“U.S. retail sales posted their largest drop on record in March, as widespread shutdowns from the coronavirus pandemic prompted American shoppers to sharply reduce spending on cars, clothes, restaurants and bars. Retail sales, a measure of purchases at stores, at restaurants and online, decreased a seasonally adjusted 8.7% in March from a month earlier, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. That marked the biggest month-on-month decline in retail spending since the Commerce Department started the data set in 1992. American shoppers responded to the pandemic, stay-at-home directives and stock-market drops in March by reining in spending on big-ticket items such as new cars, electronics, clothing and furniture. From a year earlier, retail sales were down 6.2% in March.”

“Secured creditors are recovering all or most of their investments when retailers file for bankruptcy protection, even as nearly half these companies don’t survive with a physical presence, according to Fitch Ratings research. Among large retail and supermarket chains that filed for bankruptcy protection over the past 15 years, 45% closed all of their stores, the ratings firm said in a new report. Fitch found that the bankruptcies of 25 out of 55 retail and supermarket companies ended in liquidations.”

“Kohl’s CEO Michelle Gass says the retailer’s partnership with Amazon is going well, despite Kohl’s reporting dismal holiday sales that cast doubt on the strategy. “I get this question, ‘Is Amazon working?’” Gass said Sunday at the National Retail Federation’s annual Big Show in New York, in an interview with CNBC’s Courtney Reagan . “Amazon is working. This returns program is working. We’re seeing the traffic. We’re getting new customers.””

“Retailers have much to cheer about this holiday season. According to Mastercard SpendingPulseTM , holiday retail sales increased 3.4 percent (ex auto) with online sales growing 18.8 percent compared to 2018. Mastercard SpendingPulse provides insights into overall retail spending trends across all payment types, including cash and check.”

“Returns hit the bottom line in multiple ways: the value of returned merchandise was $369 billion in 2018, and it takes, on average, more than seven people to handle processing a return. Additionally, 80% of first-time customers who return their order will never buy from that retailer again. However, most returns happen due to preventable issues, such as shipping the wrong item, a damaged product or inaccurate product description. This puts 65% of product returns under retailers’ control, and every $1 million in returns prevented adds $500,000 to their EBITA.”

“REI Co-op is adding new benefits to its REI Co-op World Elite Mastercard®, making it easier than ever for cardholders to enjoy life outdoors. In addition to 5% back on purchases at REI cardholders now enjoy 2% back on mobile wallet purchases, and extra savings on REI’s adventure travel trips when they use their Annual Dividend – all with no annual fee and no foreign transaction fees.”

“Target’s investment in same-day pickup and delivery options is paying off. The company, which today offers same-day in-store pickup, drive-up and same-day delivery through its acquisition of Shipt, said this week that these services combined have more than doubled their sales in the last year. In addition, they accounted for more than a third of Target’s digital sales, up from about 20% last year.”

“Americans are more value-conscious than they have been in decades. And retailers offering good deals, from bargains on brand-name goods to conveniences such as free shipping, are gaining share at the expense of peers that have been slow to innovate.”

“It’s no longer a winner-take-all scenario for Amazon Prime Day — in fact, that hasn’t been true for years. As soon as other large retailers realized they could piggyback on Amazon’s annual sales event to boost their own revenues from counter-sales, they’ve been doing just that. According to new data from Adobe Analytics out this morning, large retailers have already seen a big jump — a 64% increase — in their U.S. e-commerce spending thanks to Prime Day on Monday, July 15, when compared with an average Monday.”

“Amazon.com Inc. and other big retailers kicked off an annual July sales event that has come to rival Black Friday in terms of discounts and the surge in online shopping. But for the e-commerce giant, the Prime Day event isn’t just about selling discounted Instant Pots or Levi’s jeans. It is another way to tighten its grip on shoppers by getting them to enroll in its Prime membership program, which adds an important revenue stream and loyal customers.”

“A man strolled down the candy aisle of a grocery store in England last month, picked up a bar of chocolate and stashed it in his back pocket. He wasn’t stealing. Specially equipped surveillance cameras were tracking both his body and the products he was taking off the shelves, to help him pay for them. Tesco PLC, one of the world’s largest supermarket operators, demonstrated this technology recently to investors, labeling it as one of the retailer’s big ideas for making shopping at its physical stores more convenient. Tesco is one of several grocers testing cashierless stores with cameras that track what shoppers pick, so they pay by simply walking out the door.”

“When Chinese tech companies started rushing to open unmanned convenience stores a couple of years ago, some seasoned bricks-and-mortar players said the trend would soon hit a dead end. They were right: Across China, shops once considered the future of retail have been shutting their doors for good. In May, on Huaqiang North Road in the heart of Shenzhen’s electronics shop district, a Buy-Fresh Go store that had been held up by the media as a model of automated retail closed after only about a year. The store had been stripped of all its high-tech equipment and an ad seeking a new tenant was placed at the entrance.”

“Makers of luxury goods from liquor to perfume think they have found the antidote to the fading American shopping mall : airport terminals. The world’s airports, drawing ever more travelers with time to kill, have become havens of high-end shopping, where stores sell $400 bottles of whiskey and $4,000 purses against the backdrop of day spas, hot springs and, in one case, a butterfly garden. For the first time last year, Estée Lauder Co. generated more revenue at airports globally than at U.S. department stores, which for decades had been beauty companies’ biggest sales driver. Other luxury-goods companies, from spirits maker Bacardi Ltd. to Kering SA’s KER +1.60% Gucci, are also expanding their presence at airport terminals.”

“A group of investors this week set plans in motion to take Hudson’s Bay Co. HBC 0.76% private, hoping to fix the business out of the public eye. But going private won’t solve the company’s biggest problem: It owns department stores, a segment of retailing that has been losing share for years to discount chains, e-commerce companies and other upstarts.”

“Retailers’ earnings season has gone from bad to worse. The bleeding intensified last week , with shares of Abercrombie & Fitch plummeting 26% on Wednesday, the biggest percentage decline since the company went public. PVH Corp., owner of brands including Van Heusen, Tommy Hilfilger, and Calvin Klein, dropped 10% that day, too. On Thursday, women’s wear chain J.Jill was down a jaw-dropping 53% and on Friday, Gap Inc. slid 9%. It is hard to miss what all of these retailers have in common: They are mall-based. While retailers posted generally strong numbers in 2018, raising hopes of a retail renaissance, this year has seen a reversion to the pre-2018 trend: department stores and mall-based retailers giving up share to discount stores and e-commerce.”

“Comparable digital sales surged 42%, contributing 2.1 percentage points to comparable sales growth. Same-day fulfillment services (order pick up, drive up and Shipt) drove well over half of the company’s digital sales growth. During the quarter, Target completed 53 of the approximate 300 store remodels it is scheduled to complete this year. It also opened seven small-format stores, including its first location in Santa Barbara, Calif.”

“Sales at several store chains slowed during the latest quarter, clouding the outlook for the retail sector as it braces for a significant increase in tariffs on goods imported from China. Sales at Kohl’s Corp. KSS -12.34% , J.C. Penney Co. JCP -6.96% , Nordstrom Inc. JWN 1.04% and Home Depot Inc. HD 0.26% weakened as they experienced a slower start to the year. Comparable sales fell 3.4% at Kohl’s, and were down 5.5% at Penney. Both retailers missed analysts’ expectations for the quarter, which ended on May 4. Nordstron’s net sales fell 3.5%.”

“Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. and Nordstrom Inc. will let online shoppers at other brands and retailers pick up or return orders at some stores, a sign of how retailers are partnering in new ways to draw customers as more shopping shifts online.”

“Strong retail numbers last year from department stores Macy’s Inc. and Nordstrom Inc.raised hopes that the beleaguered mall industry would finally rebound. But recent developments this year are pointing to more trouble ahead. A number of struggling retailers are closing stores and being more selective about where to open ones, dimming prospects for many mall owners and investors.”

“The Retail Industry Leaders Association issued its call after the Fed last month released its latest bi-annual study of the debit card market , as required by the Durbin Amendment to 2010’s Dodd-Frank Act. The new study, for the year 2017, says average per-transaction authorization, clearing, and settlement costs for regulated debit card issuers, excluding their fraud losses, fell to 3.6 cents in 2017—a cumulative decline of 54% percent since the Fed began collecting such data in 2009.”

“Last summer, Sainsbury’s made headlines with the launch of its new mobile ‘scan-and-go’ technology . A trial in a South London store saw customers scanning products with their smartphone app and paying for goods without having to visit a fixed till or self-service machine.”

“If you’re a supporter of “cash-less” stores you’re probably a chain store like Sweetgreen or a disruptor like Amazon. These companies argue that cashless stores are safer for employees, provide a quicker and more seamless experience for their customers, and encourage more productivity and better accounting. They’re probably right about that.”

“Amazon reportedly feels confident enough in its grocery-store quests to branch out into new ventures. According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, Amazon plans to open dozens of new grocery stores that will be distinctly different from the company’s Whole Foods Market stores. The retail giant has reportedly already signed leases for some locations and plans to open the new grocery stores in cities across the country, including San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Washington DC.”