With graduation season underway, NRF's annual survey found that more than a third of consumers are getting ready to pick up cards, set aside some cash or splurge on new electronics for the high school and college grads in their lives. The data shows that graduation gifts have not changed much in the last 10 years: Most of today's grads can expect a card and some cash or a gift card to help them prep for the next phase in their lives. However, what has changed is the type of jobs and careers…

In retail, evolution doesn't stop. As consumer behavior shifts and changes with every new technological advancement or cultural shift, retailers must rise to meet new demands. At NRF 2019: Retail's Big Show, Mark Matthews, NRF's vice president of research and development, Jill Standish, senior managing director and global head of retail at Accenture, and Jay Sole, executive director of UBS Securities LLC, discussed what the retail landscape looks like in 2019 and how retailers are meeting…

Beauty company Birchbox pioneered the subscription box model, using data to create highly personalized experiences for consumers interested in beauty - but often overwhelmed by the experience of shopping for beauty products; it recently announced a partnership with Walgreens and opened its first bricks-and-mortar Walgreens locations in December. Before Birchbox launched, Beauchamp and her co-founder Hayley Barna looked at beauty market and saw a $500 billion industry that hadn't been disrupted…

Consumers increasingly expect free delivery of items they buy online and are also embracing new options like picking up their online purchases at a local store, according to the latest issue of the quarterly Consumer View report released today by the National Retail Federation.

"Consumers want free delivery, and they're willing to meet retailers halfway to get it," NRF Vice President for Research Development and Industry Analysis Mark Mathews said. "If we can get their purchase to the store,…

Like many entrepreneurs, Stefanie Botelho needed a solution for a problem she faced: She was buying a lot of gifts for children, but it was tough to find something unique and special. For a college project, she built recommendation engine Fitzroy to solve that problem and later adapted it for retailers as an online wholesale marketplace. This week, Botelho joins Retail Gets Real to discuss her mission to "support different."

Fitzroy connects emerging, independent brands that want to grow with…

If you follow this space, you'll know I think the following about Tuition Aid as a benefit:

1 - It's one of the most powerful benefits you can provide.

2 - It will never cost you as much as you think it will because it is incredibly hard to use. People have families, people have lives once they get above the traditional age of a college student. Going back to school while working full time takes an incredible amount of focus, grit and discipline for those without kids - and even more for those…

U.S. teen apparel retailer Abercrombie & Fitch, which has put itself up for sale, posted a smaller-than-expected drop in comparable-store sales, helped by strong demand for Hollister, its California beach-themed brand of surfwear.

Shares of the company, for which rival American Eagle Outfitters and private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management are reportedly planning to bid, rose 4 percent to $13.41 before the bell on Thursday.

Abercrombie and other U.S. apparel retailers have been hurt…

It's been a rocky month for J. Crew. First, its renowned creative director Jenna Lyons stepped down after 26 years. The CEO Micky Drexler announced 250 job cuts at the company's corporate headquarters. 

The brand is struggling. Same-store sales have been down for the past three years; dropping by 8% in 2016, following a 10% decrease the year before. 

And despite Drexler's cost-cuting measures, the brand still has to deal with the fact that it's losing customers to cheaper fast-fashion…

Abercrombie & Fitch has been on a steady decline. In November of last year, the retailer's shares plummeted 10%, completing 15 straight quarters of company-wide comparable sales decline. In February, the company's merchandising head, Fran Horowitz, was promoted to CEO, and tasked with reversing course. To do so. Horowitz will need to devise a strategy that leverages her past experience and redefines the culture of Abercrombie & Fitch. Moving in this direction requires instilling a…