The holidays are over and your credit card most likely got a good workout in the past month. But now is the time to take advantage of some screaming good deals — especially for electronics.

TODAY financial contributor Farnoosh Torabi has the details.

Hillery Smith Shay / AP

Getting accidentally bumped by other shoppers can trigger an urge to get the heck out of a store.

Retailers might want to rethink the seasonal strategy of cramming stores so full that customers can barely squeeze down the aisles.

Researchers have discovered that consumers hate rubbing elbows with other shoppers so much that they’ll cut short shopping missions –- or sometimes just stomp out of the store -– when they’re accidentally bumped.

And, as it turns out, it’s not just women who don’t like to be bumped by strangers while browsing, according to a study published in the Journal of Consumer Research. Men don’t like any stranger -– male or female -– to brush up against them.

“Men do not like being bumped into by women they don’t know,” says Brett A.S. Martin, a professor of marketing at the School of Advertising, Marketing and Public Relations at the Queensland University of Technology Business School in Brisbane, Australia. “But if it is a man they don’t know, they’ll leave the store fast.”

Figuring that nobody likes to be crowded, Martin set up an experiment with the help of 144 volunteers to look at the impact of customers brushing up against one another.

Martin sent the 72 men and 72 women into the store and asked them to shop as they normally would. The volunteers were also asked to check out a particular purse that was being displayed in the middle of the store. 

Unbeknownst to the volunteers, Martin also sent in two confederates -- both relatively attractive people in their mid-30s -- to casually brush up against half of the volunteers as they were looking at the purse. Martin made sure his helpers understood they were to blend in with the shoppers in the store and to only lightly brush past the volunteers, touching just the shoulder area.

Martin kept track of how long each of his volunteers was in the store. He also had them fill out a questionnaire that asked what the volunteers thought of the store and how much they thought the purse should cost.

No matter whether volunteers were men or women, the ones who were bumped left the store much more quickly than those who’d shopped unhindered. Bumped people also were more likely to set a lower price for the purse and to give the store a bad rating in their evaluations.

Martin’s advice to store owners is simple: “Managers can be tempted to maximize floor space by narrowing aisles and offering as many products as possible. This research suggests that where customers interfere with each other -– even if accidentally -– it can result in lost sales.”

Yes, it's only September, but Toys 'R' Us is already hoping to get shoppers interested in shopping for the holidays. The retailer this week unveiled its annual list of toys it hopes will hit big this holiday season.

Collin Morgan, the coupon-savvy mom behind Hip2Save.com, joined us for a live Web chat Wednesday to answer your questions.

Here’s one of her answers to questions from the live chat. (See below for the full Q&A.)

Nina asked:

“Hi Collin. I have tried couponing many times and have failed. I always end up spending more and buying a bunch of stuff I don't need. I don't want a cupboard full of energy drinks or junk food. How can I get better at this (and not just for groceries)? I know many retailers have coupons. I always seem to be disorganized and always miss out. Any suggestions?”

Collin replied:

“Definitely take baby steps and let yourself get the hang of it first. You will learn quickly that you can save a tremendous amount of money on personal care products ... possibly getting some FREE, which in turn will allow you to spend more money in the grocery department.”

Here’s the full chat archive:

If you have a question for our TODAY Money experts, submit it here. 

To sign up for an e-mail reminder for our next chat, click here.

AP

If the beach really isn’t your thing and you prefer to spend the last weekend of summer car shopping, Consumer Reports has put together an analysis of the best deals for car buyers in five major cities across the country, including Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, New York and Los Angeles.

The end of summer marks the transition between the 2011 and 2012 model year for many automakers. Historically, that means you can find deep discounts on cars for the outgoing model year as manufacturers and dealerships make way for the brand new models rolling off production lines.

Consumer Reports says it’s seeing the trend happen again this summer, and buying a leftover 2011 model rather than a 2012 model can save you serious money upfront.

In Chicago, for example, you can save 20 percent off the manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) for a 2011 Nissan Altima 2.5 HEV eCVT, according to Consumer Reports data (the offer expires on Sept. 30). And in Dallas you can find a 2012 Ford Mustang GT Premium Coupe with a 15 percent discount on its MSRP until Oct. 30.

For more information on the car discounts, click here.

With the legalization of gay marriage in New York — which comes just in time for wedding season — you may be pondering what to get the happy newlyweds in your life. 

May we suggest a subscription to Netflix, a nice lunch at Subway or an Amazon.com gift card?

A new report from YouGov BrandIndex finds that those companies, along with Google and YouTube, are among those best perceived by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender shoppers.

YouTube and Google ranked first — but you can’t exactly put those brands’ products on a wedding registry since most are already free. Netflix, Amazon.com and Subway were next, following by Whole Foods, Disneyland/Disney World and the iPhone.

YouGov BrandIndex daily surveys about 5,000 shoppers daily. To get this list, the company looked at positive and negative perceptions of various brands among people who identify themselves as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender.

It got slightly different results when they ran the same test for the overall adult population. For the broader group, Subway ranked first, followed by Lowe’s, Ford, Amazon.com and Netflix. YouTube was No. 13 on the list, and Google was No. 7.

YouGot BrandIndex declined to disclose which companies LGBT shoppers perceived as being the worst.

Here's the full list of popular brands. 

YouGov BrandIndex

AP

Despite the current zeitgeist in which men are light-beer ad oafs who aren’t even smart enough to understand the latest Judd Apatow movie aping (pun intended) them, it seems the recession may have sharpened some bros’ life skills.

Supermarket News reports that although fewer men than women have changed what they spend on in the downturn, 54 percent of guys are adjusting by doing things like eating out less. In addition, 35 percent shop multiple stores to find the lowest price.

They also, apparently, are only buying the things they need rather than having a survivalist cache of stuff (oh no, what will this mean for Costco?).

“Our research shatters the stereotype of clueless men wandering around a grocery store,” John McIndoe, executive of the company who conducted the research, told SN in a statement.

It’s something we’ll ponder next time we’re filling our cart with Hungry-Mans in the frozen food aisle. Hey! What are you looking at? This is for lunch at work. Cafeteria food is lousy and expensive! We cook!

Guys, how do you shop at the grocery store? Ladies, how do you see men shopping at the grocery store?

Jason Reed / Reuters

Warren Buffett, among the world's wealthiest people, is known for his modest spending habits, including the fact that he still owns the same Omaha, Neb., home he bought in 1958.

Apparently, Warren Buffett's thrifty billionaire ways extend to other high earners as well.

A new survey of online shopping habits finds that people with annual household incomes of $75,000 and above are more likely to bargain shop online than their lower-earning counterparts.

The study was conducted by Synovate eNation on behalf of Steelhouse, which helps companies with online marketing strategies.

The survey found that 37 percent of the high earners check out coupon sites, compared with 24 percent of those who make less than $25,000 a year.

Nearly one-third of the highest earners said they buy only when there's a discount, about the same amount who said they buy only when there's free shipping. By comparison, only about one-fourth of the lowest earners said they did those things.

In general, as household income went up, so did the percentage of respondents who said they use those bargain shopping tactics.

The wealthier respondents were also more likely to read product reviews and to buy premium brands, according to the survey.

Buffett, among the world's wealthiest people, is known for his modest spending habits, including the fact that he still owns the same Omaha, Neb., home he bought in 1958 (although he also has a house in Laguna Beach, Calif.).

The poll was based on an online survey of 1,000 adult U.S. shoppers, and had a margin of error of three percentage points.

Jeff Roberson / AP

If Panera Bread pay-what-you-can experiment serves as a test for a people's inner goodness, it appears honesty usually wins out. The company says 60 percent of people leave the suggested amount, and 20 percent leave more.

Hungry but short on cash? You might be in luck if you live near one of the three Panera Bread locations that allow customers to pay what they can for their meals.

These cafes, which serve as part of the nonprofit arm for the St. Louis-based chain, rely on customers' sense of goodness and honesty to raise money for charitable programs. Instead of a tradtional menu and cash register, you can leave a lone penny or a fat wad of Benjamins in a donation box. The three locations (Clayton, Mo.; Dearborn, Mich.; and Portland Ore.) each bring in between $3,000 to $4,000 above costs.

This pay-what-you-can form of progressive charity is far from revolutionary: Community kitchens that operate like the Panera locations can be found across the country; a nonprofit gym in Euless, Texas, offers physical therapy without a price tag; and New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art and other musuems have for decades eliminated ticket counters in favor of donation boxes.

There's evidence that the name-your-price model is catching on with for-profit businesses (or at least being used as a marketing ploy):

• A decade ago, Priceline.com shook up the travel industry by allowing people to name their own price for airline tickets and hotel rooms. The company has de-emphasized this service in recent years, focusing on a standard comparison search format, but it is a still a core part of Priceline's business (and advertising campaign).
• Early this spring, Gap launched a "say your price" online program where shoppers can bid for clothing and accessories. If the website accepts your bid, you can print out a coupon to use in stores.
• Progressive has trumpeted its "Name Your Price" program for auto insurance. "Get a quote, then adjust the price to find a package that's right for you," its website says. Sounds great, but what you're really doing is raising or lowering your insurance premium.
• Delta airlines lets people name their price to be bumped off flights.
• In 2007, alternative rock band Radiohead released a downloadable album, "In Rainbows," without a price tag. Fans could pay what they wanted or nothing at all.

What do you think? Is a new trend in the making? Can a true pay-what-you-can business model work for a for-profit company?

Consumers love brand names containing numbers, and marketers know it: Levi's 501s, Heinz 57, 2000 Flushes, WD-40, iPhone 4, Windows 7 and on and on.

Paul Sakuma / AP

Levi's 501 jeans succeed despite the nonfluent numbers in the brand name, says professor Dan King of the National University of Singapore.

But is there a science behind the numbers? Do certain numbers resonate better with shoppers?

We like numbers that we encounter more often and numbers that are sums and products that are more frequently generated — think smaller numbers such as 1, 2 and 3, and rounded numbers such as 10, 100 and 1,000, according to new research published in the Journal of Marketing Research.

To test these theories, researchers Dan King of the National University of Singapore and Chris Janiszewski of the University of Florida queried study participants about their preference for certain brand names. In one experiment, after viewing ads for tomato juice, participants were asked if they would prefer V8 or Campbell's tomato juice. V8 was the winner. In another, an imaginary anti-dandruft product, Zinc, was liked more when it included a common product number, say Zinc 24. Prime numbers, such as Zinc 31, tended to get the cold shoulder.

"Consumers tend to believe that they have full control over what brands (or any object in general) they like or dislike, and that they are not influenced by irrelevant factors," King said. "Although the influence of numbers is largely benign, consumers need to be aware that there are many non-conscious factors, many of which have nothing to do with the intrinsic quality of the product, that influence their liking for brands."

King plans to study next whether this phenomenon occurs in product pricing. He gives the example of Wal-Mart having some of its prices end in 88, while others end in 87. Would shoppers gravitate to the product with a higher price simply because the subconsciously like the number more?  

What do you think: Do numbers in product names really make a difference? What's your favorite numbered brand?

Home Depot has long been known as the no-frills bastion of tools, lumber and other products that appeal to the tool belt-wearing set. Now, it’s going for the softer side.

The New York Times reports that Home Depot is hoping to attract more women who are into things like redecorating, and it has recruited none other than Martha Stewart to help with the effort.

The home improvement retailer now carries a line of Martha Stewart Living products, and it also is sprucing up areas that might appeal to women looking for window treatments or other products.

“For years, we’ve always had a bad — I don’t want to say a bad reputation. It’s more that people look at our business and think it is male-oriented, dominated,” Gordon Erickson, the senior vice president for merchandising and décor at the Home Depot, told the New York Times. “Fifty percent of our customers are female. We need to offer her products that she wants.”

Readers, what do you think: Will Martha Stewart make women want to shop at Home Depot? Or does the effort seem like it is pandering to women who wear tool belts? Leave your comments below.

Paul Sakuma / AP

Shopping behavior patterns are set early in life, a new study finds.

Linda Carroll writes: Remember back in elementary school where everything from lining up to being called for attendance was done in alphabetical order, based on your last name? It turns out that experience may have had long-lasting effects on the way you shop.

If your last name begins with a letter near the end of the alphabet you’re more likely to have a twitchy finger anxious to hit the buy button, whether for clothes or concert tickets, a new study shows. People with names closer to the beginning of the alphabet tend to have more patience and may even pass up good deals as they weigh their options, researchers reported in the Journal of Consumer Research.

When you have been forced to wait at the end of the line throughout your childhood, you tend to jump at the opportunity to be first when you grow up, said lead author Kurt A. Carlson, assistant professor of marketing at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University.

Carlson and his colleagues reported on several experiments looking into the impact of people’s last names. In one study, e-mails were sent out offering a chance at $500 in exchange for completing a survey. Responses zipped in from people with surnames near the end of the alphabet. Those from people with names from the  beginning trickled in much later.

In another study, researchers sent out an offer for free basketball tickets, noting that supplies were limited. Sure enough, people with names starting late in the alphabet were the first to answer.

To see if the effect truly traced back to childhood, Carlson and his colleagues looked at women who had changed their names upon marriage.

The researchers found no correlation between a woman’s married name and her purchasing behavior. But when they looked instead at maiden names, the link between buying behavior and last name showed up again. 

The study shows how our behaviors can be affected by things we never think about, experts said.

“What’s so interesting is that experiences that are so tiny that we don’t think they mean anything, do actually shape our behavior,” said Kit Yarrow, a consumer psychologist and chair of the psychology department at Golden Gate University in San Francisco. “It’s like the notion that small drops of water can create a groove in a rock. Repetition is clearly the key in establishing some of these behaviors.”

Carlson’s co-author, Jacqueline Conard, recognized the power of the last name even before the two researchers came up with their study. She began life as a Yates and assumed her husband’s surname when she got married. When she got divorced, she got rid of the man but kept the new last name. “Being at the beginning of the alphabet is MUCH better,” said Conard, an assistant professor of marketing at the Massey Graduate School of Business at Belmont University in Nashville.