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Buy now, pay whenever? Lockdown lift for online shopping loans

Holly B. Martin

By Nikhil Nainan

(Reuters) – Browsing online during lockdown, Jessica Friend spotted a pair of Ray-Ban sunglasses she liked, but the price tag made the 30-year-old Ohio resident think twice.

What persuaded her to click ‘buy’, Friend said, was the short-term credit offered by Afterpay, which split the $260 payment into four interest-free instalments.

Afterpay is among a handful of alternative credit firms which offer small loans, mostly to online shoppers, and make their money by charging merchants a 4%-6% commission.

These buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) firms have benefited from a shift to online shopping during the coronavirus crisis in countries including the United States, where state aid has also boosted retail sales.

“I’m more inclined to use them because they make it easier to afford to get the things I want all at once … and when I want to splurge on something,” Friend said of the loans.

Some investors are

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Alexander McQueen opens in the Miami Design District just in time for you to release those pent up shopping desires

Holly B. Martin

Just want to do something normal? We all do. Something like wandering a beautiful boutique, letting something lux catch your eye, taking that something you’re intrigued with to the dressing room, trying it on, falling in love and then finding a place to wear it.

Visitors to the new Alexander McQueen flagship store can shop luxurious summer-ready accessories.
Visitors to the new Alexander McQueen flagship store can shop luxurious summer-ready accessories.

If that sounds like a dream come true, prepare for the opening of Alexander McQueen in the Miami Design District today. Located at 146 NE 41st St, the store will reflect the house’s new design concept, as envisioned by Sarah Burton, creative director, and architect Smiljan Radic. Expect to find the outside world inside. Woods like oak and walnut in dark and light shades bring a warmth to the space’s walls and floors, while glass cylinders reflect light, bringing a weightlessness to the space. Keep an eye out for the cotton-crete around

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7 queer-led brands you should be shopping

Holly B. Martin
Getty Images
Getty Images

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Happy Pride! Annually during the month of June, people around the world celebrate and uplift the LGBTQIA+ community, while honoring the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in New York.

While many Pride marches, parties and large gatherings were canceled this year due to the global pandemic, that doesn’t mean that you can’t still show your love and support for the queer community. Donating what you can to charities and organizations that help uplift LGBTQIA+ people is a great place to start, and this charity navigator is a fantastic resource if you’re in need of a few suggestions. You can also show your pride by waving or

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Mall Owner Rick Caruso on Pandemics, Protests, Getting America Shopping Again

Holly B. Martin

“You know what, we’re back,” said Los Angeles retail real estate impresario Rick Caruso, surveying the smaller-than-usual but not insignificant crowd on a recent weekday afternoon at The Grove, which reopened June 10. “We’re back,” he repeated for emphasis, eyes gazing out at his kingdom over a businesslike black face mask, while sitting at an outdoor table at a sushi restaurant.

Since 2002, The Grove has been a center for a city without one, drawing more visitors annually than Disneyland, who flock to the open-air shopping area and faux Main Street with dancing fountain and an old-time trolley ride, where fireworks blaze on the Fourth of July and it “snows” in sunny California at Christmastime.

After closing in March because of the coronavirus, The Grove was due to reopen June 1, but the plan was scrapped May 30 when the Black Lives Matter protest arrived on its doorstep. “It was … Read More