After months of pressure from activist hedge funds, national department store chain Kohl’s Corporation (NYSE: KSS) announced in May 2022 that it was exploring a potential buyout. The announcement came amid a shifting retail industry in which several big-box retailers like Walmart and Target reported disappointing first quarter results, while some department store companies such … Continued

National discount retail chain Big Lots (NYSE: BIG) reported an earnings miss in its most recent fiscal quarter, joining other major retailers like Walmart (NYSE: WMT) and Target (NYSE: TGT), whose company performance and earnings have also been hit hard by rising labor costs and supply chain issues. Consumer transaction data shows that both customer … Continued

Shortly before announcing its first quarter earnings results, DTC home furnishing company Wayfair Inc (NYSE: W) launched its fifth annual Way Day sales event. Bucking its trend of increasing sales every year, consumer transaction data shows that Wayfair sales during Way Day week in 2022 were lower compared to Way Day week sales during the … Continued

In April 2022, Chinese ecommerce giant Shein closed a funding round that valued the company at $100 billion. Shein has experienced a meteoric rise in the U.S. fast fashion market, with its sales overtaking established competitors such as H&M and Zara during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using U.S. consumer spending data, we analyzed how Shein sales … Continued

Wholesale clubs experienced a sales boost early in the pandemic, as consumers rushed to stockpile pantry essentials and household goods. But how have wholesale clubs fared two years after the panic-buying rush? We looked at a few of the major wholesale club competitors—Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ: COST), BJ’s Wholesale (NYSE: BJ), and Walmart-owned Sam’s Club—to see … Continued