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For online retail, the holidays are coming earlier and earlier

Nov 15, 2024
Web retail requires no mall Santas or displays, and shoppers easily compare prices online, so the messaging starts around Oct. 1, experts say.
kerkez/Getty Images

More consumers are planning to use generative AI for holiday shopping

Nov 13, 2024
Amazon and Walmart are both touting AI chatbots as a convenient way to shop this holiday season. But will it really change the way we buy?
It's the first holiday season for Rufus, Amazon's AI shopping assistant, which launched in February.
Nathan Stirk/Getty Images

With Tupperware's bankruptcy, where's the party now?

Oct 25, 2024
The sales model was innovative when the company embraced it after WWII. But in the digital age, that strategy has evolved.
Tupperware is now sold is some stores, but nearly 90% of the company's sales last year came through direct sellers.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Wayfair steps into IRL retail

May 16, 2024
Many consumers are more comfortable buying furnishings in person. Several online-native brands have recently expanded into physical retail.
Wayfair's first brick-and-mortar store, located in Wilmette, Illinois. The 150,000-square-foot space will carry only a fraction of what’s online.
Scott Olson/Getty Images

Layoffs signal retailers are adjusting to more sharp turns

Apr 17, 2023
Retailers like Walmart and Best Buy are cutting staff as consumers pull back on discretionary spending.
Retail sales had a weak showing in March, and stores like Best Buy and Walmart are laying off workers.
Ken Betancur/Getty Images

How a Seattle retailer hopes to navigate an uncertain holiday season

Dec 3, 2020
Sales estimates are all over the place. Small business owners are hoping to ride out the uncertainty.
 Tom Butcher, right, and Cindy Reichel, left, co-owners of Patchwerks in Seattle. The four-year-old store and online business specializes in synthesizers and other electronic music instruments.
Image provided by Tom Butcher

U.S. was top seller to China during Singles Day

Nov 12, 2020
But overall retail sales in China for the year are still down significantly due to the pandemic.
Workers sort packages for delivery at a warehouse of China Post Group in Hengyang, in central China's Hunan province on Nov. 12, 2020, a day after the end of the Singles Day shopping festival.
STR/AFP via Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

With stores closed, local bookstores lean on online sales

Mar 31, 2020
At Bookshop.org, a platform for independent bookstores, sales are way up.
Keystone/Getty Images

How Bath & Body Works is still going strong

Feb 24, 2020
The company is about to be the last retailer left at L Brands, which is selling Victoria's Secret.
Bath & Body Works is still able to cultivate an in-store experience.
Courtesy of L Brands

Resellers find treasure in online returns

Aug 8, 2019
Ever wondered where your online returns go? They may be fueling new resale businesses.
Naveed Ahmed uses his living room to sort through returned merchandise from pallets he bids on online. He says he makes between $150 and $200 in profit on each pallet he buys.
Leila Goldstein/Marketplace