Ordini’s Best Fiberglass Pools contractors work to install a pool, which the company says have dramatically increased in sales due to COVID-19 fears, in Gilbertsville, Pennsylvania, April 26, 2021. Rachel Wisniewski | Reuters Americans are kicking the can down the road on some more-costly, traditionally financed purchases as elevated inflation and interest rates bite. Corporate … Read more
Wayfair store in Wilmette, Illinois. Courtesy: Wayfair What retail apocalypse? Online home goods retailer Wayfair is opening its first namesake store, near Chicago, following a string of other digitally native companies that have turned to brick-and-mortar for growth. In an ironic twist for a company that became a $12 billion powerhouse by persuading consumers to … Read more
A sign hangs outside the Shein warehouse in Whitestown, Indiana, on Nov. 29, 2023. Scott Olson | Getty Images Chinese-founded fast fashion behemoth Shein isn’t just working to win over lawmakers in Washington, D.C., as it gears up for a potential U.S. IPO, it’s also trying to win over the broader U.S. retail industry. It’ll … Read more
At American Express, consumers are continuing to open high-fee credit cards and splurge on luxuries like travel. But for lending firm Upstart, there’s a strong interest in microloans as cash-strapped Americans try to scrape by. That juxtaposition underscores the growing picture of bifurcation among income brackets in America. And adds to an increasingly popular view … Read more
A customer walks through The Home Depot store on February 20, 2024 in Austin, Texas. Brandon Bell | Getty Images The state of the consumer in 2024 is already taking shape — even before the country’s major retailers begin to report first-quarter earnings, starting with Home Depot and Walmart next week. There are signs that … Read more
The Wayfair app on a smartphone arranged in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York. Tiffany Hagler-Geard | Bloomberg | Getty Images Wayfair’s sales slid during its first fiscal quarter, but the online furniture retailer reduced its losses after cutting 13% of its workforce at the start of the year, the company announced Thursday. Wayfair beat Wall Street’s expectations … Read more
Canada Goose parkas hang on display at a store in Richmond Hill, Ontario. Chris So | Toronto Star | Getty Images Canada Goose said Tuesday it will cut about 17% of its corporate workforce, following a string of other retailers that have laid off employees this year as consumers continue to pull back on discretionary … Read more
A UPS seasonal worker delivers packages on Cyber Monday in New York on Nov. 27, 2023. Stephanie Keith | Bloomberg | Getty Images Just before midnight on May 4, 2023, police were called to an Amazon warehouse in Chattanooga, Tennessee, to investigate a reported theft. They were met by a loss prevention employee, who directed … Read more
Google CEO Sundar Pichai, arrives for a US Senate bipartisan Artificial Intelligence (AI) Insight Forum at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on September 13, 2023. Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty Images It was a big week for tech earnings, with Microsoft, Meta, Alphabet, Amazon and Apple all reporting over the past few days. Artificial intelligence … Read more
Wayfair IPO on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Lucas Jackson | Reuters Wayfair is cutting 13% of its global workforce as the digital home goods retailer looks to trim down its structure, cut out layers of management and reduce costs, it announced Friday. The company plans to lay off around 1,650 employees, … Read more
