Consumer News: 6 retail pricing tricks that quietly influence how much you spend

Back-to-school shopping is no longer an August-only event

By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs

• Nearly two-thirds of back-to-school shoppers had already started buying school supplies by early July, continuing a trend toward earlier shopping.

• Price-conscious consumers are waiting for discounts, spreading purchases over time, and buying only essentials to stretch their budgets.

• Major summer sales events from Amazon, Walmart, and Target have become key drivers of early back-to-school spending.

Nearly two-thirds (62%) of consumers had already begun buying school supplies by early July, according to the National Retail Federation's annual survey with Prosper Insights & Analytics.

While that is slightly below last year's 67%, it remains well above the 55% who had started shopping by the same point in 2024, suggesting that families are continuing to shift their purchases earlier in the summer.

The earlier start reflects a familiar theme for consumers in 2026: affordability.

"Affordability is a concern for families and a top priority for retailers as we enter the back-to-school season," said NRF Chief Economist and Executive Director of Research Mark Mathews. "Shoppers are keeping value front and center as they look for ways to make their dollars go further."

Waiting for better deals

Even shoppers who have started buying aren't necessarily filling their carts all at once.

Among consumers who have not yet purchased at least half of their school supplies:

• 46% say they are waiting for the best deals before completing their shopping.

• 23% are spreading purchases over time to better manage their budgets.

• 47% plan to buy only the essentials before school starts and replenish supplies throughout the year as needed.

The strategy reflects the financial pressures many households continue to face, including higher prices and tighter budgets.

Summer sales reshape shopping calendar

Retailers have increasingly moved major promotions into June and July, giving shoppers more opportunities to save before the traditional back-to-school rush.

More than half (54%) of consumers said they shopped June promotional events including Amazon Prime Day, Walmart Deals, and Target Circle Deal Days specifically for school-related purchases.

Those events have helped extend what was once a late-summer shopping season into a months-long period of bargain hunting.

Spending remains resilient

Despite concerns about inflation and household budgets, families continue to prioritize education-related purchases.

NRF recently projected that total back-to-school and back-to-college spending will reach a record $146.8 billion this year, including $43.3 billion for K-12 students and $103.5 billion for college students. Analysts say parents are often willing to cut back in other areas before reducing spending on school needs.

For consumers, the survey suggests that patience may continue to pay off. With many retailers expected to roll out additional promotions throughout the summer, shoppers waiting for deeper discounts could still find opportunities to save before classes begin.

The countdown clock to 2032 is ticking

By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs

• A bipartisan Senate bill would create a mechanism to force Congress to vote on a plan to shore up Social Security before automatic benefit cuts take effect.

• The PROMISE Act would establish an independent advisory board to recommend reforms, with Congress required to consider the proposals under expedited procedures.

• Supporters say the measure would end decades of political gridlock, while critics worry it could limit public debate over changes affecting millions of retirees.

For years, lawmakers have acknowledged that Social Security is headed toward a funding crisis while repeatedly failing to agree on a solution. A bipartisan group of senators now wants to change that by making it much harder for Congress to simply do nothing.

The proposed Protecting Retirement Opportunities and Maintaining Income Security for Everyone (PROMISE) Act would establish a formal process requiring Congress to consider legislation aimed at restoring Social Security's long-term finances before the program reaches a critical deadline.

According to the Social Security Trustees' latest report, the retirement trust fund is projected to be depleted in 2032. At that point, payroll tax revenue would still cover most benefits, but recipients would face an automatic reduction of roughly 22% unless Congress acts.

The PROMISE Act does not specify how to eliminate the shortfall. Instead, it is designed to ensure lawmakers vote on a plan rather than continuing to postpone difficult decisions.

A process instead of a prescription

The legislation was introduced by Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.), along with a bipartisan group of co-sponsors.

Under the proposal, an independent Social Security Advisory Board would develop recommendations intended to keep the program solvent for at least 50 years. Congress would then be required to consider the recommendations under expedited procedures, making it more difficult for the proposals to stall indefinitely.

The longer Congress waits, the fewer options remain, supporters of the legislation argue, pointing to the shrinking window before benefit reductions would occur automatically.

Unlike previous proposals, the PROMISE Act deliberately avoids taking sides on issues such as raising payroll taxes, increasing the retirement age, or reducing benefits. Those decisions would be left to Congress after receiving the advisory board's recommendations.

What it could mean for citizens

For today's retirees, the legislation would not immediately change Social Security benefits. Instead, it is intended to increase pressure on lawmakers to adopt a long-term solution before the trust fund is exhausted.

For younger workers, the bill represents another acknowledgment that changes to the program are likely unavoidable. While no one knows what a final reform package would include, analysts generally agree that restoring Social Security's finances will require some combination of higher revenue, slower benefit growth, or both.

The bill also serves as a reminder that consumers should not assume Congress will wait until the last minute. Historically, lawmakers have stepped in before benefits were reduced, most notably with bipartisan reforms enacted in 1983.

Critics question the fast-track approach

The legislation has drawn criticism from AARP, which says Social Security reforms should be debated through the normal legislative process rather than under expedited procedures.

The advocacy group argues that changes affecting nearly every American worker and retiree deserve full public scrutiny and worries that a fast-track process could limit debate or lead to major decisions during a lame-duck session of Congress.

Supporters counter that the expedited process is necessary because the traditional legislative process has failed to produce a solution despite years of warnings from the Social Security Trustees.

Whether the PROMISE Act gains traction remains uncertain, but its introduction reflects growing concern on Capitol Hill that the deadline for preserving full Social Security benefits is approaching rapidly, leaving Congress with increasingly limited time to act.

The company denies the charges and said it fully cooperated in the investigation

By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs

• The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), joined by California and Utah, has sued telehealth company Hims & Hers, alleging it shared consumers' sensitive health information with advertising platforms despite promising to protect patient privacy.

• The complaint also accuses the company of deceptive billing, automatically enrolling customers in subscriptions before medical consultations, and making cancellations unnecessarily difficult.

• Hims & Hers denies the allegations, calling the lawsuit an attempt to "generate headlines" and says it intends to vigorously defend itself.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has filed a lawsuit against telehealth provider Hims & Hers, accusing the company of unlawfully sharing consumers' sensitive health information with advertisers while falsely assuring customers their medical data would remain private.

The complaint, filed Wednesday in federal court, was brought by the FTC together with the states of California and Utah. Regulators allege the company disclosed information about consumers' medical conditions and online activity to advertising platforms, including Meta and Snap, to help target ads, even as it marketed itself as a privacy-focused healthcare provider.

According to the FTC, the shared data included information that could reveal consumers' interest in treatments for sensitive medical conditions. The agency contends those disclosures violated both federal and state consumer protection laws.

"Hims & Hers promised users privacy," the FTC said in announcing the lawsuit, arguing that consumers relied on those assurances when seeking medical care through the company's online platform.

Billing and subscription practices challenged

The lawsuit goes beyond privacy allegations. The FTC claims Hims & Hers charged customers for prescription subscriptions shortly after they completed online intake forms, even though consumers were led to believe they would first consult with a healthcare provider to determine whether treatment was appropriate.

Regulators also allege the company failed to clearly disclose when prescriptions would automatically renew and made it difficult for customers to cancel recurring subscriptions before being charged again. According to the complaint, the online cancellation option was difficult to locate, and consumers often were not given adequate notice before refill charges occurred.

The FTC is seeking a court order prohibiting the alleged practices, along with civil penalties and other remedies under federal and state law.

Company disputes allegations

Hims & Hers rejected the government's claims, saying the lawsuit ignores evidence the company provided during what it described as a nearly three-year FTC investigation.

In a statement, the company said the case "disregards substantial evidence" and ignores industry standards governing telehealth. It characterized the lawsuit as "an effort to generate headlines at our expense" rather than a legitimate consumer protection action and said it will vigorously defend itself.

The case serves as a reminder that consumers should carefully review the privacy policies and billing terms of telehealth providers before signing up for services. Experts recommend:

• Reading privacy disclosures to understand how health information may be shared.

• Looking for clear explanations of subscription renewals and cancellation policies.

• Monitoring credit card and bank statements for recurring charges.

• Canceling subscriptions well before renewal dates and keeping records of cancellation requests.

The lawsuit's allegations have not been proven in court, and Hims & Hers will have an opportunity to contest the claims as the case proceeds.

J.D. Power finds improved customer service is the key

By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs

• T-Mobile earned the highest customer satisfaction among major postpaid wireless carriers, while Consumer Cellular and Mint Mobile led their respective MVNO categories.

• Customers who said their problems were resolved with minimal effort were far more satisfied and loyal than those who experienced a difficult service process.

• Fast digital support also mattered: Issues resolved online in less than 10 minutes generated significantly higher satisfaction scores.

Once upon a time, consumer complaints about wireless providers were very common. But that script has apparently flipped, and a new survey suggests improved customer service is the reason.

Consumers are far more likely to stay with a wireless carrier when it is easy to do business with it, according to the latest J.D. Power U.S. Wireless Carrier Satisfaction Study, which found that hassle-free problem resolution has become one of the strongest drivers of customer loyalty.

The study found a sharp divide between customers who felt their issues were resolved with minimal effort and those who did not. Customers who strongly agreed that their carrier made it easy to resolve a problem gave their provider an average ease-of-doing-business score of 786 on a 1,000-point scale, compared with 554 among customers who disagreed. The industry average was 612.

"Ease" increasingly influences whether customers remain with a carrier, J.D. Power said, as consumers place a premium on quick, friction-free service rather than simply comparing prices.

"Wireless carrier satisfaction and loyalty are strongly linked to perceptions of ease of doing business," said Carl Lepper, senior director of technology, media, and telecom at J.D. Power.

Digital support is paying off

The study also found that speed matters. Customers who resolved problems through digital channels in less than 10 minutes reported substantially higher satisfaction than those whose issues took longer to address. That finding suggests investments in online chat, apps, and other digital support tools can improve both customer experience and retention.

J.D. Power said the research measures customer experiences across the entire relationship with a wireless provider, including value for the price paid, quality of service, trust, ease of doing business, interactions with employees, product offerings, digital tools, and problem resolution.

Carrier rankings

Among the nation's three major wireless carriers, T-Mobile ranked highest in customer satisfaction in the mobile network operator (MNO) postpaid category.

In the mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) segments, Consumer Cellular topped the postpaid rankings for the second consecutive study, while Mint Mobile repeated as the highest-ranked prepaid MVNO. Google Fi Wireless finished second in the postpaid MVNO category, while Visible by Verizon placed second among prepaid MVNOs. Cricket and Straight Talk Wireless tied for third in the prepaid segment.