Lower-income consumers are cutting back on spending: The segment is feeling inflation’s pinch, which has hurt sales at Five Below, TJ Maxx, and Nordstrom Rack.

Malls need to change: As department stores right-size and shift to smaller formats, mall operators need new types of businesses to drive people to their shopping centers.

Inflation may hinder consumer spending during the holidays: Nordstrom is the latest retailer to lower its forecast for the rest of the year due to softening customer demand.

Digitally native brands focus on physical expansion, but costs are mounting: Allbirds, Warby Parker, and Glossier are shedding workers and expanding retail partnerships to grow sales and stay afloat.

Macy’s, Nordstrom bet on smaller stores as shoppers move away from malls: Department stores are taking a localized approach to reach more consumers and speed up fulfillment.

On today's episode, we discuss what it would be like to live in the metaverse, where you'd likely hang out, what you could and couldn't do, and who you would be. "In Other News," we talk about how to rein in retail returns and why Nordstrom is doing really well as of late. Tune in to the discussion with our analyst Andrew Lipsman.

It’s a difficult landscape for retailers: We break down how some retailers have successfully navigated the shifting terrain—and why others couldn’t.

Consumers are ditching the sweatpants and buying new clothes: That’s propelling apparel sales at retailers such as Nordstrom, Urban Outfitters, and Express in Q1.

The beauty industry is getting a digital makeover, thanks to Gen Z, viral TikTok trends, AR capabilities, and new consumer behaviors. Brands will need to take a multichannel approach to keep up.

Inflation hasn’t hurt retail sales, which grew 7.2% in April: That growth stems from people flocking to stores. In-store sales rose 10.0%, while ecommerce sales fell 1.8%.

On this episode of Reimagining Retail, our analyst Suzy Davidkhanian hosts resident apparel expert Sky Canaves. In "Pop-Up Rankings," they discuss several features from the inaugural apparel benchmark study that didn't rank as high as they would have expected. In the second segment, "What's In-Store," Sky and Suzy visit Nordstrom to check out its click-and-collect hubs, the mobile app scan feature, and different store activations.

Nearly 1 in 5 Black consumers in the US view brands as generally disingenuous for holding Black History Month promotions, recent research shows. A partnership with Black consumers should start with a deep understanding and appreciation of the elements that make them, as individuals and as a group, unique.

Inflation isn’t stopping consumers from buying premium brands: Levi’s and Birkenstocks are some of the companies leveraging their brand equity to raise prices and secure favorable retail partnerships.

Farfetch and Neiman Marcus join forces to update luxury retail for the ecommerce age: The fashion platform will invest up to $200 million in the retailer, with the latter using Farfetch’s ecommerce tools to power digital channels.

Here’s a breakdown of the online and in-store features that apparel retail shoppers value the most, and a ranking of how 10 leading retailers stack up.

US click-and-collect sales will maintain strong momentum over the near term, but the fulfillment method is no longer meaningfully stealing dollar volume share from delivery or from in-store purchasing.

Black-owned brands are underrepresented on store shelves: While many retailers use Black History Month to support Black-owned businesses, addressing long-term inequities is a year-round challenge.

The retailers that will be on top this holiday season are those that see mobile apps as the connective tissue between brick-and-mortar and ecommerce shopping experiences.

Hispanic Heritage Month is upon us: brands are making strides in reaching out to this growing demographic at this time of year, but what about the other 11 months?

Co-brand card issuers and brand partners have an opportunity to reimagine their offerings in the pandemic’s wake. Leaning on newfound digitization and shifting spending habits can help providers tailor their offerings in ways that widen their net, grow volume, and appeal to the maximum number of customers.