Gen Z, millennials drive adoption of AI for holiday shopping

Those groups are harnessing artificial intelligence for gift ideas and to compare prices this season, a new survey states.

By Tatiana Walk-Morris • Oct. 21, 2025

Consumers embrace AI for research, but few have allowed it to make purchases

Customers are worrying over payment security, privacy and potential mistakes with autonomous AI purchases, a Riskified survey found.

By Bryan Wassel • Oct. 21, 2025

Explore the Trendline➔

How retailers can win over shoppers during the holidays

Retailers are pulling all the levers to drive loyalty during the industry’s all-important quarter.

By Retail Dive staff

Why Halloween is a ‘master class’ for retailers

The season’s broad emotional appeal and delivery on in-store experiences means that shoppers, especially Gen Z, are ready to spend. 

By Kaarin Moore • Oct. 21, 2025

Nearly all generations, income groups plan to pull back on holiday spend

Only Gen X plans to increase spending slightly, as consumers search for deals and trade down on brands and retailers, per a Deloitte report. 

By Tatiana Walk-Morris • Oct. 20, 2025

Will shoppers turn to secondhand for value this holiday?

A new report from ThredUp and GlobalData found that consumers could use about 40% of holiday budgets on secondhand gifts.

By Dani James • Oct. 20, 2025

Toys R Us accelerates flagship openings, seasonal shops

The expansion is a “significant milestone” in the brand’s growth, according to the company.

By Kaarin Moore • Oct. 20, 2025

Saks Global Q2 revenue slumps, loss widens amid inventory woes

Some vendors are still owed money, and a number have stopped shipping to the luxury retailer, a scenario analysts have warned about for months.

By Daphne Howland • Oct. 17, 2025

Amazon to hire 250K holiday workers for third consecutive year

The e-commerce giant aims to hire a quarter of a million seasonal, full- and part-time employees across its fulfillment and transportation network.

By Howard Ruben • Oct. 17, 2025

Why holiday season store experiences should be helpful but unobtrusive

Shoppers are often busy and stressed, and a retailer that turns the holiday rush into a smooth, enjoyable experience can earn loyalty without the need for flashy gimmicks.

By Bryan Wassel • Oct. 16, 2025

What’s keeping Best Buy’s CEO up at night?

A growing consumer income divide is on Corie Barry’s mind, the executive told an audience at the Fortune Most Powerful Women summit.

By Dani James • Oct. 15, 2025

Kohl’s categorizes gift lists by budget to highlight value

Gift ideas curated by price are part of the department store’s broader holiday plans, which also include expanding its assortment.

By Howard Ruben • Oct. 14, 2025

Smaller retailers face their toughest holiday season in years

Tariffs and economic uncertainty are complicating an already fraught time. The key is to prioritize and lean into what larger chains can’t offer.

By Daphne Howland • Oct. 14, 2025

Consumers to slash holiday budgets by over 10%

Gifting remains a priority, however, as shoppers look for other categories to cut back on, according to a recent JLL report.

By Howard Ruben • Oct. 10, 2025

Shoppers seek value, deals this holiday season

Consumers are turning away from retailers with significant price hikes and searching for discounts, according to ICSC. 

By Tatiana Walk-Morris • Oct. 9, 2025

US consumers expect higher prices this holiday season

Most shoppers believe that tariffs will result in higher costs, even as they intend to splurge on purchases for themselves, according to a KPMG report.

By Tatiana Walk-Morris • Oct. 7, 2025

The unlikely retailers winning Halloween

Consumers are expecting higher prices this year, but that’s not deterring them from spending on the holiday.

By Caroline Jansen • Oct. 7, 2025

Online holiday discounts expected to remain flat

New data from Adobe predicts U.S. online sales this holiday season could grow 5.3% compared to last year, driven by electronics, apparel and furniture. 

By Dani James • Oct. 6, 2025

Gen Z shoppers to cut holiday gifting budgets

The generation is paring back spending and heading to stores to find promotions on products.

By Tatiana Walk-Morris • Oct. 6, 2025

What Amazon shippers should prioritize this peak season

Being mindful of deadlines, maintaining minimum inventory and providing accurate delivery windows is key to meeting holiday demand, experts said at Amazon Accelerate 2025.

By Kelly Stroh • Oct. 6, 2025

Staples launches first ‘Easy Deal Days’ ahead of the holidays

The office supplies retailer is the latest to kick off an October sales event to entice consumers to shop earlier in the season.

By Howard Ruben • Oct. 3, 2025

One-third of consumers plan to use AI for holiday shopping

Customers are using AI tools to search for better deals and gift ideas, but they remain skeptical of the technology, a UserTesting survey found.

By Tatiana Walk-Morris • Oct. 2, 2025

More than a quarter of consumers plan to cut holiday spending

Only 22% of shoppers are expecting to spend more this holiday season compared to last year, according to a recent report from Experian.

By Howard Ruben • Oct. 1, 2025

Target plots retail, marketing blitz around ‘Stranger Things’ final season

Target is the only retailer running a national campaign developed directly with Netflix and featuring on-screen talent from the show.

By Peter Adams • Oct. 1, 2025

How retailers are hiring for the 2025 holiday season

Dick’s, which now owns Foot Locker, will hire a combined 14,000 workers this season. Meanwhile, Amazon is holding steady at 250,000.

By Retail Dive Staff • Updated Nov. 3, 2025

Spirit Christmas to open 30 locations

The company, a spinoff of Spirit Halloween, tested stores last year. This year, it is nearly quadrupling its footprint. 

By Kaarin Moore • Sept. 29, 2025