Retail
5 Signs that Retail Is Going to Be OK
SOURCE: Retail Dive Staff Writer: Daphne Howland Last year was a challenge like no other for the retail industry. COVID-19 upended people’s existence worldwide, threatening human life and undermining the global economy. Job and wage losses took a toll. Even those able to stay healthy and financially secure have faced disruptions to daily life, upsetting work,…
Read MoreRent is Cheap, Vacant Space is Everywhere: Retailers Seize the Moment to Open Stores
SOURCE: CNBC Lauren Thomas Published: March 18, 2021 KEY POINTS For the first time in years, retailers plan to open more stores than they close. From Ulta Beauty and Sephora, to Dick’s Sporting Goods, Five Below and TJ Maxx, businesses are rebounding from the Covid pandemic and looking to expand. Many businesses see an opportunity…
Read MoreWhy Apple, Sephora and Nordstrom are jumping on this trend to pull in shoppers Parija Kavilanz CNN Business
SOURCE: CNN Writer: Parija Kavilanz New York (CNN Business)As the pandemic drags on, big chains like Target and Nordstrom are looking for ways to keep consumers coming back to their stores. One go-to strategy is the store-within-a-store concept. It’s a way for one retailer to join forces with another by setting up a pop-up shop…
Read MoreSo long, sweatpants. Americans show signs they’re ready to get dressed up again
SOURCE: CNBC / Lauren Thomas reporting Published: March 5, 2021 KEY POINTS Urban Outfitters has offered one of the first signals during the Covid pandemic that women are starting to gravitate toward shopping for dresses again. The retailer’s Anthropologie brand said seven of its top 10 selling items were dresses in the final week of…
Read MoreMonthly retail sales from the US Commerce Department
The department’s Census Bureau tracks estimates each month. Retail Dive provides the numbers for key segments, and their year-over-year progress, or decline. [ December sales up 6.7% as shoppers ditch department stores. ] UPDATED: Jan. 19, 2021 REPORTING BY: Daphne Howland, Caroline Jansen DESIGN BY: Nami Sumida Editor’s Note: Comparisons for individual segments are updated…
Read MoreBelk’s top lenders, including KKR, looking to avoid taking department store through bankruptcy, WSJ says
SOURCE: CNBC By: Lauren Thomas KEY POINTS KKR and other major lenders to Belk are in talks with the department store chain to keep it out of bankruptcy, according to a Wall Street Journal report. The company, its lenders and the private equity firm Sycamore Partners are inching closer toward reaching an out-of-court deal, the…
Read MoreMerchandise returns totaled $428 billion in 2020; top categories of returns were…
SOURCE: ChainStore Age By: Marianne Wilson Merchandise returns totaled approximately 10.6% of total U.S. retail sales last year. That’s according to a report released by the National Retail Federation and Appriss Retail, which found that consumers returned an estimated $428 billion in merchandise to retailers in 2020. Roughly 5.9% of the returns were fraudulent, equating…
Read MoreFashion apparel makes a comeback, focus on digital deepens, and other 2021 predictions
SOURCE: Retail Dive Ben Unglesbee The pandemic, and recovery from it, will likely define the year as consumers look to refresh their wardrobes and retailers hold on to new practices that worked, analysts say. Artificial Photography for Unsplash AUTHOR Ben Unglesbee@Ben_Unglesbee PUBLISHED Jan. 20, 2021 SHARE IT POST SHARE TWEET After a year that unfolded…
Read MoreFederal Government Says Employers Can Mandate COVID Vaccinations
ASKING FOR PROOF OF A COVID VACCINATION DOESN’T COUNT AS A DISABILITY-RELATED QUESTION. DECEMBER 2020 BEN COLEY Employers are allowed to require COVID vaccinations and ban employees from the workplace if they choose to opt out, according to guidance from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The American Disabilities Act (ADA) limits an employer’s ability…
Read MoreRetailers’ best e-commerce asset may be their brick-and-mortar stores
Source: Retail Dive: Daphne Howland Dive Brief: In yet another trend accelerated by the pandemic, BOPIS services have surged, with 40% of retailers now offering the service, compared to just a quarter last year, according to an emailed report from omnichannel platform NewStore. More than half (55%) offer in-store returns of online purchases, the firm…
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