retail sales

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As Stores Lock Down Products, Shoppers Head to Amazon

Customer frustration with locked-up cases may driving a rise in online sales of 'essentials'

(Newser) - Big-box stores like Walmart and Target are keeping a growing range of items locked up in plexiglass cases, but it might be costing them more in business than they would have lost to sticky fingers if their goods were more accessible. Francisco Velasquez at Quartz says sales figures strongly suggest...

Target Joins the Push to Lure Inflation-Weary Customers

Chain cutting prices on staples, following the lead of rivals

(Newser) - Target has joined the new trend among big retailers: Lowering prices on staples and then boasting about it. The chain says it has dropped prices on about 1,500 items so far and will bring the total to 5,000 by the end of summer, reports USA Today . The cuts...

Online Shoppers, Today Is Your Big Day

With Black Friday, it's on to Cyber Monday, wrapping up 5-day Cyber Week for holiday shopping

(Newser) - Consumers are scouring the internet for online deals as they begin to cap off the five-day post-Thanksgiving shopping bonanza with Cyber Monday. Even though e-commerce is now part and parcel of our everyday lives and much of the holiday shopping season, Cyber Monday—a term coined back in 2005 by...

Inflation Is a Big Worry for Black Friday Shoppers

People are more reluctant to spend big this year

(Newser) - Black Friday marks a return to familiar holiday shopping patterns, but inflation is weighing on consumers. Elevated prices for food, rent, gasoline, and other household costs have taken a toll on shoppers. As a result, many are reluctant to spend unless there is a big sale and are being more...

Amazon Is Doubling Down on Prime Day

There'll be another sale next month, the first time company has had 2 in one calendar year

(Newser) - If one Amazon Prime Day in 2022 wasn't enough for you, you're in luck: On the heels of its annual summer sale exclusively for Prime members, Amazon is hosting another one next month. The 48-hour preholiday event, called the "Prime Early Access Sale," will take place...

Teeming With Inventory, Kohl's, Gap Resort to 'Pack and Hold'

Clothing retailers are tapping into unusual strategies amid an inventory glut

(Newser) - As summer tilts toward autumn, major clothing retailers have found themselves with a massive glut of inventory, forcing many chains to make tough choices. Per CNN, discounts and promotions are the usual strategies for clearing excess goods, but that's not good enough for Kohl's and the Gap. Both...

On This Prime Day, 'Pain Is Considerable' for Amazon

One of company's biggest annual events comes amid excess costs, sluggish online sales growth

(Newser) - Amazon is heading into its annual Prime Day on Tuesday much differently than how it entered the pandemic. The company has long used the two-day event—one of its biggest all year—to lure people to its $139 Prime membership. Amazon doesn't disclose total Prime Day sales, though growth...

It's a Banner Day for Economy So Far

Retails sales surge, jobless claims reach pandemic low, and stocks reach record highs

(Newser) - Thursday is starting out as a strong day for the economy:
  • Consumers: Retail spending surged almost 10% in March thanks to factors including stimulus checks to households, warmer weather, and an increased reopening of businesses, reports the Wall Street Journal . The spike, detailed in a new Commerce Department report, follows
...

Kamala Harris Gives Jolt to a Certain Sneaker

Sales of Converse's Chuck Taylors spike after vice president wears them

(Newser) - Supporters of Kamala Harris appear to have helped boost sales of the vice president's favorite pair of shoes. Women across the country vowed to wear Converse sneakers —specifically the Chuck Taylor versions Harris loves so much—and/or pearls for Inauguration Day, in honor of the nation's first...

For Crocs, a 'Bittersweet Moment' Amid the Pandemic

Consumers scooped up famous, easy-to-clean clogs in record sales year

(Newser) - For many retailers, 2020 was a catastrophe due to the coronavirus pandemic. For the Crocs footwear brand, it was a "bittersweet moment," per CNN Business . The sweet part: Last year was a record one in terms of sales, and the company on Monday increased its Q4 year-over-year revenue...

Online Sales Rise Most This Season
Online
Sales Rise
Most This
Season
Dec 26, 2020 4:30 PM CST

Online Sales Rise Most This Season

Holiday spending increases modestly overall

(Newser) - Holiday shoppers spent more this year than last, though the totals were still below what had been forecast by the retail industry. Mastercard SpendingPulse said Saturday that sales were up 2.4% between Nov. 1 and Dec. 24 over the same stretch last year, the Wall Street Journal reports. Online...

Black Friday Crowds Will Be Much Smaller This Year

But it's still a beacon of hope for struggling stores

(Newser) - After months of slumping sales and businesses toppling into bankruptcy, Black Friday is offering a small beacon of hope. In normal times, Black Friday is the busiest shopping day of the year, drawing millions of shoppers eager to get started on their holiday spending. But these are not normal times:...

Sweater Made Famous by Princess Di Is On Sale Again

'Black sheep' crewneck is being reissued by designers Warm and Wonderful

(Newser) - Princess Diana's attire was often the subject of tabloid reviews, but what she wore to one particular polo match in 1980 attracted special attention. It was a red wool crewneck sweater designed by Warm and Wonderful, with white sheep scattered across it—except for one black sheep located four...

'Exhausted' Retailers See Some Record-Setting Good News

US retail sales jumped 17.7% from April to May, but retailers aren't out of the woods yet

(Newser) - US retail sales jumped by a record 17.7% from April to May, with spending partially rebounding after the coronavirus had shut down businesses, flattened the economy, and paralyzed consumers during the previous two months. The Commerce Department's report Tuesday showed retail sales have retraced some of the record-setting...

Ikea's Main Franchisee Prepares for Baby Boom

Ingka aims to reopen European stores in May

(Newser) - Ikea's main franchisee has reopened all but one of its stores in China, and next month it plans to welcome crowds back to its European stores, too. Ingka Group—the world's largest furniture retailer, operating 420 Ikea stores around the world—aims to reopen stores in Europe in...

We Just Saw an Unprecedented Plummet in Retail Sales

They were down 8.7% in March, and the reality is likely worse

(Newser) - US retail sales plummeted 8.7% in March, an unprecedented decline that came as the viral outbreak forced an almost complete lockdown of commerce nationwide. The deterioration of sales far outpaced the previous record decline of 3.9% that took place during the depths of the Great Recession in November...

Papyrus Is Closing All 254 Stores
Greeting Card Chain Folds
Jan 22, 2020 8:03 AM CST

Greeting Card Chain Folds

Papyrus is closing all 254 stores

(Newser) - Last year was a tough one for the retail industry and 2020 isn't looking much better. The owner of greeting card and stationery chain Papyrus says that after "Herculean efforts" to make its stores "fit today's retail environment," it is calling it quits, USA Today...

France May Ban Black Friday
It's 'Block Friday'
in This Country
Nov 29, 2019 10:29 AM CST

It's 'Block Friday' in This Country

French lawmakers, activists worry about overconsumption

(Newser) - More than 200 brands are boycotting Black Friday in France this year. But come next year, there might not be a Black Friday in the country at all. A French legislative committee on Monday approved an amendment to an anti-waste bill that proposes to ban Black Friday and other "...

This Is the Shortest Holiday Shopping Season Since 2013

More intense scramble predicted

(Newser) - The mad scramble between Thanksgiving and Christmas just got six days shorter. Black Friday once again kicks off the start of the holiday shopping season. But with six fewer days than last year, it will be the shortest season since 2013 because Thanksgiving fell on the 28th—the latest possible...

H&M Struggles With Mountain of Unsold Clothes

Profits are way down; unsold inventory is way up

(Newser) - H&M says it is struggling with shrinking profits and a massive, ever-growing pile of unsold clothes. The fashion retailer, full name Hennes and Mauritz AB, is sitting on a $4.3 billion mountain of unsold inventory that has grown by 7% over the last year as shopping habits change,...

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