WASHINGTON — National Retail Federation chief economist Jack Kleinhenz said this could be a year of record sales growth for the nation’s retailers, assuming that America is able to put COVID-19 in its rear view mirror. “There is no doubt the economy is positioned for growth in 2021, but how much growth comes down to
NEW YORK — Online retail giant Amazon had 4.06 billion unique visitors in March, according to data from Learnbonds.com. That is more than the combined visitors tallied by the next five biggest online stores. The data shows that eBay, Walmart, Rakuten, Samsung.com and Apple.com had cumulative visitors of 3.85 billion. EBay registered 1.2 billion unique
The hundreds of thousands of employees who make the retail marketplace function, those staffers who are frequently overlooked, routinely unnoticed by their superiors, and all-too-frequently underpaid, undervalued and underappreciated, have emerged as the heroes and heroines of the coronavirus pandemic. They have routinely accomplished the impossible, working exhaustingly long hours with little rest and less
Editor’s Note: In the fifth part of their series, Alice Wang and Ed Rowland look at the way surprising rumors can lead to hoarding. As in the United States, eggs seem to be one of the products involved. Part one is available here. Part two is available here. Part three is available here. Part four
WASHINGTON – National Retail Federation chief economist Jack Kleinhenz says the coronavirus pandemic “has triggered shocks,” but he argues that the underlying economy is sound. “How quickly the country gets a handle on containing the virus will determine the degree of the impact on the economy and how soon businesses can reopen,” Kleinhenz wrote in
CINCINNATI — Kroger Co. will provide all hourly frontline grocery, supply chain, manufacturing, pharmacy and call center associates with a Hero Bonus – a $2 premium above their standard base rate of pay, the company said. The bonus will be applied to hours worked March 29 through April 18, and will be disbursed weekly to
Editor’s note: In the third part in their continuing series, Alice Wang and Ed Rowland examine the coronavirus’ impact on China’s educational system and the 100 million Chinese students from pre-school through university now exclusively attending online classes. They examine how all the stakeholders– teachers, students, teaching Apps (DingTalk, the government-chosen teaching App provided by Alibaba) have adjusted. Part one
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Raley’s is providing cash rewards to its employees for their service during the coronavirus pandemic that will average about $500. The reward recognizes the dedication team members have shown across store operations and other support services throughout the past two weeks, Raley’s said in a statement. Team members will receive the
NEW YORK — The coronavirus pandemic is disrupting the retail industry on multiple fronts. As the disease began to spread in the United States and globally earlier this month, retailers had to deal with interrupted supply chains, sick employees, empty shelves and the possibility that consumer spending in retail stores will plummet as containment efforts
The coronavirus has become, in very short order, the compelling story of the year, a year in which the upcoming presidential election until recently threatened or promised to drown out every other story. Simply put, America, and the rest of the world, doesn’t know how to respond, or indeed if any response is either adequate
Editor’s note: In the second part in their continuing series, Alice Wang and Ed Rowland examine the coronavirus impact on China’s Manufacturing sector. Much of China has come to a standstill but there are some inspirational stories as well. (Part one is available here.) There’s a new gold in China: face masks. There’s also
WASHINGTON — The National Retail Federation on Thursday sent a letter to the Trump administration urging federal guidance for state and local governments on what constitutes “essential retail businesses and services” for their communities. The text of the letter is below and a pdf is available here. J. Craig Shearman Vice President for Government