Why beauty will continue to rule retail in 2018

From leaders Sephora and Ulta to relative newcomers Glossier and Birchbox, beauty is killing other sectors. Here's how.

By Cara Salpini • Jan. 2, 2018

Holiday returns to reach 1.4M in one day

UPS expects returns to peak Wednesday, on National Returns Day, and Walmart hopes to ease the process with a new mobile app feature.

By Dan O'Shea • Jan. 2, 2018

Explore the Trendline➔

The state of small business

Disruptions from tariffs, e-commerce and broader economic trends continue to challenge small business operations. 

By Retail Dive staff

The internet influences nearly half of Gen Z purchases

The generation has some estimated $44 billion in spending power just from their weekly allowance — a number that should grow as the generation enters the workforce.

By Daphne Howland • Jan. 2, 2018

Holiday sales surge 4.9%

The bountiful holiday season is thanks to high consumer confidence, according to the latest Mastercard SpendingPulse report, but there are clouds on the horizon.

By Daphne Howland • Dec. 26, 2017

Retail Therapy: The 6 most memorable trends and travesties of 2017

Looking back on the year, it's hard to choose between the bad and the worse, but overpriced objects and denim debauchery top our list easily.  

By Corinne Ruff , Cara Salpini • Dec. 22, 2017

Retail Therapy: The 8 funniest holiday retail moments of 2017

Whether retailers totally missed the mark or made a hilariously on-brand marketing move, here are our favorite happenings from the holiday season.

By Cara Salpini • Dec. 22, 2017

Over 75% of customers want to shop through their TV

"T-commerce" could be on the rise, as customers express interest in buying items from both TV ads and shows.

By Dan O'Shea • Dec. 22, 2017

ProFlowers enters chatbot frenzy with one-click buy button

​Most chatbots have suffered to deliver conversions, but one-click buying could be the answer to reducing friction and closing sales on Messenger.

By Dan O'Shea • Dec. 21, 2017

Holiday shoppers shift to long-term financing

Consumers are applying for financing even before they put items in their carts, and many want at least a year to pay, according to new research.

By Daphne Howland • Dec. 21, 2017

How Toys R Us is letting Target and Amazon steal Christmas

The bankrupt toy seller is losing the pricing game and reportedly readying another round of store closures. Toys R Us is facing its biggest challenge yet.

By Ben Unglesbee • Dec. 21, 2017

The retail winners and losers of 2017

Here are the companies, technologies and trends that soared or sank in 2017.  

By Corinne Ruff • Dec. 20, 2017

12 news stories that shaped retail in 2017

From The Limited's bankruptcy to Terry Lundgren's Macy's retirement announcement, here's a look back at the biggest news events from the last 12 months.

By Corinne Ruff • Dec. 20, 2017

Will Walmart woo holiday procrastinators with in-store pickup?

While the big-box retailer can't compete with Amazon's last-minute delivery, it does have one major advantage — over 4,750 stores. But is that enough?

By Corinne Ruff • Dec. 20, 2017

Holiday 2017 may show strongest growth since 2010

Home-related purchases in particular are "way up," with home improvement sales up 11.6% and home furniture sales up 3.5% since November, according to a new report.

By Daphne Howland • Dec. 19, 2017

Benebit aims to shake up fragmented loyalty environment

The startup plans to convert loyalty and rewards points across multiple retailers into a unified system of fiat currency using blockchain technology.

By Dan O'Shea • Dec. 18, 2017

What nobody wants for Christmas: An Amazon-Walmart price war

The world's biggest retailer is closing the gap with Amazon in online prices and the technologies that control them. Can anyone keep up?

By Ben Unglesbee • Dec. 15, 2017

Retail Therapy: Williams-Sonoma is dreaming of an overpriced Christmas

With a collection that screams "unnecessary display of wealth," the holiday catalog has everything the 1% needs to decorate the house.

By Cara Salpini • Dec. 15, 2017

75% of holiday tech shoppers bought online

Most of the research for consumer electronics purchases also took place online, too, according to a study by GfK.

By Dan O'Shea • Dec. 15, 2017

Signet Jewelers losing customers over sexual harassment claims

The fallout has allowed rival Pandora to move ahead in certain brand awareness metrics, according to YouGov research.

By Daphne Howland • Dec. 15, 2017

Retail partners targeted by email phishing attacks

As retailers are migrating apps to the cloud, they could face more security threats, a study by Netskope finds — especially where they interface with third-party partners.

By Dan O'Shea • Dec. 14, 2017

Boxed aims to ease online bulk ordering with AR, chatbot tech

The online wholesaler is the latest to tap mobile for tech that allows customers to see if products fit in their homes before ordering.

By Dan O'Shea • Dec. 13, 2017

4 steps to successful personalization

How to use data to truly personalize the consumer experience – without being intrusive.

By Kevin Brown • Dec. 13, 2017

B8ta launches Handy in-home tech installation

Partnerships between retailers and service providers could help smaller players find opportunities amid Amazon's push into the home services segment.

By Dan O'Shea • Dec. 13, 2017

David Yurman unwraps holiday gifting bot

Yet another luxury brand is going the chatbot route. This one, on Facebook Messenger, offers a plethora of gift guides.

By Dan O'Shea • Dec. 12, 2017

Nearly half of retailers have adopted IoT tech

The next year or so looks to be a major tipping point for IoT adoption as deployment is expected to surge, according to a new report.

By Dan O'Shea • Dec. 12, 2017