Dismayed by a shortage of high-quality bras, and limited store inventory, Heidi Zak co-founded the direct-to-consumer (D2C) startup ThirdLove in 2013. The mission was simple: make shopping for a bra a better experience. With a strong focus on personalization, ThirdLove stocked a wide range of sizes and styles and used customer data to create an innovative buyer journey.

Direct-to-consumer brands are growing fast and disrupting the retail industry. How are these brands successfully reaching and converting customers, earning their loyalty, and capturing more of their online and offline spending?

Store closures are the hallmark of the so-called retail apocalypse, but the demise of brick-and-mortar locations might be more apparent to industry watchers. The average consumer doesn't always pay attention—unless a particular store meant something to them.

Singles’ Day is the world’s biggest shopping event, and Black Friday is just around the corner. Holiday shopping is a major driver of retail and ecommerce around the world, but spending and which holidays drive the most activity vary by region.

New data from First Insight, looking at the differences in the ways men and women shop, found that men are more likely to see, touch and feel a product before they buy it, while women prefer instant gratification.