Talking Carts 1: Ready, Set, Gift

Main theme: Whether you’ve been saving up all year or plan to “buy now, pay later,” Consumer Reports’ “Talking Carts” is here with smart tips and practical tricks to help you save money and shop with confidence. 

In this podcast episode, Talking Carts hosts senior home and appliances writer Tanya Christian and marketplace equity reporter Brian Vines discuss how much shoppers intend to spend on holiday gifting, whether doorbuster deals are actually worth waking up for, and how to tell if those holiday sales are really sales at all. CR Deals editor Samantha B. Gordon joins the convo and tells us not only when to click "buy now" on those new Apple AirPods, but also shares the latest insights on online tools that can help save time and money this shopping season and beyond. 

We also delve into the phenomenon of "ghost carts," those items that live rent-free in our heads and online shopping carts—but that, for one reason or another, we just haven’t snagged. Should we go ahead and actually buy ‘em—or just keep eyeing ‘em?

Then the three saving sleuths play a round of “Two Buys and a Lie” Holiday Edition, where they spill the tea on two things that are actually in their carts and one thing that will not be making the cut this year.