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

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

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

5 ways sophisticated bots could turn your Black Friday campaigns into a #BotFriday disaster

The world's largest retailers lose millions of dollars to sophisticated bots each year. Do you know how these bots work and how to respond?

By Bethann Noble, Head of Product Marketing, White Ops • Oct. 26, 2020

With plans for 350 store closures, Gap flees the mall

The apparel conglomerate focused on operational improvements at its annual meeting, and made clear its dependence on Old Navy.

By Daphne Howland • Oct. 23, 2020

Boost in e-commerce may lead to more counterfeits: study

With more consumers shopping online this year, the threat of online counterfeits looms, according to Red Points. 

By Tatiana Walk-Morris • Oct. 22, 2020

Amazon solicits customer receipts in data collection program

With the Amazon Shopper Panel, the company wants to know more about how consumers spend their money outside its ecosystem. 

By Tatiana Walk-Morris and Cara Salpini • Oct. 22, 2020

David's Bridal acquires wedding site

The retailer's investment in Rustic Wedding Chic allows the brand to captivate brides early in the wedding planning process. 

By Tatiana Walk-Morris • Oct. 22, 2020

ThredUp confidentially files to go public

The resale apparel market has remained strong during the pandemic and could be key for the sector after it finally wanes.

By Daphne Howland • Oct. 22, 2020

Alibaba adds pre-sales events ahead of Global Shopping Festival

With more sales days, the platform will highlight small businesses in addition to major brands.

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

With fresh capital in hand, Allbirds moves into apparel

After raising $100 million in September, the DTC brand debuted a four-piece apparel collection at a time when many are fighting to survive in the space.

By Cara Salpini • Oct. 20, 2020