The power of YouTube in the era of COVID-19

Consumers are turning to new and unfamiliar retailers; YouTube, in particular, is uniquely positioned to help retailers connect with consumers and drive meaningful engagement.

By Sarah Travis and Elliott Nix • Nov. 16, 2020

Walmart adds 'pop-up' e-commerce distribution centers for the holidays

The model provides flexibility, allowing the retailer to increase capacity when it's experiencing peak-level volume and scale down when demand dissipates.

By Matt Leonard • Nov. 13, 2020

Explore the Trendline➔

What's shaping the e-commerce landscape?

From pivots in digital strategies to challenges retailers must overcome with reverse logistics, here are some of the forces shaping online retail.

By Retail Dive staff

Best Buy adds Lovesac products to online assortment

The announcement builds on an existing partnership where the products were sold through shop-in-shops in the electronics retailer's stores.

By Caroline Jansen • Nov. 12, 2020

Bluestar buys Ascena's Justice brand for $90M

The owner of Hurley, Bebe and Brookstone had to up its bid for the tween brand to buy it at a bankruptcy auction. 

By Ben Unglesbee • Nov. 11, 2020

NBCUniversal ramps up shoppable content with new platform, PayPal deal

One Platform Commerce unifies the broadcaster's e-commerce efforts as consumers are shopping online and brands seek alternatives to pricey TV ads.

By Aaron Baar • Nov. 10, 2020

Nordstrom ties up with Casper to sell products in stores, online

The move adds another DTC brand to the department store's roster and allows it to capitalize on the boom the home category has seen in recent months.

By Caroline Jansen • Nov. 10, 2020

Allbirds to raise prices on Black Friday to fight climate change

Following in the footsteps of other environmentally conscious companies, the DTC brand is using the shopping day to take a stand against consumerism.

By Cara Salpini • Nov. 9, 2020

Delays, surcharges and returns: Holiday shipping headaches have just begun

In a season expected to produce more than $190 billion from online sales alone, retailers are pulling out all the stops to keep up with demand.

By Caroline Jansen • Nov. 9, 2020

Alibaba's Global Shopping Festival reports strong early results

The first window of this year's expanded event has shown robust sales for brands like Nike, Adidas and Estée Lauder. 

By Tatiana Walk-Morris • Nov. 6, 2020

Alibaba, Richemont pour $1.1B into Farfetch

The move underscores China's importance to the luxury market and perhaps a newfound level of urgency for upscale brands to embrace digital.

By Daphne Howland • Nov. 6, 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

How the pandemic pushed crafters toward Michaels

The retailer boosted its e-commerce operations and services to capture homebound crafters. 

By Tatiana Walk-Morris • Nov. 4, 2020

Wayfair's net income shoots up 164% in Q3

The retailer has capitalized on pandemic-driven trends and notched two consecutive quarters of profitability as a result. But analysts question how long it will last.

By Caroline Jansen • Nov. 3, 2020

Bankrupt Stein Mart has a $4M bid for its IP

Setting the baseline for a Nov. 18 auction is Retail Ecommerce Ventures, which may keep Stein Mart alive online after liquidation.

By Ben Unglesbee • Updated Nov. 11, 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

Chico's shores up finances, digital operations amid store closures

With stricter attention to profitability, the company has permanently closed 28 locations this year and plans as many as 50 more. 

By Daphne Howland • Nov. 2, 2020

Saks Fifth Avenue relaunches website with emphasis on personalization

More robust shoppable content, and filters for fulfillment options like BOPIS, are a few of the features on the department store's new website.

By Tatiana Walk-Morris • Nov. 2, 2020

Pier 1 relaunches as online store

After liquidating its physical stores in Chapter 11, the home brand's IP and online assets were sold to Retail Ecommerce Ventures for $31 million.

By Tatiana Walk-Morris • Oct. 30, 2020

Online holiday sales to reach $189B, Adobe says

E-commerce sales are expected to surpass $3 billion daily between Nov. 22 and Dec. 3. 

By Tatiana Walk-Morris • Oct. 30, 2020

Pandemic fuels blockbuster Amazon Q3 even without Prime Day

But the e-commerce giant seems to have ceded some market share to rivals, which are logging even higher increases in online sales, analysts said.

By Daphne Howland • Oct. 30, 2020

Walmart launches new test stores to further blend tech and in-store ops

The prototype locations will allow the retailer to quickly experiment with ways to make fulfillment more efficient and move in-store inventory online. 

By Ben Unglesbee • Oct. 29, 2020

Carter's to close at least 200 stores

The largest U.S. children's apparel company is taking advantage of expiring leases and "kickout provisions" to shrink its fleet.

By Daphne Howland • Oct. 26, 2020

7-Eleven adds delivery providers as small-basket e-commerce accelerates

The c-store now works with seven third-party services, including Uber Eats and Grubhub, and has seen daily delivery orders quadruple this year.

By Sam Silverstein • Oct. 26, 2020

WhatsApp opens in-app shopping, joining Facebook’s e-commerce push for small businesses

As part of an update that also expands its cloud service offerings, the messaging app will let shoppers buy items directly from a business chat.

By Robert Williams • Oct. 26, 2020

Can retailers reinvent holiday cheer in a pandemic?

Mall Santas, tree lighting, Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade — retailers have to rethink every cornerstone of the holiday season, without losing the joy.

By Cara Salpini • Oct. 26, 2020