The costs, and benefits, of the influencer economy

Influencers on social media have the power to control retail brand conversations and impact consumers' purchasing decisions. But what price are retailers paying to make these connections?

By Lara Ewen • Dec. 6, 2017

Poor personalization cost businesses $756B last year

Retailers are facing a major conundrum — how to balance consumer frustration with bad recommendations and their fear of giving up personal info.

By Dan O'Shea • Dec. 4, 2017

Explore the Trendline➔

What's shaping the e-commerce landscape?

From pivots in digital strategies to challenges retailers must overcome with reverse logistics, here are some of the forces shaping online retail.

By Retail Dive staff

Disruptor of the Year: Brandless

Brandless burst onto the retail scene earlier this year with 110 products, all with a good-for-you ethos and modern design. Brandless looked like a store brand, without the store — and that was pretty much the point. 

By Laura Heller • Dec. 4, 2017

The Retail Dive Awards for 2017

The 2017 Retail Dive Awards recognize the industry’s top disruptors and innovators. These executives, companies and trends are transforming the industry and shaping the future.

By Corinne Ruff , Ben Unglesbee , Laura Heller , Cara Salpini • Dec. 4, 2017

Artificial intelligence set to soar

IDC issued its annual list of technology predictions for the retail sector — and AI will be used across the board.

By Dan O'Shea • Dec. 1, 2017

War with Amazon sparks change at Walmart, Target

The two big-box retailers have been especially focused on new services and competitive prices as the online giant has crept onto the scene.

By Daphne Howland • Dec. 1, 2017

WeWork tests Amazon’s Alexa for Business

The co-working company, which has been eyeing retail opportunities, is turning to Amazon for work spaces powered by the popular voice assistant.

By Dan O'Shea • Dec. 1, 2017

Ikea entering a 'test-and-learn' phase

Amid a profit fall, the furniture retailer is focusing on how and where it sells its goods, as well as potential acquisitions.

By Daphne Howland • Dec. 1, 2017

Target's online Black Friday growth beats Amazon, Walmart

The mass merchant's digital sales soared 44% over last year, while other major retailers felt a bump between 19% and 25%, according to data from Slice Intelligence.

By Daphne Howland • Nov. 30, 2017

Wayfair Black Friday weekend sales soar 53%

The online furniture retailer is in the right place at the right time as furniture buying and selling moves online.

By Dan O'Shea • Nov. 30, 2017

Simon bridges online and brick-and-mortar with 'The Edit'

The effort to reach online customers recalls "In Real Life," from GGP and could be a boon for both the mall and online sellers. 

By Daphne Howland • Nov. 30, 2017

Amazon smashes Cyber Monday record

The online behemoth said Cyber Monday was the single biggest shopping day in the company's history, surpassing its Prime Day event for the most products ordered worldwide.

By Daphne Howland • Nov. 30, 2017

Are Calvin Klein’s Amazon pop-ups dissing department stores?

Traditionally the brand releases exclusive collections through department store channels, but the partnership signals the apparel retailer is looking for new growth.

By Corinne Ruff • Nov. 29, 2017

Wayfair is dominating West Elm and Ikea on social media

The furniture e-tailer had the fastest-growing audience on social media among competitors during the week of Black Friday, according to a new study.

By Robert Williams • Nov. 29, 2017

Amazon, Cyber Monday spark small business growth

The results underscore not just the online retailer's dominance on the shopping day, but also the global strength of its marketplace.

By Daphne Howland • Nov. 29, 2017

Google Home, eBay make smart speakers smarter

Shopping via the AI assistant is about to get easier, with an app that moves customers off the device and onto their smartphone.

By Dan O'Shea • Nov. 29, 2017

30 minutes with Sephora’s head of marketing

Deborah Yeh, SVP of marketing and brand at Sephora, gave Retail Dive a glimpse into three of the retailer's most dynamic marketing moves.

By Cara Salpini • Nov. 29, 2017

Everlane to open first physical stores

Much is made of Everlane founder and CEO Michael Preysman's antipathy toward physical retail, but the brand has sold through physical locations for several years now.

By Daphne Howland • Nov. 29, 2017

Costco beats Amazon on price

The focus these days is on the emerging Amazon-Walmart price war, but new research shows that Costco handily beats the e-commerce giant across categories. 

By Daphne Howland • Nov. 29, 2017

Black Friday weekend beat NRF forecast by 10M shoppers

Good weather and a strong economy brought more than 174 million consumers to stores and websites over the red-letter shopping weekend. 

By Daphne Howland • Nov. 29, 2017

Abt Electronics sees a 15% holiday weekend sales jump

Single-store star Abt had a stellar start to the holiday season thanks to an emphasis on customer experience. 

By Dan O'Shea • Nov. 28, 2017

What retailers need to do right now to survive

As retailers drop like flies, shuttering stores and filing for bankruptcy, Lee Peterson of WD Partners outlines three key survival strategies.

By Lee Peterson • Nov. 28, 2017

Black Friday Twitter engagements totaled nearly 785M

The most popular terms associated with positivity included Thanksgiving, shopping and hashtags like #cybermonday, #giveaway and #deals, a new study found.

By David Kirkpatrick , Peter Adams • Nov. 28, 2017

Walmart's Modcloth, Bonobos employees to see benefit cuts

New medical benefits are inferior to many in e-commerce, according to a report from The New York Times, but a Walmart spokesperson said they are in line with most Fortune 500 companies.

By Daphne Howland • Nov. 28, 2017

7 lessons from Cyber Monday

The online sales holiday raked in $6.6 billion — up 17% over last year — and showed the rising force of mobile in digital holiday sales. 

By Ben Unglesbee • Nov. 28, 2017