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

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

November retail sales lift 0.8%

It's been a healthy start to the holiday, according to numbers from the U.S. Commerce Department and the National Retail Federation.

By Daphne Howland • Dec. 15, 2017

Ivanka Trump opens a store in Trump Tower

The brand has struggled to make physical stores work, and its location of choice offers a mixed bag.

By Daphne Howland • 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

Retailers are understaffing stores — and losing sales

Store staffing is more important than ever yet one of the biggest expenses for retailers, and MIT researchers say they have developed a platform to achieve optimal staffing levels.

By Daphne Howland • Dec. 14, 2017

Amazon expands same-day delivery for holiday procrastinators

The retailer will deliver holiday orders in 8,000 cities as late as 11:59 p.m. on Christmas Eve, and non-Prime customers can opt for a free trial in a bid to grow Prime. 

By Daphne Howland • Dec. 14, 2017

How Best Buy is winning against all odds

The electronics retailer is opening a new chapter in how to compete by taking advantage of opportunities everywhere. Even, sometimes, at Amazon.

By Daphne Howland • Dec. 13, 2017

Toymaker Mattel warns of unhappy holidays

The brand has also been downgraded by Fitch for a series of "execution missteps" including its inability to adapt its strategy amid the Toys R Us bankruptcy.  

By Daphne Howland • Dec. 13, 2017

Westfield accepts $15.7B takeover bid

Pending regulatory approval, Europe's largest commercial property company will acquire the mall operator, whose top execs are all slated to retire.

By Corinne Ruff • Dec. 12, 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

Is Amazon losing its low-price edge?

Some deals weren't that different from a month before Black Friday, and while Amazon handily beat rivals on many items, it didn't always have the best price, research shows.

By Daphne Howland • Dec. 12, 2017

Simon Malls unveils ‘Santa Messenger Bot,’ AR game

The features demonstrate how mobile tech can be used to entertain shoppers and urge them to visit brick-and-mortar malls during the holidays.

By Robert Williams • Dec. 11, 2017

Walmart, Target and others begin final online holiday push

Major retailers are making their final plays in a season where nearly everyone is trying to gain ground online. 

By Daphne Howland , Ben Unglesbee • Dec. 11, 2017

More users are outsourcing shopping to voice tech

An SAP survey finds the chances are growing that more holiday gifts this season will be purchased with the help of virtual assistants like Amazon's Alexa.

By Dan O'Shea • Dec. 10, 2017

Conversational Commerce: What Black Friday and Cyber Monday signal for holiday 2017

The peak sales days shattered previous digital sales records. On the podcast, Retail Dive breaks down what the trends from November mean in the lead up to Christmas.  

By Corinne Ruff • Dec. 8, 2017

Online holiday spend could break $100B

That number, courtesy of Adobe, could be hundreds of millions higher if not for technical issues, Shoppimon found.

By Daphne Howland • Dec. 8, 2017

Hudson's Bay falters as cuts undermine sales

The company seems to be hobbled by its focus on real estate investments, but executives say that holiday sales will help strengthen results.

By Daphne Howland • Dec. 7, 2017

Online holiday sales take a big but fleeting dip

Online sales retreated by 18% year-over-year on the Saturday following the Black Friday weekend, but have bounced back, according to Verizon's Holiday Retail Index.

By Daphne Howland • Dec. 6, 2017

Handmade at Amazon deals a blow to Etsy

The company has started offering Prime Now delivery for its handmade goods, which allows for gift-buying as late as Christmas Eve and could be a boon to Handmade sellers.

By Daphne Howland • Dec. 6, 2017

Senator: 'Grinch bots' are stealing Christmas (deals)

Third-party sellers are unleashing bots to find holiday blockbuster deals in order to mark them up and gouge desperate parents, according to Senator Charles Schumer.

By Daphne Howland • Dec. 6, 2017

Ann Taylor-parent Ascena sees sales sag

The company is closing stores as it tries to regroup, but it's suffering from fashion misses at more than one of its brands.

By Daphne Howland • Dec. 5, 2017

Target rolls out much-anticipated mobile wallet feature

The mass merchant is the latest to join the mobile wallet club, yet has a long way to go to catch up with the likes of Walmart.

By Dan O'Shea • Dec. 5, 2017

Toys R Us to shutter 25% of UK stores

The toy retailer is also looking for more time before submitting a plan to reorganize following its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in September. 

By Ben Unglesbee • Dec. 5, 2017

Patagonia: 'The president stole your land'

The outdoor retailer is taking a political stance, a move that has played well with customers in the past, by suing the administration over its recent reduction of protected lands.

By Daphne Howland • Dec. 5, 2017