December Saw Strong Holiday Season Spending
December Retail Monitor data saw a sharp surge in growth as consumers continued prioritizing holiday spending on family and friends.
The Role of Print Media in a Digital-First World
In an era where screens dominate nearly every waking hour, it’s tempting to assume that print media has quietly shuffled off into the archive room, somewhere between the fax machine and the Rolodex. But it hasn’t disappeared, it has simply evolved, narrowed its focus, and in many ways become more powerful precisely because it is no longer everywhere.
Holiday Shoppers are Using Credit to Survive the Season
As holiday shopping ramps up and consumers flock to stores to gather last-minute gifts for their loved ones, new Ingenico data shows how shoppers are adjusting their spending and payment habits amid rising costs. Based on the findings, one thing is clear: consumers are not cutting back on holiday spending.
November Data Shows Strong Growth in First Half of Holiday Season
Retail sales saw strong year-over-year growth in November, with the first half of the holiday shopping season putting results on track to meet the National Retail Federation’s (NRF) spending forecast, according to the CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor.
Research Shows Why Clothing Take-Back Programs Fail
A new peer-reviewed study, titled "The Role of Information, Rewards, and Convenience in Take-Back Programs for Clothing," found that simply telling consumers their returned items will be “kept out of landfills” significantly increases participation in take-back programs. But when retailers disclose that they may resell those items for profit, participation plummets.
Black Friday Weekend Draws a Record 203M Shoppers
A record 202.9 million consumers shopped during the five-day holiday weekend from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday. The figure is up from 197 million shoppers last year and surpasses the previous record of 200.4 million set in 2023.
Thanksgiving Weekend to Draw Large Number of Shoppers
A record 186.9 million people are planning to shop from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday this year, according to the consumer survey released by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Prosper Insights & Analytics. The figure is up more than 3 million total shoppers from the previous record of 183.4 million last year.
Small Business Optimism Takes a Small Step Back
The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index for October found that small business optimism is taking a small step back as uncertainty eased up a bit last month.
Holiday Sales Expected to Surpass $1 Trillion in 2025
The National Retail Federation released its annual holiday forecast, predicting retail sales in November and December will grow between 3.7% and 4.2% over 2024.
Retail Industry Grapples with Rising Levels of Theft and Violence
The retail industry continues to grapple with increasing levels of theft and violence, according to a new study released today by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and the Loss Prevention Research Council and sponsored by Sensormatic Solutions.
