Sneakernomics: State of the Outdoor Retail Industry

On the heels of the Outdoor Retailer show, Matt Powell outlines the in-store and online performance of the U.S. outdoor industry stepping into 2018, across apparel, footwear and equipment.

2018 Could Be a Rocky Road for Retail

Everyone wrote retail off during Holiday 2017, but the consumer was resilient and the economy keeps chugging along.

Sneakernomics: “Surprise and Delight”

The U.S. sports industry is in a downward spiral, and price is the primary driver. Retail must return to the days of inspirational and aspirational products that surprise and delight consumers.

Thanksgiving Week Got a Bump, But Holiday Sales Are Still Out of Balance

Stores were certainly busier than last year, but from what I saw Thanksgiving and Black Friday were a mixed bag this year.

Holiday 2017 vs. Holiday 2016: Apples to Apples, or Apples to Oranges?

Every year we talk about how the upcoming holiday season will compare to the prior, but sometimes that isn’t the best comparison to make.

4 Calculations for Retail to Study This Back-to-School Season

The back-to-school shopping season has gotten trickier to focus in on as a retailer. The shifting dynamics at play, from channel blurring to consumer needs, have created a very different back-to-school landscape that is testing the ability of today’s retailers to change their traditional approaches.

Traveling Dollars

Nearly half of consumers recently told NPD they plan to spend less in the next 12 months. Of course, consumers will rarely say they want to or plan to spend more.

An Urgent Message for Retail

2017 Will Test Retail’s Resilience

This will be a year of increased intangibles, experiential engagement, an emphasis on origins, and a continued deal dilemma. The consumer is changing, demanding something different, and retail must answer this call in 2017 or accept the loss.

Stores Saved Black Friday Weekend

That's right. Despite the surge of online and Thanksgiving Day in-store sales, combined with the less-than-stellar Friday in-store sales, retailers got the boost they needed from Saturday and even Sunday in-store business. Saturday and Sunday, which was almost non-existent last year, showed up to save the overall weekend business this year.

Black Thursday Turns Black Friday Grey

Pre-Black Friday online sales starting earlier than in past years, opening on Thanksgiving night; and ongoing doorbuster deals all proved to work well, but perhaps too well. As Thanksgiving Day sales start to steal the business directly from Black Friday, it appears that Thanksgiving Day has become the new Black Friday, and retailers have no one to blame but themselves.

A Political Holiday Split Screen

We’ve heard a lot – and are about to hear more – about how the Democratic and Republican presidential nominees feel on a wealth of issues. But what do their supporters feel about the weighty issues surrounding the 2016 holiday shopping season? And do their attitudes about holiday shopping tie back to the messages their candidate will likely be voicing during the final debate on October 19, 2016?

Election Distraction

With less than two months to go until the 2016 presidential election it is as if the circus has come to town. Regardless of your political affiliation, there is no denying that this presidential election year is unlike any in recent history. Presidential elections typically distract consumers and less of their attention is paid to spending, but this year the distraction is likely going to be bigger than ever.

New Rules for Back-to-School and Beyond

New Rules for Back-to-School and Beyond

What Q2 Sales Results Mean to the Athletic Footwear Industry

What’s Selling So Far?

The Importance of Fashion Week to the Business of Fashion