Deep Dive: Page 3

Industry insights from our journalists


  • Image attribution tooltip
    Oli Scarff via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Amazon is slowing down its fulfillment center spend. What's next?

    Heightened demand put Amazon's distribution buildout into overdrive. To speed up delivery and limit costs, it will have to invest more.

    Max Garland • March 18, 2022
  • After nearly 2 decades of decline, what's next for office supplies stores?

    Home offices are booming. The retailers that specialize in stocking them are not.

    Ben Unglesbee • March 17, 2022
  • Forever 21's metaverse venture lets Roblox players customize virtual fashion stores
    Image attribution tooltip
    Courtesy of Virtual Brand Group
    Image attribution tooltip

    Should more retailers be on Roblox?

    The platform is used by millions of tweens daily. And ignoring it may cost brands loyalty, revenue and a future audience. 

    Kaarin Vembar • Feb. 17, 2022
  • Image attribution tooltip
    Courtesy of Amazon
    Image attribution tooltip

    What the Amazon union do-over in Alabama means for the future of retail

    U.S. consumers, especially younger ones, harbor new expectations about the workplace that businesses may not be able to ignore.

    Daphne Howland • Feb. 14, 2022
  • Kohl's launched drive-up service during the coronavirus pandemic.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Courtesy of Kohl's media gallery
    Image attribution tooltip

    Kohl's has location, partnerships and a savvy CEO: Why isn't that enough?

    Despite the department store's turnaround efforts, activist investors are insisting on dramatic change, including a sale.

    Daphne Howland • Feb. 3, 2022
  • Image attribution tooltip
    Thomas Lohnes / Stringer via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    The path forward for fashion's sustainable future may be affordability

    Sustainability sells, but how can retailers market around the trendy topic when eco-friendly products are often inaccessible to the average consumer?

    Natalie Koltun • Feb. 2, 2022
  • Image attribution tooltip
    Mario Tama via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Supply chains were made to be broken. Will the industry fix them?

    All kinds of things can go wrong with long, complicated networks of firms spanning the globe and often concentrated by geography. Last year, it all went wrong. 

    Ben Unglesbee • Jan. 31, 2022
  • Self-checkout area Safeway store at 415 14th Street, SE, Washington, D.C., on Aug. 11, 2020. Store opened Aug. 12, 2020.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Sam Silverstein/Retail Dive
    Image attribution tooltip

    Automation beckons retailers as labor challenges endure

    Technologies like self-checkout and ordering kiosks are offering relief to grocers unable to hire enough workers to handle essential functions.

    Sam Silverstein • Jan. 25, 2022
  • Ulta shop-in-shop at Target
    Image attribution tooltip
    Courtesy of Target
    Image attribution tooltip

    Are Sephora and Ulta on a collision course?

    Signs point to yes. Here's what the retailers' new shop-in-shop partnerships mean for their own competition and the rest of the space.

    Cara Salpini • Jan. 18, 2022
  • Image attribution tooltip
    Daphne Howland/Retail Dive
    Image attribution tooltip

    How Macy's set out to conquer the department store business — and lost

    At the dawn of the 21st century, the 160-year-old retailer expanded amid the sector's steep decline. What now?

    Daphne Howland • Jan. 10, 2022
  • Containers wait to be picked up by trucks at the Port of Los Angeles.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Mario Tama/Getty Images via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    10 retail trends to watch in 2022

    Last year upended some trends and accelerated others. What will 2022 bring for retailers?

    Daphne Howland, Ben Unglesbee, Cara Salpini, Kaarin Vembar, Caroline Jansen and Maria Monteros • Jan. 4, 2022
  • Person with a mask on looks into a store window while holding shopping bags.
    Image attribution tooltip
    andreswd via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    With omicron landing in the US, do retailers actually need the vaccine mandate?

    The National Retail Federation won a stay against the government's plan to have big companies immunize or test their employees. That squanders a chance to thwart the pandemic, experts say.

    Daphne Howland • Dec. 6, 2021
  • The boarded up entrance of a Saks Fifth Avenue Men's store.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Kaarin Vembar/Retail Dive/Retail Dive
    Image attribution tooltip

    This DC neighborhood used to be synonymous with high-end shopping. Now it's mostly abandoned.

    Friendship Heights was once known for luxury retail in the Washington, D.C. area, but retail options have dwindled.

    Julia Himmel • Nov. 22, 2021
  • Image of Giant Food app showing loyalty program information
    Image attribution tooltip
    Courtesy of Giant Food
    Image attribution tooltip

    Grocers chase the promise of e-commerce personalization

    Customization tools like shoppable recipes and product recommendations are helping consumers cut through the clutter of center store. But retailers are only scratching the surface of what's possible.

    Sam Silverstein • Nov. 18, 2021
  • There may be more 'teeth' coming to board diversity efforts. What does that mean for retail?

    Nasdaq's diversity disclosure rule could be just the beginning as investors increasingly expect retailers to diversify their boards.

    Cara Salpini • Nov. 18, 2021
  • Image attribution tooltip
    400tmax via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Stock buybacks are back, baby

    The largest retailers are spending fortunes repurchasing their own shares. Taxpayers are footing part of the bill while workers and investment may be suffering.

    Ben Unglesbee • Nov. 15, 2021
  • Nike House of Innovation New York storefront
    Image attribution tooltip
    Courtesy of Nike
    Image attribution tooltip

    These traditional brands are shifting to a DTC model. Here's how.

    Athletics retailers are in some ways leading this shift, but brands across the industry are doubling down on the model to grow margins.

    Cara Salpini • Nov. 11, 2021
  • Nordstrom holiday campaign 2021
    Image attribution tooltip
    Courtesy of Nordstrom
    Image attribution tooltip

    Is the fun ever coming back to holiday shopping?

    The joy of the season wasn't as prevalent last year. With the continued threat of the pandemic and rise of e-commerce, it hasn't fully returned this year either.

    Cara Salpini • Nov. 8, 2021
  • Image attribution tooltip
    Daphne Howland/Retail Dive
    Image attribution tooltip

    Why are department stores a target for e-commerce spinoffs?

    Those who've declared the Saks online-offline split a success now want the same for Macy's and Kohl's. Here's why they're vulnerable.

    Daphne Howland • Nov. 1, 2021
  • For Retail Dive's DTC exit strategy package
    Image attribution tooltip
    Adeline Kon/Retail Dive
    Image attribution tooltip

    'A gold rush': Inside the rise of SPACs

    Going public through blank check companies reached a fever pitch this year. Following stricter scrutiny from the SEC, the method's future remains uncertain.

    Caroline Jansen • Oct. 25, 2021
  • For Retail Dive's DTC exit strategy package
    Image attribution tooltip
    Adeline Kon/Retail Dive
    Image attribution tooltip

    'The market's on fire': What's behind the flood of DTC IPOs?

    While acquisitions remain the most popular exit option for online brands, public listings are on the rise.

    Caroline Jansen • Oct. 25, 2021
  • For Retail Dive's DTC exit strategy package
    Image attribution tooltip
    Adeline Kon/Retail Dive
    Image attribution tooltip

    Why acquisitions lead DTC exits

    These deals provide brands with resources needed to grow their business: a robust supply chain, new customers and a wider distribution network. But they're not without risk.

    Caroline Jansen • Oct. 25, 2021
  • For Retail Dive's DTC exit strategy package
    Image attribution tooltip
    Adeline Kon/Retail Dive
    Image attribution tooltip

    The anatomy of a DTC exit

    As direct-to-consumer brands grow their businesses, an exit is a logical next step. For some brands, that strategy is born before their products even hit the market.

    Caroline Jansen • Oct. 25, 2021
  • Image attribution tooltip
    Best Buy
    Image attribution tooltip

    Is Best Buy undermining its storybook turnaround?

    Layoffs and flexing in stores have taken a toll, current and former employees told Retail Dive. As one said, "You can't have good customer service when you barely have any customer service reps."

    Ben Unglesbee • Oct. 15, 2021
  • U.S. Postal Service workers scan parcels at the Los Angeles Processing and Distribution Center on December 11, 2019 in Los Angeles, California.
    Image attribution tooltip
    David McNew/Getty Images via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Retailers are betting on wage hikes, perks to woo workers ahead of the holidays. Will it work?

    Employers are offering incentives like sign-on bonuses, tuition assistance and higher pay to staff up, but challenges remain.

    Maria Monteros • Oct. 11, 2021