Retail Stores

Gap Inc., which was for decades a fixture at shopping malls around the country, said Thursday that it will be closing 220 of its namesake Gap stores — or one-third of its store base — by early 2024. That will result in 80 percent of its remaining Gap stores being in off-mall locations. As part…

Although the future is unpredictable, some aspects of the post-COVID-19 retail shopping environment are coming into focus. Consumers will continue to buy products online, but there will remain occasions when a customer will want to return to the store. They won’t return, however, unless the shopping is contactless, experience-full and, most importantly, consumers genuinely feel…

In this special episode of Total Retail Talks, Digital Content Manager Kristina Stidham speaks with Editor-in-Chief Joe Keenan about Total Retail’s recently released Top 100 Fastest-Growing Retailers report, a ranking of publicly traded companies based on year-over-year net sales growth. Keenan shares that this annual report identifies the retail brands that are growing sales at…

Many retailers were forced to close their doors to customers beginning in March 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic first hit the United States. This caused the stock market to plunge initially, and pushed the overall economy into a record slump. Unsure of how to proceed given the unprecedented situation where municipalities were ordering stores to…

U.S. retail sales in September increased 1.9 percent month-over-month and 5.4 percent year-over-year, the U.S. Commerce Department said Friday. That's more than double what was economists forecasted, more than triple the 0.6 percent month-over-month increase in August, and almost double the 2.8 percent year-over-year increase in August. Sales have been up both month-over-month and year-over-year each month since…

Walmart is testing electronic tech services through a partnership with True Network Solutions. The retailer is testing the service in four stores in the Dallas-Fort Worth area as well as one near its headquarters in Arkansas. The tech services desk looks similar to a Geek Squad counter at competitor Best Buy. Walmart hasn't made an announcement…

To survive into 2021, brick-and-mortar retailers this holiday season must instill confidence in COVID-19-wary shoppers. Case in point: Leading mattress brand Purple will install hand sanitizer dispensers in all of its store locations. Purple has chosen startup Touchland Hand Sanitizer — and its tech-enabled “KUB”  dispensers — as its partner. The KUBs, designed by Touchland Founder and Product Designer Andrea Lisbona, are filled…

The Tennessee-based discount retailer Dollar General is launching a new store aimed at wealthier customers, called Popshelf, CNBC reported. Most items will cost $5 or less, and it will offer home decor, beauty items, cleaning supplies, party goods and more. Each Popshelf store will be about 9,000 square feet, and its merchandise will include some…

In recent years, omnichannel strategies started to breathe new life into brick-and-mortar retail, setting up 2020 to be a year of growth. And then, without much warning, the pandemic closed thousands of stores for months. Suddenly, brands were left with only existing e-commerce capabilities and their imaginations — and forced to adapt quickly. The abrupt…

A Ranking of Publicly Traded Companies Based on Year-Over-Year Net Sales Growth