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

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

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

Swarovski launches AR app experience at holiday pop-up

Perfect's YouCam apps let mobile users virtually try on holiday-inspired makeup and crystal jewelry from the brand.

By Robert Williams • Dec. 4, 2017

In-store experiences lag due to poor IT infrastructure

Only 27% of retail executives are confident their IT can keep up with customer experience improvement plans, according to a new survey.

By Dan O'Shea • Dec. 4, 2017

These retailers are #crushingit on social this holiday season

It's prime time for retailers to get involved in the social scene. Here's who's doing it best — and how.

By Cara Salpini • Dec. 1, 2017

Macy's boosts holiday hiring by 7K thanks to strong traffic

Chief Stores Officer John Harper said the department store retailer has seen "high customer volume across our business" so far this season.

By Ben Unglesbee • Dec. 1, 2017

Small Business Saturday sales shrink

Roughly 108 million shoppers spent $12.9 billion on Main Street, down from last year’s 112 million shoppers, who spent $15.4 billion.

By Daphne Howland • Dec. 1, 2017

Gen Z is late to holiday shopping

One third of consumers in the age group don’t start holiday shopping until after Black Friday and 15% don’t start until after Dec. 15, according to a new study. 

By David Kirkpatrick • Dec. 1, 2017

Target's online Black Friday growth beats Amazon, Walmart

The mass merchant's digital sales soared 44% over last year, while other major retailers felt a bump between 19% and 25%, according to data from Slice Intelligence.

By Daphne Howland • Nov. 30, 2017

Wayfair Black Friday weekend sales soar 53%

The online furniture retailer is in the right place at the right time as furniture buying and selling moves online.

By Dan O'Shea • Nov. 30, 2017

Amazon smashes Cyber Monday record

The online behemoth said Cyber Monday was the single biggest shopping day in the company's history, surpassing its Prime Day event for the most products ordered worldwide.

By Daphne Howland • Nov. 30, 2017

Barnes & Noble looks to hold Black Friday momentum with '12 Days of Inspiration'

The company no doubt would like to avoid repeating its fourth quarter performance last year.

By Daphne Howland • Nov. 30, 2017

What's next for the holiday season

After blockbuster Thanksgiving-Black Friday-Cyber Monday sales, retailers could be facing a drop-off. Will the good times keep rolling? The views are mixed.

By Daphne Howland • Nov. 29, 2017

Amazon, Cyber Monday spark small business growth

The results underscore not just the online retailer's dominance on the shopping day, but also the global strength of its marketplace.

By Daphne Howland • Nov. 29, 2017

Black Friday weekend beat NRF forecast by 10M shoppers

Good weather and a strong economy brought more than 174 million consumers to stores and websites over the red-letter shopping weekend. 

By Daphne Howland • Nov. 29, 2017