33% of holiday shoppers plan to spend less this year: Bankrate

Concerns around high interest rates and inflation are stressing consumers’ budgets, according to a recent report.

By Howard Ruben • Sept. 9, 2024

Gen Z more likely to buy holiday gifts via social media: report

Instagram and Facebook are forecast to be the most popular platforms for gift purchases during the season. 

By Tatiana Walk-Morris • Aug. 28, 2024

Explore the Trendline➔

A look at the 2025 holiday season

From price-conscious shoppers to ever-changing tariffs, retailers have a lot to juggle this holiday season.

By Retail Dive staff

Heydude taps Sydney Sweeney for campaign emphasizing comfort

The brand has an ambitious full-year goal to limit declines to 10% or less, and a lot is riding on the holiday quarter.

By Daphne Howland • Aug. 26, 2024

Mobile shopping forecast to drive over half of online holiday sales: report

With more people shopping on mobile devices, a “tipping point” with consumer behavior is on the horizon, according to Adobe Analytics.

By Tatiana Walk-Morris • Aug. 23, 2024

The Weekly Closeout: Amazon’s October sales event returns and Hollister goes back to school

The e-commerce giant is prepping for its unofficial holiday kickoff event, while the apparel brand launched a collection featuring over 30 U.S. universities.

By Retail Dive Staff • Aug. 23, 2024

Amazon unveils 2024 peak season fulfillment fees

The added costs, starting in October, will come as the e-commerce giant gears up for a shorter holiday shipping season.

By Max Garland • Aug. 14, 2024

Toy sales stabilize in first half of year

“The tide is turning for the industry,” according to a new report from Circana. But there are no guarantees for the second half of 2024.

By Kaarin Moore • Aug. 13, 2024

Amazon moves up Black Friday inventory deadline for sellers

The e-commerce giant wants products in a week earlier than in 2023 as it looks to maintain fast Prime delivery speeds during its busiest time of year.

By Max Garland • Aug. 5, 2024

Walmart leans into value, touting ‘thousands’ of back-to-school items under $10

New this year is a “one-click food basket,” offering two weeks of lunch supplies for about $2 per day.

By Tatiana Walk-Morris • July 25, 2024

Dollar General to offer over 100 back-to-school products for $1 or less

Notebooks, pencils, glue sticks and folders are among the low-priced offerings. The dollar store will also offer backpacks for $5.

By Tatiana Walk-Morris • July 19, 2024

Back-to-school spending expected to drop from last year: report

Spending per child is projected to be $586, with overall market spend reaching $31.3 billion, according to a recent survey from Deloitte.

By Howard Ruben • July 16, 2024

Consumers were still cautious in May. That might be a good thing.

Weaker spending may be helping the Federal Reserve with this year’s balancing act of cooling inflation and staving off a recession.

By Daphne Howland • June 20, 2024

Citing momentum over the holidays, Nordstrom moves deeper into off-price

The retailer will open even more of its Rack stores this year than in 2023, but analysts warned that its full-line business also requires attention.

By Daphne Howland • March 6, 2024

Dillard’s manages ‘respectable’ holiday quarter

A challenging consumer environment kept a lid on the department store’s success in the period, but there were some bright spots.

By Daphne Howland • Feb. 27, 2024

For a seamless retail customer experience during peak season, start with employees

Improving the employee experience goes a long way to improving customer experience, writes Lindsey Peters, Retail and Consumer Goods Industry Lead at Celonis.

By Lindsey Peters, Retail and Consumer Goods Industry Lead, Celonis • Jan. 8, 2024

Holiday shoppers spent ‘record’ $222.1B online: report

BNPL usage hit an all-time high during the season, with Cyber Monday as the largest day on record for the payment method, per Adobe.

By Tatiana Walk-Morris • Jan. 4, 2024

Retail trends that shaped the holidays in 2023

From new marketing techniques to consumers spending despite inflation, here are the big takeaways from the latest holiday season. 

By Retail Dive Staff • Jan. 2, 2024

Consumers could return $82.1B worth of holiday merchandise, survey finds

To address the rising cost of returns, 44% of retailers have increased return or restocking fees, according to CBRE and Optoro.

By Tatiana Walk-Morris • Dec. 29, 2023

Free shipping is more important to shoppers than same-day delivery: Forrester

The costs of implementing same-day and next-day delivery might not be worth it given the level of consumer interest in the service.

By Tatiana Walk-Morris • Dec. 28, 2023

Returns are the last, but not least, component of a holiday CX strategy

The last thing retailers should do is make gift recipients feel guilty for making a return, according to experts. 

By Bryan Wassel • Dec. 27, 2023

’Tis the season for a retail tech-stack rethink

An influx of in-store technologies has CIOs leaning toward cloud for integration solutions, according to research by Bain and Aptos.

By Matt Ashare • Dec. 26, 2023

Fragrance sees online boost during early part of holiday season: report

Online sales of prestige fragrance brands were nearly double the rate of in-store sales in the early part of Q4, according to Circana.

By Tatiana Walk-Morris • Dec. 26, 2023

Can retail sell hygge?

The Scandinavian concept of cozy gatherings and togetherness fits in well with the holidays. Until the excessive purchasing begins.

By Cara Salpini • Dec. 24, 2023

Shoppers use BOPIS to avoid holiday shipping delays: report

Buy online, pick up in store accounted for one-fourth of online orders in the three weeks after Cyber Monday, according to Salesforce. 

By Tatiana Walk-Morris • Dec. 21, 2023

Walmart outpaces Target, Macy’s for most recent holiday purchases: report

A fourth of respondents to a new survey said their last holiday shopping stop was at the big box retailer, followed by Target and Kohl’s. 

By Tatiana Walk-Morris • Dec. 21, 2023