Is the DTC brand aesthetic bad for business?

Sans serif font and bright colored backgrounds are hallmarks of digitally native brands, but it may not matter if they all look the same.

By Cara Salpini • Nov. 16, 2020

5 ways retailers have adapted to a Black Friday unlike any other

Curbside sales, staggered discounts, websites that hold your place in line — retailers are reinventing Black Friday for a pandemic. 

By Ben Unglesbee • Nov. 16, 2020

Explore the Trendline➔

Gen Z and the next-generation consumer

If there's anything retailers want more than financial stability right now, it's to understand Gen Z. 

By Retail Dive staff

The 3 I's of retail customer experience: Intelligence, improvement and impact

Using the 3 I's, retailers can design CX programs that align with business goals, promote organizational change and drive revenue-generating improvements.

Nov. 16, 2020

October's deal blitz set the stage for the holidays with online spending surge

Led by Amazon's Prime Day, online sales spiked 50% in the third week of the month while spending across retail rose 6%, Deloitte said. 

By Ben Unglesbee • Nov. 13, 2020

Retail Therapy: Whole Foods, Progressive partner to 'insure' a bad Thanksgiving

With the holiday looking different this year — and many embarking on cooking the meal for the first time — the two teamed up to help with kitchen mishaps.

By Caroline Jansen • Nov. 13, 2020

J.C. Penney launches private apparel brand as it welcomes new owners

The new line features in-demand comfortable styles in inclusive sizing, though the department store warned against calling it athleisure.

By Daphne Howland • Nov. 12, 2020

Anchors, away: How department stores are ditching malls

A once mutually beneficial relationship is falling apart.

By Daphne Howland • Nov. 12, 2020

What a vaccine could mean for retail

There's finally hope of an end to a pandemic that has destroyed lives and livelihoods and upended consumer behavior. For now, uncertainty still rules.

By Daphne Howland • Nov. 10, 2020

9 make-or-break retail turnarounds to watch in 2021

Companies in transformation and survival mode may be looking for normalcy. But the year ahead holds plenty of unknowns. 

By Ben Unglesbee • Nov. 9, 2020

What the past decade did to retail

As 2020 comes to a close, Retail Dive analyzed trends in apparel, venture capital and financialization that shaped the industry. Check out the full series.

By Cara Salpini • Nov. 6, 2020

Election delays hinder store traffic and online sales as holidays launch

With results up in the air and the pandemic ongoing, retailers and their customers face further uncertainty at an already volatile time.

By Daphne Howland • Nov. 5, 2020

5 forces that stripped apparel sales in the last decade

Consumers in the past 10 years changed their clothes, from fast fashion to resale, and shunned formality. That bankrupted a lot of retailers.

By Daphne Howland • Nov. 4, 2020

The decade of VC funding that shaped e-commerce and DTC brands

Direct to consumer might be the buzziest trend in retail over the past 10 years, but it's not where all the money's going.

By Cara Salpini • Nov. 3, 2020

The holidays are here. Where's the consumer?

Uncertainty about the pandemic and the economy is defining the season as retailers try to coax customers to spend early on all channels.

By Daphne Howland • Nov. 2, 2020

Retail Therapy: Babe Wine creates Election Night Survival Kit

To help cope with uncertainty on Nov. 3, the brand released a pack that includes a "Scream Here" pillow and a stress ball.

By Caroline Jansen • Oct. 30, 2020

The Senate's stimulus breakdown is the last thing retailers needed

The lawmakers adjourned this week without agreeing to a new stimulus package, essentially taking billions of holiday spending with them.

By Daphne Howland • Oct. 28, 2020

Changes in consumer habits during the COVID-19 pandemic

Understanding just how consumer habits are shifting is imperative as retailers continue to win back pre-COVID clientele and seek to attract new customers.

Oct. 26, 2020

Catering to the plant-based diet trend: What about the package?

Isn’t it only natural to put plant-based food in a plant-based package?

Oct. 26, 2020

Retail Therapy: Brands reimagine Halloween festivities

Reese's and Kool-Aid created safer alternatives to trick-or-treating, while Reebok unveiled Ghostbusters-inspired shoes to get consumers in the spirit.

By Caroline Jansen • Oct. 23, 2020

The naked truth about apparel's future

The segment was in free fall even before the pandemic. But a bleak 2020 could give way to new opportunities.

By Daphne Howland • Oct. 22, 2020

With new private label, Kohl's stakes strategy on the athleisure boom

More store space will be dedicated to the category, an attempt to become "the most trusted retailer of choice for the active and casual lifestyle."

By Daphne Howland • Oct. 21, 2020

Consumers projected to spend more on comfortable clothing: NPD

Though apparel retailers have struggled during COVID-19, consumers expect to shop more online.

By Tatiana Walk-Morris • Oct. 21, 2020

Deloitte finds US consumers anxious about their finances, health ahead of the holidays

While many shoppers will spend money saved because they couldn't travel this year, they'll avoid stores and spend 7% less than last year.

By Daphne Howland • Oct. 20, 2020

What September's retail sales rebound means for the holidays

As the U.S. faces another apparent pandemic surge, a wobbly economy and a national election, uncertainty rules.

By Daphne Howland • Oct. 19, 2020

Life after liquidation: Why some brands thrive after closing shop and others don't

The market keeps growing for retail IP even after physical stores close. But does every dead retail brand need saving?

By Ben Unglesbee • Oct. 19, 2020