#NRF

Nov 23, 2021
2 min

Historic Consumer Strength and Retail Ingenuity

LinkedIn | November 23, 2021 NRF President and CEO, Matthew Shay, discusses consumers and the holidays. The holiday shopping season has begun, and the balance sheets of American consumers are in a very good place. Despite some significant challenges, we are anticipating perhaps the strongest holiday shopping season on record. Though the pandemic is not yet in the rear view mirror, we are seeing meaningful signs of a much-welcomed return to normal behavior. More Americans are

Nov 10, 2021
1 min

Despite Supply Chain Challenges, Shoppers ‘Won’t Go Home Empty-handed’

National Retail Federation | November 10, 2021 Everyone is wondering how retail will withstand the 2021 holiday season with supply chain impacts. Will there be products on store shelves or available online when consumers want them? Will the disruptions lead to higher retail prices? Despite these challenges, retailers are working to ensure that products will be available for the holidays. With consumer demand remaining strong, NRF expects another record-setting holiday season

Jun 22, 2021
1 min

How TikTok Creates a Space for Community Commerce

National Retail Federation | June 22, 2021 Join the discussion around TikTok and the community commerce that brands and consumers cannot resist. The bite size videos allow anyone to be a creator, just as authentically, you. NRF discusses with Matt Cleary, TikTok’s vertical director for retail and restaurants. Cleary points brands to get involved. Brands and discussions around products are already out there, having awareness and leaning into the discussions about your product

Jun 8, 2021
2 min

Digital Expectations in a Physical World

NRF | June 8, 2021 Stores are being used in a different way. Jason Goldberg is the chief commerce strategy officer at Publicis Group and has been a go-to retail expert for industry leaders for years and discusses how the role of the retail store is changing for good. One of the interesting things about retail is which behaviors are sticking from pandemic trends and which behaviors are reverting to pre-pandemic ways. People have reimagined the purpose of stores from pick up op

Jun 5, 2021
1 min

Retail Sales to Now Exceed $4.44 Trillion in 2021, as NRF Revises Annual Forecast

NRF | June 5, 2021 National Retail Federation issued its revised annual forecast for 2021, anticipating retail sales will now grow between 10.5 percent and 13.5 percent to $4.56 trillion this year, up from the original forecast of $4.44 trillion. Non-store and online sales, which are included in the total figure, are expected to grow between 18 percent and 23 percent to a range of $1.09 trillion to $1.13 trillion as consumers continue to utilize ecommerce. “The combination of

May 5, 2021
1 min

How Nordstrom and The Home Depot Take Advantage of Livestreaming’s Potential

National Retail Federation | May 5, 2021 Over several years, livestream shopping has exploded in China, predicted to be up to a $170 billion business in 2020. U.S. retailers have finally been tapping into opportunities. Walmart brought shoppable livestream experiences to TikTok. Nordstrom offered a series of livestream events with founders and experts from top brands. The Home Depot is also livestreaming homeowner basics and diy workshops. Mark Yuan, co-founder and CEO of And

Apr 23, 2021
1 min

The Small Retailer That Changed the Makeup Landscape for Women of Color

National Retail Federation | April 23, 2021 When women of color purchase makeup, they often experience a problem that white women don’t: a lack of selection. No one knows this better than Kimberly Smith, founder and CEO of Marjani Beauty, who started the company in 2017 after repeatedly experiencing frustrations while trying to purchase makeup. "For Black and Brown women, it’s frustrating to walk into a store and find they do not carry your foundation shade, or be told that c

Mar 25, 2021
2 min

How Brands are Responding to Consumer Sentiment

NRF | March 25, 2021 Making noise, WGSN's “Future Consumer 2023” report has been highly relatable. Emotional plurality — occupying multiple emotional states simultaneously due to an ever-changing and increasingly complicated world — was one of the more relevant feelings. In addition to highlighting consumer sentiments expected to have global impact into 2023, the report included strategies for engaging future consumer profiles. Those profiles include: Predictors (wanting st

Mar 2, 2021
1 min

Understanding the Hispanic Consumer

National Retail Federation | March 2, 2021 The Hispanic population continues to grow in the United States, as does its influence on brand strategy. The fastest-growing consumer group makes up nearly one-fifth of the U.S. population. Below are some highlights from a study Univision conducted on retail behavior of Hispanic shoppers versus Non-Hispanic shoppers. Hispanic consumers are more likely to engage in unique shopping activities, such as shopping online for the first time

Feb 12, 2021
1 min

Barbie Honors Maya Angelou

National Retail Federation | February 12, 2021 Mattel honored the celebrated Maya Angelou with her own Barbie doll as part of the collector's “Black Label” series. The Barbie doll is sculpted to Angelou’s likeness, featuring a copy of her 1969 autobiography, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” in her hands. As the first female and the first Black poet to speak at a presidential inauguration, a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom and three Grammy Awards, and a nomin

Feb 4, 2021
1 min

The Company Helping Major Retailers Become Major Re-Sellers

National Retail Federation | February 4, 2021 Trove provides resale for leading global brands, including Levi’s, Patagonia and REI. Providing the technology for brands, Trove receives items back from customers, prepares, and re-sells them to the next owner. Andy Ruben, founder and CEO of Trove, gives insight to this model of "re-commerce." Re-commerce not only attracts consumers back to retailers, but saves consumers serious money and helps protect the environment. It’s a $32

Jan 20, 2021
1 min

IKEA and H&M on Keeping up with Sustainability during a Global Pandemic

National Retail Federation | January 20,2021 Abigail Kammerzell, U.S. sustainability manager for H&M, and Jennifer Keesson, U.S. sustainability manager for IKEA discuss sustainability actions amidst the pandemic. During the pandemic, more people are spending time at home. For one thing, they’re trying to find multifunctional uses for what’s already there: letting a dining table also serve as a desk, for example. “We regard sustainability as key to recovery from the pandemic,”

Jan 14, 2021
1 min

Lowe’s and Wayfair CEOs Plan for the Unknown

National Retail Federation | January 14, 2021 Marvin Ellison, president and CEO of Lowe’s, spoke with NRF president and CEO Matthew Shay; Niraj Shah, co-founder, president and CEO of online furniture giant Wayfair, discussed his company’s startling growth trajectory, and the foundation for maintaining it. Wayfair has been guided by the founders’ belief that there was a big online opportunity in the home category. Wayfair has a market cap of $24 billion; in December, 2020 sale

Jan 12, 2021
1 min

Exploring How the Pandemic is Pushing us to Cope with the Uncertainty of our Future

National Retail Federation | January 12, 2021 Andrea Bell, WGSN director of insight, presented “Consumer Behavior: Making Sense of the Aftermath of Uncertainty” as part of NRF 2021: Retail's Big Show – Chapter 1. Discussion of time perception and numbness and what it means for consumers. Time perception is the idea that pandemic-induced uncertainty has altered our grasp of time, changing memories and giving rise to a renewed focus on an idealized past. In 2020, “days seemed t

Dec 2, 2020
2 min

Retail in 2021: What will endure and what’s going to change?

National Retail Federation | December 2, 2020 Looking ahead to 2021, the U.S. can expect the long tail impact of the COVID-19 pandemic to be felt in the retail industry. National Retail Federation has 10 predictions for 2021, here are some highlights you can't miss: Direct-to-consumer brands with partnerships to differentiate will see disruptive growth and profitability. It appears the future is multichannel as brands such as Everlane and Birdies link up with Nordstrom, Heads

May 27, 2020
1 min

COVID-19 Boosts the Prospect of Contactless Commerce

National Retail Federation | May 27, 2020 As the growing desire to minimize human contact leads to an increase in touchless fulfillment models, consumers’ mobile devices have become the primary portal for ordering, payments and updates. The “hygiene-centric value proposition” has led to a surge in contactless payments and retailers encouraging mobile payments, adoption of curbside pickup options with encouragement to pay before hand. Some retailers including, Best Buy, Office

May 13, 2020
2 min

How Retailers are Adapting to Curbside Pickup

National Retail Federation | May 13, 2020 Never before have retailers have had to change focus so quickly and on such a large scale. COVID-19 has changed everything in retail and many retailers moved to an exclusive model of curbside pickup that enabled consumers to shop online and pick up their purchases in the parking lot. As a safe and convenient option, half of consumers have used BOPIS as a result of COVID-19, according to an April consumer flash poll by NRF, and a quart

May 7, 2020
1 min

As Interest In Toys And Games Grows, Advertisers Seize Opportunity

National Retail Federation | May 7, 2020 "With more time at home and boredom setting in, toy sales are up. Data from the National Retail Federation’s weekly consumer poll for April 22 showed that 59 percent of consumers are purchasing toys — up from 42 percent in March. That aligns with research from ad sales intelligence business MediaRadar, which found that toy and game companies were spending 2.5 times more on advertising. In March, toy and game companies spent $7.1 mill

May 4, 2020
1 min

How the Health Crisis Has Changed Consumer Behavior

National Retail Federation | May 4, 2020 The National Retail Federation (NRF), working with Prosper Analytics & Insights, is conducting consumer surveys every week to take a real-time pulse on what consumers are thinking and feeling - with the most recent survey showing major shifts in consumer behavior. According to Katherine Cullen, NRF's Senior Director of Industry and Consumer Insights, about 45% of consumers are beginning to focus on what the need right now versus what