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Retail sales

Holiday sales boosted by fear of empty shelves

by Lily Jamali
Dec 27, 2021
An early picture of the all-important selling season looks decent.
With shoppers hunting for presents earlier, retailers enjoyed the strongest holiday sales growth in nearly two decades, according to the Mastercard SpendingPulse report.
Brandon Bell via Getty Images
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Shop owners rush, like their customers, to shop for the holidays early

by Justin Ho
Nov 19, 2021
Haunted by their own supply chain woes, many retailers are trying to get what they themselves need for the holidays.
Shoppers look at a holiday display in a New York City shop window. Despite supply chain issues and inflation, the National Retail Federation expects holiday spending to jump up to 10.5%.
Scott Heins via Getty Images
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Inflation is hiding within retail sales spikes

by Mitchell Hartman
Nov 16, 2021
While prices are rising for consumers, that's not discouraging them from making purchases.
A woman shops at a Miami Target in September. While retail sales were up 16.3% year over year in October, inflation is eating up a lot of that increase.
Joe Raedle via Getty Images
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Do you really need to do holiday shopping early?

by Caroline Champlin
Nov 1, 2021
Retailers have their own reasons to get people to do their holiday shopping early. It's not all supply chain.
People wearing protective masks walk by holiday windows in New York City.
Cindy Ord/Getty Images
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COVID-19

COVID surge might not be the main factor in retail sales drop

by Marielle Segarra
Aug 17, 2021
The obvious explanation for July's 1.1% dip would be the coronavirus delta variant. Not so fast; inflation may also be a culprit.
Despite consumer purchases being down 1.1% last month, they were still nearly 16% higher than in July 2020.
Gary Gershoff/Getty Images for Housing Works
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Consumers face higher prices as businesses pass on costs of shortages

by Kristin Schwab
Jun 8, 2021
Higher costs for labor and supplies are increasing price tags.
With pent-up demand now unleashed, many businesses can't find enough labor or supplies to satisfy consumers.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images
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Retail sales were flat in April, falling short of estimates

by Marielle Segarra
May 14, 2021
But considering what we're comparing them to — the stimulus-fueled month of March — that's not so bad.
In April, people spent less on things like clothing and furniture and more at bars and restaurants.
Mario Tama/Getty Images
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Simon Property Group bets on retail comeback with store leases

by Marielle Segarra
May 11, 2021
The commercial landlord agreed to lower mall retailers' base rents for a bigger cut of their sales.
Rather than evict or sue some of its tenants that missed rent payments, mall owner Simon Property renegotiated "break points."
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
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Why a rise in wholesale inventories could be a beacon of optimism

by Justin Ho
Apr 28, 2021
Wholesalers are like the middlemen of the retail supply chain, buying goods from manufacturers to sell to retailers.
Increased wholesale inventory signals expectations of strong retail demand. But for how long?
Sean Gallup/Getty Images
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New data points to strengthening economic recovery this year

by Justin Ho
Apr 15, 2021
Jobless claims and retail spending data out Thursday suggest that the economy's laying the groundwork for recovery.
This March, spending at restaurants rose by more than spending at grocery stores, a positive sign for economic recovery.
Octavio Jones/Getty Images
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