Consumer News: 5 Black Friday that can ruin any 'deal' (and how to avoid them)

The hidden ways retailers are influencing your cart

• Prices arent fixed anymore AI adjusts prices based on demand and your behavior, so wait two to fivedays and track trends before making significant purchases.
• What you see isnt neutral Retailers personalize deals, search results, and urgency, so compare across devices and browse in incognito mode to avoid getting duped.
• You can use AI tools too Use price trackers to buy at the right time, Rakuten to earn cash back, and Honey to apply coupons, so you save at every step of the purchase.

Both in-store and onlineretailers are using AI algorithms to try and predict what youll buy, what youll pay, and nudge you toward products that makes them more money. And if you dont adjust how you shop, youll likely overpay.

The good news is that once you understand how it works, you can flip the script and start saving more than the average shopper.

AI is quietly controlling prices (and theyre not as fixed as you think)

Dynamic pricing is now popping up at more stores, especially as digital price tags become more widespread.

This allows retailers to change prices based on:

• The time of the day (demand spikes)
• Competitor pricing
• Your behavior (yes, really)

In many cases, stores are teasing that limited-time deal just to see if youll bite.

What smart shoppers should do about it:

• Track before you buy: For big purchases, give items two to threedays. Prices often fluctuate in thattime period.
• Use price history tools: Use Rufus or the website CamelCamelCamel to see if todays price is actually a deal. Then setup price alerts to ensure you only buy when the price is right.
• Watch for patterns: Electronics dip in price mid-week. Seasonal items spike right before demand.

Pro tip: If a price just dropped, dont assume its the lowest. Many retailers drop prices in stages to trigger you to make an impulse buy.

AI is personalizing your online shopping experience

Retailers like Amazon, Target, and Walmart arent just tracking what you buy, theyre tracking how you behave while you shop.

That includes:

• How long you stare at a product or hover (mouse over) it.
• Whether you scroll past it quickly or click.
• If you compare similar items.
• How often you come back before buying.

All of that feeds the algorithms which then decides the following:

• What products show up first in your search results.
• What items get labeled as a deal.
• What kind of urgency wording you see (Only threeleft!).

Actionable ways to avoid overpaying:

• Use incognito mode for big purchases (appliances, travel gear, electronics).
• Check prices logged out vs. logged in.
• Compare across devices. Mobile vs. desktop can definitely show different results.
• Clear your browser cookies before you re-check a price.

Pro tip: If youve been looking at an item repeatedly online, trying to decide if you should buy it, stop for 2448 hours. Sometimes that short pause will trigger a discount. Make sure youre registered with the site with your current email address.

AI is influencing what you buy (and what you dont even see)

Those Top Picks and Recommended for You sections?

Theyre designed to:

• Push higher-margin products
• Move excess inventory
• Steer you away from lower-profit options

Thats why the cheapest option is rarely front and center.

What to do instead:

• Scroll past the first few results theyre often paid or promoted.
• Search generic terms instead of brand names.
• Look for off-brand alternatives with similar specs.

Pro tip: Click sort by price first, then filter your search results. It completely changes what you see. Then set a mental walk-away price. If its not below that number, dont buy it, no matter how good the deal looks.

AI is making returns easier but also tracking you

Retailers like Amazon now offer very handy online returns.

The idea of making a return and not needing any boxes, packaging material, or even a shipping label, is super handy.

But that conveniencecomes at a price that shoppers need to be aware of.

In particular, with online returns, AI is tracking:

• Your return frequency.
• Categories you return the most.
• Patterns of try and send back behavior.

Too many returns could lead to warnings,restrictions, or even account closures if your return history includes fraudulent behavior.

How to use this to your advantage:

• Batch returns into one trip to save time and gas.
• Make your return quickly as youll have faster access to the funds, and wont risk going beyond the stores return window.
• Use returns strategically (wrong size, defective items), and not as a way to try-on or test items at home.

AI is predicting demand (and raising prices before you notice)

Many retailers now have the ability to anticipate the following:

• Seasonal demand
• Viral product trends
• Weather-driven purchases

Thats why:

• Space heaters spike during cold snaps.
• Fans spike during heat waves.
• Holiday items jump right before the holiday.

The best way to beat AI is to zig when everyone else is zagging.

This means:

• Buy off-season whenever possible.
• Stock up during low-demand windows.
• Avoid those last-minute purchases tied to trends.

Pro tip: A really good rule-of-thumb is that when everyone suddenly wants something, youre probably already too late, and stuck paying top dollar for it.

The good news: AI tools are on your side, too

Youre not powerless here, and there are actually some AI-driven tools that can help you save money.

In particular, use these tools to fight back:

• Honey Auto-applies coupon codes
• Rakuten Gives you cash back on your shopping
• CamelCamelCamel Shows real price history

The real power move is to stack all three of these tools to maximize your savings:

• Check the price first using CamelCamelCamel Make sure its actually a deal.
• Go to Rakuten and click through to the store This activates your cash back.
• Add item to cart and head to checkout.
• Let the Honey browser extension apply any coupon codes at checkout This stacks extra savings.

The quick formula to remember: Price check Cash back Checkout Coupons

Pro tip: One final trick to save some money is to use the abandon cart strategy to nudge the algorithm to give you a lower price.

Heres how it works:

• Add the item to your cart.
• Leave it there for a day or two.
• Revisit via a different device or browser.

Some retailers will respond by dropping the price slightly, or theyll send you a coupon via email urging you to come back and complete your purchase at a discount. Its a worth a shot, especially on expensive purchases like electronics and major appliances.

Some luxury vehicles make their way into this week's recall roundup

Here are the latest vehicle and equipment recalls announced by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

More older adults say caring for animals is stretching budgets

• Pets can support emotional well-being, connection, and daily purpose for adults over 50.

• A growing share of older adults say pet care is putting pressure on their finances.

• Cost is increasingly a major reason some older adults choose not to own pets.

For many older adults, pets are more than companions theyre a meaningful part of daily life. Results from recent polls out of the University of Michigan suggests that activities like walking a dog or simply having an animal nearby can positively influence health and well-being.

Among adults ages 50 to 80, more than half report having at least one pet, a number that has remained relatively steady over time. But whats changed is how people perceive the emotional value of those relationships. A growing share of pet owners say their animals give them a sense of purpose, and many also report feeling more socially connected and less stressed.

At the same time, the findings highlight a tension: while pets can enhance quality of life, they also come with responsibilities and increasingly, financial strain.

Our two polls, seven years apart, clearly show that animals can play a key role in the lives of older adults, and bring many benefits that can contribute to healthy aging, said researcher Preeti Malani, M.D.

Yet some of the people who could potentially get the most benefit from having a pet may also be the ones who have cost-related challenges to pet ownership.

How the study was conducted

The findings come from the University of Michigans National Poll on Healthy Aging, which surveyed adults age 50 and older about their experiences with pet ownership. The most recent poll was conducted in September 2025 and included responses from adults up to age 93.

Researchers compared these results to a similar poll conducted in 2018, focusing specifically on adults ages 50 to 80 to track changes over time. The survey asked participants about the types of pets they have, perceived benefits and challenges, and reasons for not owning pets.

The data included both Michigan-specific responses and national comparisons, offering a broader look at how pet ownership intersects with aging, health, and lifestyle factors.

The benefits and the tradeoffs

The results paint a nuanced picture. On one hand, many older adults report meaningful benefits from having pets.

Here are some key findings:

• 83% of pet owners ages 50-80 reported having a pet helps give them a sense of purpose up 10% from 2018.

• 70% said that having a pet helps them connect with others.

• 63% said pets help them manage and reduce their stress levels.

• 44% said that having a pet helps keep them physically active.

If were encouraging someone to get more physical activity to improve their physical or mental health, knowing if they have a pet they can take for a walk or play with could be very useful, poll director Jeffrey Kullgren, M.D., M.P.H., M.S. said in the news release. And discussing ahead of time who will help with pet care if they have a planned or unexpected hospitalization could relieve stress, he said.

However, the report also found that fewer people now report certain benefits compared to earlier years, including help with physical activity and coping with health symptoms On top of that, financial concerns are becoming more prominent.

Some more key findings include:

• In the earlier study, 60% of pet owners said their pets helped them cope with physical or mental health symptoms. In the later poll, just 34% said the same thing.

• The notion that pets helped keep older adults physically active went from 64% to 44%.

• Pet owners reporting that pets helped them balance their stress levels went from 79% to 63%.

• Cost was also a major factor: Roughly 31% of pet owners said that caring for their pet strains their budget up from 18% in 2018.

The findings suggest that while pets can play an important role in healthy aging, the rising costs of care may limit access to those benefits especially for those who might benefit the most.

Advanced testing reveals dozens of PFAS compounds in umbilical cord blood

• Babies may be exposed to far more PFAS chemicals in the womb than previously measured.

• In a recent study, researchers identified 42 different PFAS compounds using advanced testing methods.

• Traditional testing captures only a small fraction of total prenatal exposure.

Forever chemicals, or PFAS, are everywhere from food packaging to stain-resistant fabrics and they dont break down easily in the environment or the human body. That persistence is part of what makes them concerning, especially during pregnancy.

A new study from Mount Sinai suggests that babies may be exposed to a much broader range of these chemicals before birth than scientists previously understood. Earlier research had already linked prenatal PFAS exposure to outcomes like low birth weight and changes in immune response, but measuring the full scope of exposure has been a challenge.

Our findings suggest that how we measure PFAS really matters, researcher Shelley H. Liu, Ph.D. said in a news release.

When we look more comprehensively, we see that babies are exposed to far more PFAS chemicals before birth than we previously realized and some of the patterns we thought we understood may change.

The study

To better understand prenatal exposure, researchers analyzed stored umbilical cord blood samples from 120 babies. These samples came from a long-running pregnancy study conducted in Cincinnati and were originally collected between 2003 and 2006.

What sets this study apart is the method used. Instead of relying solely on traditional targeted testing which looks for a limited set of known PFAS scientists also used a more expansive, data-driven approach called nontargeted analysis. This method scans for a much wider array of chemicals, including ones not routinely measured.

By combining both approaches, researchers were able to compare what standard testing detects versus what might otherwise go unnoticed.

What the study found

The results revealed a much more complex picture of prenatal exposure. While traditional methods typically identify a small number of PFAS, the broader analysis detected 42 different compounds in umbilical cord blood.

Notably, only a handful of those chemicals would have been captured using standard testing alone. That means previous estimates of exposure may have significantly underestimated how many PFAS babies encounter before birth.

The findings also highlight that PFAS exposure isnt just about one or two well-known chemicals its a mixture of many substances, some of which are not yet fully understood. Researchers say this more complete picture could help improve how exposure is measured in the future and may eventually inform clinical care, though PFAS testing is not currently part of routine medical practice.

Overall, the study underscores that prenatal exposure to PFAS is more widespread and complex than previously recognized an insight that could shape future research and public health efforts.

Our study helps show that prenatal PFAS exposure is more complex and widespread than earlier studies suggested, Dr. Liu said. Understanding the full picture is essential if we want to protect child health and reduce preventable environmental risks.

No box, no label, no hassle heres what changed

• Over 2,000 FedEx Office locations havebeen added to Amazon's ever-growingnetwork of return drop points that don't require a box or shipping label.

• Stack returns with errands (groceries, work stops, shopping trips) to save time, gas, and avoid extra runs.

• Always pick the free drop-off option and check eligibility before buying not all items or sellers qualify.

Amazon is expanding one of its most underrated perks: free returns with no box, no tape, and no label. The expansion comes asAmazon returns are now accepted at 2,000+ FedEx Office locations across the country.

The company now has 10,000+ drop-off locations nationwide, which translates to about four out of five shoppers being within five miles of a return point.

Where you can return items now

Amazon has built a massive return network, and it can sometimes be hard to keep track of, so lets set the record straight for 2026.

Here are all the current places you can now make a return:

• FedEx Office (new nationwide rollout)
• Whole Foods Market
• The UPS Store
• Kohls
• Staples

Plus, some Goodwill locations in the Pacific Northwest will now take Amazon returns. Look for this trend to continue to growin 2026.

What changed (and why it matters)

In the past, returning an Amazon item usually meant:

• Finding a box
• Printing a label
• Taping everything up
• Dropping it off

Now you can skip all of that.

Even if a return point is not convenient, and youd rather box it up yourself and drop it off at UPS, its often not an option without starting a live chat and insisting.

Now, for eligible items, you simply:

• Start a return in your account
• Choose a nearby drop-off location
• Get a QR code
• Bring the item (no packaging needed)

Thats it. The store scans it and handles the rest.

Pro tip: Pick your drop-off location based on speed, not necessarily driving distance. In other words, the closest location isnt always going to save you time.

For example:

• Whole Foods Market Returnable items are scanned immediately at the counter.
• Kohls Usually instant or near-instant scan + confirmation.
• UPS Store Depends on staff + backlog. Can sometimes take 24 hours.

Smart ways to use this (and actually save money)

1. Stop overthinking returns but dont abuse them.

This system makes returns incredibly easy, which is great. But it can also lead to over-ordering.

Smart move:

• Only buy multiple sizes or options when you actually need to.
• Return stuff quickly so refunds hit faster and you dont forget.

2. Try to stack your errands.

The real value here is the convenience piece.

Instead of making a separate trip:

• Return items while grocery shopping at Whole Foods.
• Drop off during a workday stop at FedEx Office.
• Combine with a Kohls or Staples run.

This saves not only time and gas, but mental effort, which is a nice perk for busy parents.

3. Always choose the free return option.

Not all return methods are equal and some are not free.

Sometimes Amazon will:

• Offer a paid UPS pickup.
• Show a small fee for certain drop-off locations.

Always scroll and choose the free drop-off option when available.

4. Check eligibility before you buy.

Not every item qualifies for label-free returns.

Before purchasing:

• Look at the return policy.
• Check if free returns are included.

This matters more for:

• Third-party sellers.
• Large or heavy items.