As online orders continue to grow, package theft rises

Nov 13, 2019
As holiday shopping season ramps up, beware the porch pirates.
A new Amazon hub on the University of Texas at Austin campus is one of the ways companies, like Amazon, are trying to thwart package piracy.
Filipa Rodrigues for Marketplace

Chinese shoppers may boycott U.S. goods on Singles Day

Nov 8, 2019
It's the biggest shopping event of the year, and smaller American companies may feel the impact, analysts say.
Employees sort packages ahead of Singles Day in Huaibei in China's eastern Anhui province in 2017. Singles Day is a shopping spree held every Nov. 11.
STR/AFP via Getty Images

How do retailers decide what to put on sale for Black Friday?

Nov 7, 2019
These tend to be highly guarded secrets.
Holiday merchandising is more strategic than you might think.
Alex McBride/Getty Images

How We Shop: Frugality as a way of life

Oct 30, 2019
For MaryAnn McCarra-Fitpatrick, shopping is serious business.
Mike Petrie Jr./Marketplace

Toys R Us and Target make a holiday deal

Oct 8, 2019
The toy store's creditors — basically a bunch of banks — are trying to figure out how to make money from the brand.
Black Friday 2015, better days for Toys R Us.
Yana Paskova/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

For big retailers, a mixed bag of holiday results

Jan 10, 2019
We heard a lot of rosy retail forecasts heading into the holiday season. Consumer confidence was high, the economy was strong and sales were going to be great. How’d it pan out? A bit of a mixed bag, actually. Some big retailers, like Target and Costco, have posted strong holiday sales results. Others, like Macy’s […]

Holiday season discounts bring shoppers but not always profits

Dec 28, 2018
For many people, the end of the holiday season means dragging a Christmas tree out to the curb. For stores, it means throwing out advertisements for doorbusters and holiday deals — as well as dragging Christmas trees to the curb. The final two months of the year are retailers’ busiest, but all of those deals […]

Holiday shopping forecasts are good, but not as good as 2017

Dec 17, 2018
November retail sales were strong for electronics, furniture, personal and health care items, and ecommerce, boding well for the season.
TOLGA AKMEN/AFP/Getty Images