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Stories Tagged as

Retail

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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Not everyone is planning to spend money on gifts this holiday season

by Caroline Champlin
Nov 16, 2021
A Deloitte seasonal survey finds the percentage of people who say they are not planning to buy gifts or pay for holiday experiences is at a 10-year high.
Holiday shoppers in New York City. Many lower-income households are skipping out on holiday spending altogether, according to a Deloitte survey.
Scott Heins/Getty Images
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With shipping costs sky-high, is importing products even worth it?

by Justin Ho
Nov 8, 2021
For some businesses, the answer is no, but it depends on the value of the product in question.
With costly manufacturing and delayed shipping timelines, the value of certain products is shifting in the eyes of retailers. Above, people watch a container ship at the Port of Los Angeles.
Mario Tama via Getty Images
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My Economy

How one bookseller arrived at its next chapter

by Anais Amin and Marketplace Staff
Nov 3, 2021
The co-owners of “A Good Used Book” in Los Angeles, California, are back in their retail space and looking ahead to the future.
This summer, Jenny Yang and Chris Capizzi, co-owners of A Good Used Book, began selling books in-person again after pivoting to online sales during pandemic lockdown.
TTStock via Getty Images
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Vacant real estate: Spirit Halloween's favorite haunt

by Janet Nguyen
Oct 29, 2021
The pop-up shop has more than 1,400 stores throughout the U.S. and Canada, taking over iconic locations such as Barneys on Seventh Avenue.
Spirit Halloween expanded this year, with 3% more stores than in 2020.
Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images
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Small retailers are caught between order backlogs and ramping demand

by Sean McHenry
Oct 29, 2021
Three independent retailers on how they're dealing with shortages, price increases and high demand.
The interior of one Dean's Sweets location in Portland, Maine. "If we sell more chocolate with a lower profit margin, we're still going to be OK," said co-owner Kristin Thalheimer Bingham.
Courtesy of Kristin Thalheimer Bingham
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Business inventories didn't decline as sharply in September. That's good news.

by Justin Ho
Oct 28, 2021
It means businesses know that consumers want to buy and are working to meet that demand.
A person walks in a partially stocked Ikea on Oct. 15. Consumer demand is high, meaning products often fly off retailers' shelves.
Michael M. Santiago via Getty Images
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There's an industry that handles our returns, and it's not pretty

by Kai Ryssdal and Sean McHenry
Oct 19, 2021
Companies spend a lot of money processing those returns, and many items that are returned won't end up back on the shelf.
An Amazon delivery driver carries boxes into a van outside of a distribution facility in Hawthorne, California.
Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images
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Demand is up for small retailers, but supply is another story

by Sean McHenry
Sep 16, 2021
Customers are shopping at the three small retail stores we checked in with, but keeping inventory up isn't so easy.
A small-business owner works in her South Carolina retail shop in April 2020. Many small retailers have dealt with their share of pandemic-related supply chain issues.
Sean Rayford via Getty Images
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Vanishing America

Remembering Downriver Rookie, a beloved Michigan sports-card shop

by Rose Conlon
Sep 1, 2021
"You can almost smell the cards when you think about it hard enough," said high school teacher Ken Cameron.
Ken Cameron still has the baseball cards he bought at Downriver Rookie. "Baseball was such a part of my grandfather's life, my father's life, my life," he says.
Courtesy Ken Cameron
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