald Martineau | The Washington Post | Getty Images Black Friday has long been defined by massive crowds, rock-bottom prices and rabid consumers willing to bite, scratch and claw their way to the […]
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Millennials are driving a sports tourism boom — and spending big to do it. Here’s why
Vince Nguyen, a 39-year-old entrepreneur based in Vietnam, spends a few hundreds almost every month traveling to other countries to play pickleball. The sport, which began as a pastime after injuring himself in American football, has since become central to his lifestyle, as he plays it for two to four hours almost daily. Since he […]
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U.S. moves to tame the skies as disruptive passenger incidents reach new highs
The U.S. Department of Transportation on Wednesday launched a nationwide campaign urging travelers to improve their behavior at airports and on flights, as disruptive incidents remain far above pre-pandemic levels. The effort, called “The Golden Age of Travel Starts with You,” aims to restore civility in the skies and address a surge in disruptive behavior. […]
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‘Hassle’ and ‘humiliation’: What it’s like traveling with a weak passport
Alex from South Africa lives in Singapore and frequently travels overseas for business and pleasure. But her passport is a big deterrent to free-and-easy travel — so much so that she is willing to “gladly” trade it for another. “If someone offered me a different passport, or my children a different passport, I would grab […]
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Fewer burritos, more bargains: Consumers flash holiday warning signs
Shoppers walk through Manhattan on Nov. 7, 2025, in New York City. Spencer Platt | Getty Images High-income consumers are trading down, Gen Z is spending less, and low-income shoppers are still struggling, according to many consumer companies that shared their latest quarterly results in recent weeks. Those trends may not bode well for the […]
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Sonder announces bankruptcy plans; tells guests to vacate hotel rooms: ‘People were scrambling’
Short-term rentals company Sonder on Monday said it plans to file for bankruptcy, a day after Marriott International said a licensing agreement between the two companies had ended. The deal, signed in August 2024, allowed Sonder hotels to be booked via Marriott’s Bonvoy website and was widely considered a lifeline for the San Francisco-based company, […]
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Chocolate’s reign over Halloween is under threat from inflation, tariffs and high cocoa prices
A customer shops for Halloween candy at a Walmart Supercenter on October 16, 2024 in Austin, Texas. Brandon Bell | Getty Images The scariest thing haunting Halloween this year isn’t a ghost, goblin or ghoul — it’s the price of chocolate. From Snickers to Reese’s to Twix, one of America’s favorite indulgences is getting more […]
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With two months to Christmas, here’s what retail leaders expect for holiday shopping
There’s just two months until Christmas Eve, and retailers are meeting a more cautious shopper with earlier offerings. Most retailers won’t report third-quarter results or updated holiday expectations until just before Thanksgiving, largely considered the sector’s most important week of the year. By then, many shoppers will have already started checking off holiday shopping lists. […]
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This couple left their jobs to travel 160,000 km across the world in their Land Rover
When 28 year olds Nick Chazee and Mathilde Vougny packed up their belongings to travel the world three years ago, they chose to do it in an unconventional way — in their Land Rover. Chazee, who was working at a technology startup, and Vougny at the United Nations, were exposed to frequent work travel. But […]
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