Amazon pays shipping on Goodwill donations packaged in e-retailer's boxes

Shipping platform Give Back Box has partnered with several other retailers since 2012, including Overstock, Ann Taylor, New Egg, eBags, Bonobos and REI.

By Dan O'Shea • Dec. 21, 2016

The new look of fashion: How 2016 made over apparel retail

Amazon disrupted and dominated apparel throughout the year, but it wasn't the only trendsetter: Mobile made waves, omnichannel became omnipresent — and much more.

By Lara Ewen • Dec. 21, 2016

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

Amazon Echo sold out online, only available at stores — and rivals

The Alexa-powered speakers are still for sale at many of its physical stores and pop-ups, as well as competitors Best Buy, eBay and Rakuten.

By Daphne Howland • Dec. 21, 2016

Wal-Mart holiday videos hit more than 75M views on YouTube

Paid media and a holiday-themed channel are driving views for the retailer. 

By David Kirkpatrick • Dec. 20, 2016

Starbucks, Walgreens use Promoted Places on Google Maps for holiday marketing

As location data becomes more essential during key moments, brands are staking out their territory. 

By David Kirkpatrick • Dec. 19, 2016

Short-staffed Amazon cargo pilots take concerns directly to Prime customers

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local Union 1224 says air carrier contractors Atlas Air WW and Air Transport Services Group “overcommitted their operations by taking on Amazon’s business.”

By Daphne Howland • Dec. 19, 2016

American Eagle, Aerie debut bots for bra browsing, holiday shopping

Customers may browse bra styles using filters like fit, style or occasion. The bot also promotes company culture through photos, videos and social media.

By Dan O'Shea • Dec. 18, 2016

Report: Amazon widens lead on holiday sales

The e-commerce giant is this year’s top destination for gifts, widening its lead over once-dominant Wal-Mart, according to reports from Prosper Insights & Analytics and Moody’s released Thursday.

By Daphne Howland • Dec. 16, 2016

Commerce Dept: November retail sales miss expectations

It was a tepid month for retail, with the launch of the holiday period chopped up by election jitters and early seasonal shopping promotions.

By Daphne Howland • Dec. 15, 2016

Kohl's to stay open 107 hours straight before Christmas

The end of the marathon opening, Super Saturday, falls on both Christmas Eve and the first night of Hannukah, but heavy discounts could hurt margins.

By Daphne Howland • Dec. 14, 2016

Nordstrom rolls out CashStar eGifting service

The service, a more personal alternative to traditional gift cards, could help retailers increase sales conversion rates and reduce unwanted gift returns.

By Dan O'Shea • Dec. 13, 2016

Wal-Mart sets last-minute holiday pickup, delivery cutoff times

The retail giant, like rival Target, is catering to procrastinating holiday shoppers with omnichannel services.

By Daphne Howland • Dec. 13, 2016

Report: UPS, FedEx struggling to keep pace with holiday e-commerce explosion

On-time delivery rates have been down since Thanksgiving compared to other periods of the year.

By Daphne Howland • Dec. 13, 2016

November retail hiring plummets to 6-year low

U.S. retailers added 521,800 workers during the first two months of the 2016 holiday season, plunging 14% from year-ago totals, according to global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

By Daphne Howland • Dec. 13, 2016

Mall of America, Fashion Island get AI boost from IBM, Satisfi

Mall of America is debuting Experiential List Formulator (ELF) just in time to help visitors manage their holiday shopping and other activities, while Fashion Island is rolling out a mobile concierge called At Your Service.

By Dan O'Shea • Dec. 12, 2016

Holiday discounts up 52% over last year, returns surging

Retailers should brace themselves for reduced margins and more returns than last year, according to DynamicAction’s Retail Holiday 2016 Index.

By Daphne Howland • Dec. 12, 2016

Nordstrom launches its first chatbot for holiday push

Chatbot users will be prompted with questions about gift criteria and the chatbot will reply with multiple shopping ideas.

By Dan O'Shea • Dec. 11, 2016

Oh, Superman: The 10 worst toys of 2016

Slimeballs, elephant pillows and Doomhammers are just a few of the dangers lurking in gift boxes this holiday season.

By Jason Ankeny, Corinne Ruff • Dec. 7, 2016

Holiday season starts slow with 9% drop in ad spend

Retailers’ ad budgets are in transition as shopping behaviors change.

By Chantal Tode • Dec. 5, 2016

Mall of America gets new interactive info kiosks from Express Image

The kiosks feature a search function, step-by-step directions, dynamic pop-ups and text-to-phone features.

By Dan O'Shea • Dec. 4, 2016

Report: Amazon wins Cyber Monday sales crown, but falls shy of Prime Day totals

The e-commerce giant accounted for 30.9% of total revenue generated from Black Friday to Cyber Monday, according to research from Slice Intelligence.

By Daphne Howland • Dec. 2, 2016

Hacked, embellished, high-waisted and premium: 6 fashion experts on the denim that will dominate 2017

Brands like Gap, LVMH, Levi Strauss, Citizens of Humanity and VF are spearheading a premium denim renaissance that now accounts for more than a quarter of the jeanswear market. Here's what’s new in denim — and what’s next.

By Lara Ewen • Nov. 30, 2016

Digital's role on Black Friday ramps up across mobile search, prospecting and retargeting

Two sets of data reinforce shopping’s omnichannel evolution. 

By Chantal Tode • Nov. 30, 2016

4 takeaways from Cyber Monday 2016

Another Cyber Monday, another website outage fiasco. This year, Gap Inc. brands Old Navy and Banana Republic suffered disruptions for much of the afternoon.

By Corinne Ruff • Nov. 30, 2016

How retailers can protect themselves against cyber threats this holiday season

Retailers face a range of security threats, including point-of-sale issues, distributed denial-of-service attacks, inferior IT infrastructure and lax information security procedures. Here's how they can mitigate losses.

By Brian Dunphy • Nov. 30, 2016