Beauty companies like Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ: ULTA) have been in the spotlight over the past several months, in response to rising cosmetic sales in the wake of high inflation and economic uncertainty (a phenomenon sometimes referred to as the “lipstick effect”). In fact, Ulta recently surpassed investors’ expectations in its third quarter earnings report and … Continued

Over the past several years, teen-focused jewelry retailer Claire’s Stores Inc went from filing for bankruptcy to filing for an IPO, as the company gradually expanded its offerings to attract new customers and experimented with different omnichannel strategies. Our analysis of U.S. consumer spending data since 2019 found that a higher proportion of the company’s … Continued

As the battle for consumer spending intensifies in the 2022 holiday season, Bloomberg Second Measure analyzed three major big-box retailers known for their Black Friday events—Walmart Inc (NYSE: WMT), Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT), and Best Buy Co, Inc (NYSE: BBY)—to see how they fared during Black Friday week. Using consumer transaction data, we found that … Continued

With holiday shopping in full swing, several retailers—including department stores like Kohl’s and big-box stores like Target—are reportedly bracing for deep discounts in response to excess inventory and value-conscious consumers. At the same time, off-price retailers are reportedly benefitting from the inventory challenges faced by their suppliers, and have been able to negotiate lower buying … Continued

Pandemic-driven shifts away from retail shopping during the 2020 holiday season raised the question of whether sales events such as Black Friday would draw shoppers back to stores in 2021. Looking at in-store consumer trends for major department store companies—Macy’s Inc (NYSE: M), Kohl’s (NYSE: KSS), Dillard’s (NYSE: DDS), J.C. Penney, and Nordstrom Inc (NYSE: … Continued