Industry News

In late January, the House passed a bill that would direct the SBA to provide education and support to small businesses to help them adopt AI technologies. Put together by Congressman Troy Downing (MT-02) H.R. 5784, the AI-WISE Act received overwhelming bipartisan support.

The impact of inflation, high interest rates and global supply chain disruptions is still fresh for consumers, influencing what they buy, how they purchase and where they shop. Considering these factors can inform retailers about pricing, channels and potential collaboration.

Consumer spending on Valentine’s Day is expected to reach a record $29.1 billion, according to the annual survey released by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics. The amount surpasses the previous record of $27.5 billion in 2025.

December Retail Monitor data saw a sharp surge in growth as consumers continued prioritizing holiday spending on family and friends.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.