National Retail Federation

Returns are at a record high as online shopping booms. Now Amazon is trying to destroy less inventory with new options to refurbish, resell and liquidate items.

The $100 billion conferences and events industry in the U.S. is on edge amid the recent Covid surge.

From long lines waiting to enter the Wrentham outlets, to early risers in Lynn at Walmart to the hustle and bustle of CambridgeSide, shoppers were on the hunt for good deals on this Black Friday..

This is a crucial time of year for retailers who are hoping pandemic-weary shoppers are ready to spend. But there are some headwinds as we head into the thick of the holiday season.

Shoppers began trickling into stores early Friday morning to take advantage of Black Friday deals, after the COVID pandemic kept many in-store shoppers home last year. This year, with vaccines now widely available for a majority of Americans, an estimated 2 million more people are expected to shop from now thru Cyber Monday. Still, holiday shopping is not back to…

Experts say this Black Friday will be busier than last year, when COVID kept a lot of people home.

Freeport, Maine is well-known as a summer shopping destination with its outlets and other stores. But is it still a dominant retail hub on Black Friday, as more and more people choose to buy online? Anecdotal and numerical evidence shows Freeport has taken an overall retail hit from the Internet. Freeport retail dollars dipped 20-percent or $15,000,000 between 2018 and...

Anecdotal and numerical evidence shows Freeport has tkaen an overall retail hit from the Internet.

Black Friday shoppers fought for parking spots and traveled cross-state to their favorite malls, kicking off a shortened shopping season that intensified the mad scramble between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The shopping season is the shortest since 2013 because Thanksgiving fell on the last Thursday in November — the latest possible date it could be. That means customers will have less...

The Pheasant Lane Mall opened its doors Thanksgiving evening to welcome shoppers trying to beat the Black Friday morning crowds. The shoppers waited in their cars for hours on Thursday to be the first ones inside. The National Retail Federation says 165 million people are expected to shop between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday, making it a now five-day event.

After the Thanksgiving feast comes Black Friday. But this year people are heading to the shops early.

Although some retailers have already started marking down items and cueing the holiday music, the season will kick off in earnest this week. Retailers are preparing for crowds of shoppers as the holidays approach, with retail sales expected to grow between 3.8% and 4.2% this year to between $727.9 billion and $730.7 billion, according to the National Retail Federation. For...

When most people think of Black Friday deals, they picture discounts on electronics, toys or clothing. But restaurant chains also offer their own deals. Here’s where to find deals on restaurant gift cards and discounted food and drinks on Black Friday.

They call it the most joyful time of the year, and for good reason: the holidays are a time to join family and friends and share in the things that make life special. But the celebrations and gift-giving aren’t without cost.

With trick or treating over, all that candy is in your house. So now what? You can hide it from the kids, or maybe eat it yourself, but there are concerns about the amount of candy kids are consuming. “I am a really big candy fan,” says Heather Flannery. “We eat a lot of candy at our house.” The National...

The National Retail Federation says this year, Americans spent a projected $2.9 billion on candy. It’s a scary amount of sugar.

CandyStore.com compiled 12 years of candy sales to break down the top candy by state.

Fake cobwebs and some other spooky, outdoor Halloween decorations meant as harmless fun can do real damage to wildlife. Halloween spending has skyrocketed in recent years, and the National Retail Federation says Americans are expected to spend $2.7 billion on Halloween decorations this year. Wildlife organizations say they also have seen an increase in animal visits to local rehabilitation centers...

President Donald Trump is threatening to use the emergency authority granted by a powerful but obscure federal law to make good on his tweeted “order” to U.S. businesses to cut ties in China amid a spiraling trade war between the two nations. China’s announcement Friday that it was raising tariffs on $75 billion in U.S. imports sent Trump into a...

Everyone loves Halloween — except when it falls on a weekday night. The after-school homework routine is tricky enough, even without a kid who just wants to put on a costume and eat candy; early bedtimes curtail what could be hours of trick-or-treating. Even older fans of the holiday are disappointed — it’s hard to have a fun time when...