Marvin Ellison, chairman, president and CEO of home improvement retailer Lowe’s, credited a faith in God and a worth ethic instilled by his parents that helped him achieve far beyond his humble roots, going from a part-time stocking clerk earning $4.35 an hour at Target to heading up a Fortune 500 firm.
The energy level at NRF 2023, aka the Big Show, was palpable, as large crowds swarmed the expo floors and outer halls of the Javits Center in New York, even as holiday numbers from the association itself and the government signaled concerns in the industry and the markets down the street.
Retailers lost $218 billion to ecommerce returns in 2021, at a rate of 20.8% of goods sold, according to a survey conducted by Apriss Retail for the National Retail Federation, up from 18.1% in 2020, while total retail returns came back at a rate of 16.6% or $761 billion, up from 10.6% last year.
Holiday retail sales in retail were up higher than expected, according to the National Retail Federation, exceeding expectations by increasing 8.3% to $789.4 billion, as shoppers seeking normalcy used what was left of stimulus funds and unused travel and leisure to purchase holiday gifts. Online and non-store sales were up a brisk 23%.
The uncertainty around schools reopening has made this back-to-school season unlike any before it for retailers, with school supplies lists often unknown as districts work out details, and the normal cadence of discount events and promotions disrupted as well, experts say. Apparel has been hit hardest while tech items are winners.
The National Retail Federation and the International Council of Shopping Centers are asking the Trump administration and the federal government for relief for members who are being hard hit by the coronavirus crisis, much as are other industries such as airlines and hospitality, as mall, store and restaurant closures grow.
Ecommerce holiday sales rose 18.8% over 2018, driving 3.4% overall growth in seasonal retail, delivering a very merry season for merchants, according to the Mastercard SpendingPulse holiday report. Ecommerce growth was up slightly from an 18.4% gain in 2018, accounting for 14.6% of total retail, according to Mastercard.
The National Retail Federation is predicting retail sales will increase between 3.8% and 4.4% in 2019 to more than $3.8 trillion, despite ongoing threats of a trade war, a volatile stock market and the impact of the recent government shutdown.
The retail apocalypse is upon us. Or is it? Though the recent headlines about Sears and the litany of other brick-and-mortar store closure headlines lean in to the apocalypse theory, the data tells us otherwise.
Father’s Day spending is expected to reach $15.3 billion in sales this year. A new study by the National Retail Federation found that a total of 77% of shoppers will spend an average of $133 per person. Here is what the rest of the survey results revealed for Father’s Day spending.