The most wonderful time of the year has passed, and retailers across the country are tallying sales to determine whether or not the holiday season was a boon or bust. It’s not such a clear picture. Take Target and Costco, two big box retailers trying to shift to digital commerce. Target reported 1.4% sales growth for the period from November to ... READ MORE >
How middle market retailers can compete with free delivery
As consumer shopping habits continue to evolve away from traditional brick-and-mortar stores, the speed and cost of delivery have become a critical component of a true omnichannel retail strategy. Amazon, for example, recently announced that it would offer free grocery delivery to Prime members at Whole Foods stores in certain markets. That comes on top ... READ MORE >
No holiday break for fashion and apparel
On Aug.1, President Trump announced a 10% tariff on an additional $300 billion of Chinese goods not subject to previous tariffs levied by the United States during the protracted trade war. Last Friday, the president announced that the fresh tariffs would be hiked to 15%. According to the American Apparel and Footwear Association, the most recent list ... READ MORE >
Retail sales stay hot, but for how long?
The July retail sales numbers released by the Commerce Department on Thursday continued to reinforce that the resilient consumer has kept the economy afloat amid trade tensions and an unstable economic environment outside of the United States. The question is, how long will it last? While retail sales showed strength across many sectors, the highlight ... READ MORE >
Despite strong consumer spending, higher costs bite into consumer margins
Even as trade disputes and other economic headwinds surface in 2019, the U.S. consumer has held strong and continues to fuel growth in the domestic economy, albeit at a slower pace than in recent years. Last Wednesday, the Federal Reserve cut the federal funds rate by 25 basis points. Another 25-basis-point cut before the end of 2019 would not be a ... READ MORE >
Consumer companies stand to gain from opportunity zones
Opportunity zones—those specially created districts that offer tax breaks to investors—provide some attractive benefits to consumer businesses. The U.S. Treasury Department in April clarified many of the outstanding questions related to OZs, which were created under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act to spur economic growth in lagging geographic areas. The ... READ MORE >
A data scientist could keep Amazon from kicking you off its platform
On May 28, Bloomberg reported that Amazon may stop taking wholesale orders from smaller vendors, a move intended to drive efficiencies and ensure that the tech giant maintains healthy supplies of its most in-demand products. Amazon quickly refuted the article, telling Fast Company: “We review our selling partner relationships on an individual basis as part ... READ MORE >
Can consumers carry the economy amid weak business investment?
Durable goods orders in April showed broad weakness, as expected, falling 2.1 percent. However, in addition to April results, March durable goods numbers were also revised downward, compounding the impact and creating a weaker trend. A closer look at the data demonstrates that shipments of goods, excluding aircraft, were down sharply; this can be considered ... READ MORE >
Fashion to get lift from spending, amid trade and labor challenges
Consumer confidence and spending created some momentum for the fashion sector in 2018. Continued strong consumer confidence, along with the threat of trade regulations and a tight labor market, will be dominant themes for the sector—and the broader retail space—heading into 2019. In 2018, apparel retailers saw sales rise 7.5 percent for the week of Black ... READ MORE >