Department stores

This week, we saw positive quarterly earnings from Macy’s and Kohl's, and news that Amazon plans to open what are essentially department stores.

Amanda Mull, a staff writer at The Atlantic, argues that department stores had a hand in building class consciousness.

Retailers realize the pandemic has also shifted a lot of shopping online.

But for those other mall tenants, sharing space with Amazon might feel like an insult.

Experts say these companies were already in trouble before the pandemic.

With more consumers shopping online, the in-store experience remains crucial to keeping brick-and-mortar alive.

Kohl's is expanding a deal with Amazon that allows online shoppers to return their merchandise at Kohl's stores.

Sears is once again opening new locations, but much smaller Home & Life stores.

A decade later, everything is still on sale.

Major department stores report their earnings this week, starting with Macy’s on Wednesday, followed by Nordstrom and J.C. Penney on Thursday. After a retail slump and slide over many quarters, Americans are coming back to shopping, and the numbers show stores are enjoying the trend. Click the audio player above to hear the full story.