What happened to the retail apocalypse?

Justin Ho Aug 28, 2018
HTML EMBED:
COPY
A shopper carries away his purchases from a Target store on Aug. 22, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. Target today reported a 6.4 percent jump in store traffic for the quarter, the biggest increase in at least a decade. The retailer also reported a 41 percent increase in online sales for the quarter.  Scott Olson/Getty Images

What happened to the retail apocalypse?

Justin Ho Aug 28, 2018
A shopper carries away his purchases from a Target store on Aug. 22, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. Target today reported a 6.4 percent jump in store traffic for the quarter, the biggest increase in at least a decade. The retailer also reported a 41 percent increase in online sales for the quarter.  Scott Olson/Getty Images
HTML EMBED:
COPY

About a year ago, we were doing a lot of stories about a retail apocalypse — online shopping leading to the destruction of department stores, malls, anything built out of bricks and mortar. Fast forward to this year and things couldn’t be more different. In the last few weeks, we’ve seen strong quarterly results from everyone from Target to Tiffany. Tuesday morning, Best Buy joined the crowd with strong results of its own. What’s behind all this retail strength, and what might it mean for job growth? 

Click the audio player above to hear the full story.

 

There’s a lot happening in the world.  Through it all, Marketplace is here for you. 

You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible. 

Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.