Support our non-partisan non-profit newsroom 💜 Donate now

Department stores like Macy's rely on an old shopping model. Can they change?

Feb 27, 2024
In the age of globalism and online shopping, the department store’s strength — as a place for everything — has became its weakness.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Freight railroads want to let companies track shipments to compete with trucking

Feb 15, 2024
But so far they've only added GPS tracking to less than 1% of the nation's railcars.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images

It's returns season, and retailers are feeling it

Dec 27, 2023
The National Retail Federation says Americans returned $743 billion in merchandise so far this year.
SDI Productions/Getty Images

As Christmas looms, the shipping wars accelerate

Dec 21, 2023
UPS and FedEx, not to mention Target and Walmart, are all racing to keep up with Amazon's same- or next- day shipping options because shoppers have become used to faster delivery times.
Amazon says more than half of Prime orders arrived same day or next day during the first half of this year in the 60 biggest U.S. metro areas.
Octavio Jones/Getty Images

Non-store retail sales grew more than 10% since last November

Dec 14, 2023
$1.2 trillion was spent outside of brick-and-mortar stores this year — much of it online. Here's some of the trends shaping e-commerce spending.
Non-retail sales — mostly online shopping — grew by more than 10% year-over-year, according to the Commerce Department.
Poike/Getty Images

In retail, it's all about "omnichannel" selling

Nov 23, 2023
It’s not in-store versus online — it’s in-store and online, and something in between.
"[Walmart's] in-store experience is really consistent. They have a lot of doors throughout the U.S. But they're also putting a lot of efforts into online Black Friday deals," said Brittany Steiger at Mintel.
Mario Tama/Getty Images

Big box stores go big on renovations to tempt shoppers

Nov 7, 2023
They're trying to stay ahead of what customers, now used to online convenience and speed, expect from a retailer.
Endless aisles are Walmart’s strength — but also its weakness.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Can AI product review summaries help us make better purchase decisions?

Aug 17, 2023
Amazon is using the technology on its mobile app to synthesize stacks of user comments into one tidy paragraph. Do you buy the idea?
Amazon's new artificial intelligence-generated review system "is immediately going to be a target for sellers to manipulate," says marketing professor Brett Hollenbeck.
isiddheshm/Getty Images

FedEx meets lowered demand for shipping with cost-cutting and layoffs

Jun 21, 2023
As consumers favor services over buying goods, FedEx and other shippers are feeling the pinch.
FedEx is spending more on wages and equipment while people are choosing experiences over goods.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

In California’s Inland Empire, the warehousing industry’s growth comes with consequences

Apr 19, 2023
Many worry that the industry’s growth has put the local environment and economy at risk.
Above, a massive processing and distribution center in Los Angeles.  Warehouses have boomed in California’s Inland Empire over the past decade thanks to the growth of online shopping.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images