Retail Stores

Even before anyone had ever heard of COVID-19, the brick-and-mortar retail industry was in trouble. Anchor tenants in malls were closing their doors, transforming once vibrant shopping centers into ghost towns. Independent retailers were struggling as they faced strong competition from online stores that didn’t have the high overhead of operating in expensive downtown areas.…

Amazon.com is shutting down all of its Amazon Books physical bookstores, as well as its Amazon 4-star and Amazon Pop Up shops, which sold a variety of electronics and other in-demand items. The closures affect 68 stores across the U.S. and U.K., Amazon said. Closure dates will vary by location and Amazon said it would…

More Target stores will get an Ulta Beauty shop added in 2022, reports USA Today. The retailer announced Monday that it plans to open 250-plus additional small beauty shops inside its stores this year after opening 101 locations and an online store since August 2021. Target didn't release a list of the upcoming locations, but…

For a glimpse into brick-and-mortar’s future, we need to look to the past. Not too far in the past, mind you — only to the tail-end of 2021. The trends we saw to close out the last year are a harbinger of retail’s future. Overall, the outlook is strong. For every brick-and-mortar retailer that closed…

On Tuesday, Whole Foods opened its first store that allows customers to skip the register entirely. The store, located in Washington, D.C., uses Amazon.com's "Just Walk Out" technology. (Whole Foods is owned by Amazon.) Customers scan their Whole Foods app, credit card or Amazon app when they enter; sensors and cameras detect what items the customer…

Draper James and Kohl's today announced the launch of Draper James RSVP in 500 Kohl’s stores nationwide and online at Kohls.com, reports Glossy. Beginning on Monday, the womenswear brand founded by Reese Witherspoon is selling a collection of over 100 pieces designed with and exclusively sold at Kohl’s. According to a press release, Draper James RSVP…

U.S. retail sales climbed to $649.8 billion in January, rising 3.8 percent over December 2021 and signaling encouragement and optimism for retailers in the new year. The U.S. Census Bureau's new sales numbers, released Wednesday, show that January spending was much higher than the end of 2021. From November to December, sales decreased by 2.5…

Kohl's Corp. is adding Sephora beauty shops to 400 additional department stores, the company announced Tuesday. The 400 stores will span 36 states, eight of which are new homes to Sephora at Kohl’s. They will bring the Sephora at Kohl’s location total to 600, putting the partnership on track to meet its goal of 850 stores by 2023. Sephora…

For years, there has been speculation around the demise of brick-and-mortar retail. The culprit — needless to say — is none other than online shopping. Consumers enjoy the convenience of this digital retail experience, and e-commerce offers brands a lower cost of entry than investing in the space, inventory, upkeep and staff necessary to run…

The way people shop in stores is changing. Concerns of safety still exist, and many people continue to practice social distancing. Furthermore, with the emergence of COVID-19 variants, in-store shopping behaviors are prone to shift overnight. Although all retailers are now operating in the same pandemic era, there's no consensus among them on what in-person…