Kroger partners with the remnant of Toys R Us

The grocery chain plans to bring a pop-up dubbed Geoffrey's Toy Box — consisting of exclusive toy brands and forged from the intellectual property of Toys R Us — to 600 stores.

By Daphne Howland • Nov. 5, 2018

Amazon expands free holiday shipping to non-Prime members

The e-tailer may be feeling pressure from brick-and-mortar rivals like Target and Walmart, which have launched free shipping deals for the holidays.

By Daphne Howland • Updated Dec. 18, 2018

Explore the Trendline➔

The state of holiday shopping and the consumer

Consumers are signaling they want value when it comes to quality, convenience and experiences. 

By Retail Dive staff

Kohl's sweetening its popular 'Kohl's Cash' for the holidays

The department store is making it easier to shop using its app and is leveraging stores for e-commerce fulfillment.

By Daphne Howland • Nov. 5, 2018

Holiday returns are on the horizon….what's your strategy?

As the holidays bring an increase in expected returns, retailers may be smart to look towards liquidation as a channel to offset loss.

Nov. 5, 2018

Why catalogs still have a hold on holiday marketing

Many retailers have turned into fourth-quarter catalogers to cash in on the season's sentimentality, while shoppers are crossing "irrelevant email marketing" off their lists this year.

By Cara Salpini • Nov. 2, 2018

Holiday e-commerce expected to reach $124B

The new record will be just the latest online holiday boost for retailers in the last four years, thanks in part to voice shopping, according to Adobe.

By Daphne Howland • Nov. 2, 2018

Holiday spending set to rise 5.8%, FTI says

The holiday shopping forecast shows a rosy outlook as FTI Consulting expects 4% year-over-year sales growth in stores and 15.5% growth online. 

By Dan O'Shea • Nov. 1, 2018

Amazon 4-star opens 2nd store

The latest iteration of the new concept is localized to the Denver area, but Amazon has further to go as a merchandiser, experts say.

By Daphne Howland • Nov. 1, 2018

Build-A-Bear expands its reach ahead of the holidays

The toy retailer is expanding into seasonal pop-ups and a partnership with FAO Schwarz. 

By Daphne Howland • Nov. 1, 2018

Walmart revamps stores, e-commerce for the holidays

The retail giant is making shopping easier by leveraging its stores, revamping its website and blurring its channels.

By Daphne Howland • Oct. 31, 2018

Nordstrom unwraps an array of gifting services

The company is rolling out its "Let's Go Gifting" push with an ad campaign from Theo Wenner, who has worked with Chanel, Chloe and The Black Keys.

By Daphne Howland • Oct. 31, 2018

NYMag to launch The Strategist beauty holiday pop-up

A temporary shop in SoHo for the holidays makes sense for the magazine's beauty news and e-commerce website.

By Daphne Howland • Oct. 30, 2018

5 issues most likely to cause holiday e-commerce outages

Sluggish third-party components, overburdened APIs and ill-equipped servers are leading issues threatening website performance, according to Catchpoint.

By Dan O'Shea • Oct. 30, 2018

Consumers to spend $96B on tech for the holidays

Sales of tech gifts will rise 3.4% this holiday season, as 66% of U.S. adults plan to buy them. Voice and video tech top consumer wishlists.

By Dan Alaimo • Oct. 29, 2018

Monetate, Bazaarvoice aim to turn holiday shoppers into year-round customers

The personalization platform will use Bazaarvoice’s shopper profiles to help brands create product recommendations post-holiday.

By Daphne Howland • Oct. 29, 2018

What Gen Z wants for Christmas

It's a long list — and one that includes not just online and mobile shopping, but also in-store experiences and the ability to engage meaningfully with retailers on social.

By Cara Salpini • Oct. 26, 2018

Black Friday's best days are behind it

A 20-year tailwind will fragment Black Friday into multiple mini-shopping frenzies year-round, writes Eddie Yoon, founder of EddieWouldGrow.

By Eddie Yoon • Oct. 26, 2018

Black Friday is the new ... black

Stores are better than ever, legacy retailers are ready for e-commerce and holiday consumers are primed to shop retail's auld lang sale.

By Daphne Howland • Oct. 26, 2018

What 3 charts about Black Fridays past signal about the holiday's future

For the first time last year, Amazon grabbed more market share than Walmart overall during the two weeks after Black Friday.

By Corinne Ruff • Oct. 26, 2018

Low unemployment could hurt the holiday shopping season

The booming economy might be bad news for holiday shopping, writes Forrest Morgenson, director of research at the American Customer Satisfaction Index. 

By Forrest Morgenson • Oct. 26, 2018

Recruitment scams on the rise in time for holiday hiring

Recruiters have been using tech to communicate with applicants and are working to hire more quickly than ever, making seasonal hiring a breeding ground for scams.

By Riia O'Donnell • Oct. 25, 2018

Holiday shoppers plan to spend 4.1% more this year

Tariffs won't force price hikes just yet because most retailers stocked up well before they hit, according to an annual consumer report from the NRF and Prosper Insights & Analytics.

By Daphne Howland • Oct. 25, 2018

The holidays mean higher sales — and more fraud

Digital goods, electronics, and food and beverage are all common category targets for rising fraud attacks, according to new research from Forter.

By Dan Alaimo • Oct. 25, 2018

Target announces free 2-day shipping this holiday season

The development is a competitive jab at rivals Walmart and Amazon, as is the company's expansion of its Drive Up service to nearly 1,000 stores.

By Corinne Ruff • Oct. 23, 2018

REI's 4th #OptOutside includes $1M for research

The outdoor retailer is partnering with the University of Washington to launch a center dedicated to researching how time spent in the outdoors impacts health.

By Cara Salpini • Oct. 23, 2018