Amazon bans third-party sellers from using FedEx Ground to ship Prime orders

The e-commerce giant cited a "decline in performance" across FedEx Ground and Home services, blaming the carrier for delivery delays this peak season, according to the Wall Street Journal. 

By Morgan Forde • Dec. 17, 2019

Package deal: What holiday delivery can tell us about the future of retail

Cyber Monday was the biggest shopping day on record in the United States. But someone has to deliver all those products. 

By Kaarin Moore • Dec. 16, 2019

Gen Z shoppers to give more secondhand gifts

About a quarter of holiday shoppers will give resale items as presents this year, according to a Deloitte report.  

By Tatiana Walk-Morris • Dec. 13, 2019

Big cities, rural areas could experience high holiday package delays

About 9% of deliveries nationwide are projected to be late, according to a LateShipment.com report, with that figure spiking to 16.5% in some areas.

By Tatiana Walk-Morris • Dec. 11, 2019

Mobile accounts for 67% of traffic to fashion sites this holiday

Conversion rates also jumped 53%, suggesting that shoppers are becoming accustomed to buying apparel on their smartphones, per a new report. 

By Tatiana Walk-Morris • Dec. 10, 2019

Instagram taps Celine Dion for shoppable video of retro fashion

Marc Jacobs, Michael Kors, Adidas and Oscar de la Renta are among the 18 brands offering products to buy directly through Instagram.

By Robert Williams • Dec. 10, 2019

Amazon turns to Refinery29, celebs for holiday attention

Its sales will no doubt be robust, but when it comes to marketing during the season, the e-commerce giant is at something of a disadvantage.

By Daphne Howland • Dec. 9, 2019

What the holidays could do to department stores

It might be a make-or-break season for a segment already under siege — and it's more dire for some than for others.

By Daphne Howland • Dec. 9, 2019

Macy's launches SoGifted shop to highlight female entrepreneurs

The offering can be found at seven locations during the holidays, and comes in the midst of leadership changes at the department store. 

By Tatiana Walk-Morris • Dec. 6, 2019

Consumers aren't fully embracing virtual shopping tools this holiday season

Only about half of shoppers will use voice assistants, chatbots and other emerging technology, according to a new survey.

By Tatiana Walk-Morris • Dec. 5, 2019

What's gained and lost when retailers drop firearms sales

Two of the nation's largest hunting retailers exited the category ahead of an important selling season. 

By Lara Ewen • Dec. 5, 2019

Mobile accounted for two-thirds of Black Friday traffic

However, 60% of purchases are still made via desktop, a recent Bloomreach report found.

By Tatiana Walk-Morris • Dec. 5, 2019

Banks eye a bigger helping of holiday retail point-of-sale pie

Citi, JPMorgan Chase and Mastercard have expanded their loan options this year to fend off upstarts and entice interest-averse buyers.

By Hillary Richard • Dec. 4, 2019

A record 189.6M shopped over Black Friday weekend: NRF

With six fewer days, shoppers may have been eager to take advantage of their time off to get things done, and they did so on and offline.

By Daphne Howland • Dec. 4, 2019

Cyber Monday was Amazon's biggest shopping day ever

Marketplace sellers sold more items that day than during any other 24-hour period, the e-commerce giant said, though it didn't get very specific.

By Daphne Howland • Dec. 3, 2019

Retailers boosted social commerce ads for Cyber Weekend

Retailers funneled 45% of their online media budgets into paid social ads, which accounted for 33% of total revenue from Thanksgiving to Sunday.

By Robert Williams • Dec. 3, 2019

Cyber Monday poised to net record $9.4B in the US

The holiday event already brought in $473 million in online sales by 9 a.m., according to Adobe Analytics research.

By Daphne Howland • Dec. 2, 2019

PayPal: Consumers plan to ramp up social shopping this holiday season

Nearly two-thirds of Canadian social media shoppers said they are more inspired by gift recommendations on the platforms than those in stores.

By Robert Williams • Dec. 2, 2019

2019 wrap-up and looking ahead to 2020: How to best optimize the retail and hospitality associate

Learn to leverage the upcoming holiday season, how work will transform over the next decade, and get a sneak peak into NRF’s Big Show in 2020.

By John Orr, SVP of Retail Strategy, Ceridian • Dec. 2, 2019

The winners and losers of Black Friday 2019

Mobile kicked in more than its fair share this year, and that was good news for some brick-and-mortar retailers.

By Daphne Howland • Dec. 1, 2019

Black Friday sales on track to $7.4B

Shoppers forked over $4.2 billion on Thanksgiving Day alone, much of it on their phones not far from the dinner table, according to Adobe Analytics.

By Daphne Howland • Nov. 29, 2019

Holiday sales won't prevent 2020 closures and bankruptcies

The shopping season will be decent, according to an analysis from FTI Consulting, but it won't be a "standout."

By Tatiana Walk-Morris • Nov. 27, 2019

Mobile shopping to drive in-store visits

A new survey from The NPD Group reports that one in five online purchases will be picked up in stores.

By Lisa Rowan • Nov. 27, 2019

Black Friday cybersecurity responsibility falls to customers

Cybercriminals feed on shoppers with weak personal cyber hygiene. Have companies done enough to protect customers?

By Samantha Schwartz • Nov. 27, 2019

Want to appeal to young holiday shoppers? Invest in tech

Shoppers under the age of 35 will spend more this season but want streamlined technology and environmentally friendly practices, a survey found.

By Lisa Rowan • Nov. 27, 2019