Accessibility links
Retail Retail
Stories About

Retail

Wednesday

Will Bed Bath & Beyond sink like Sears or rise like Best Buy?

Bed Bath & Beyond is working on yet another turnaround after a series of crises and missteps. Bruce Bennett/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

Business

Will Bed Bath & Beyond sink like Sears or rise like Best Buy?

The company has been on a rollercoaster of crises, including a meme-stock rise and crash. Its latest financial report comes Thursday.

Will Bed Bath & Beyond sink like Sears or rise like Best Buy?

Listen · 4:01
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1125183855/1125525903" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Friday

A deal to avert a rail strike is on track, but it won't fix U.S. supply chain issues

A tentative deal announced Thursday would avert a strike on the nation's freight lines with the potential to throw supply chains into chaos. Above, a CSX freight train travels through Alexandria, Va. Kevin Wolf/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Kevin Wolf/AP

National

A deal to avert a rail strike is on track, but it won't fix U.S. supply chain issues

Supply chain disruptions have eased since the height of the pandemic, but concern over a potential rail strike, which appears to have been narrowly averted, highlights how that system remains fragile.

Thursday

Wednesday

Binders, backpacks... and inflation are on this year's back-to-school shopping list

People shop for school supplies at a Target store in Miami, Fla., on July 27. Marta Lavandier/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Marta Lavandier/AP

America In The Grip Of Inflation

Binders, backpacks... and inflation are on this year's back-to-school shopping list

This year's back-to-school shopping season lands in the middle of the highest inflation in four decades — how will this affect spending?

Binders, backpacks... and inflation are on this year's back-to-school shopping list

Listen · 3:42
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1114582432/1115347230" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Monday

What happens when people want all the air fryers and then, suddenly, they don't

An air fryer awaits its buyer at a Kroger store in Kentucky in 2020, when the kitchen appliance became a hot seller. Scotty Perry/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Scotty Perry/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Business

What happens when people want all the air fryers and then, suddenly, they don't

Big box stores are working through an unexpected glut of inventory: TVs, kitchen appliances, hoodies and other hot pandemic items. Part of the problem is the bullwhip effect.

What happens when people want all the air fryers and then, suddenly, they don't

Listen · 4:02
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1112945860/1113528168" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Tuesday

Prime Day makes third-party sellers anxious

Amazon workers sort packages for delivery. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

The Indicator from Planet Money

Prime Day makes third-party sellers anxious

Amazon Prime Day, the unofficial holiday of the e-commerce enthusiast, is here. But for third-party-sellers, today might not be a day for celebration.

Prime Day makes third-party sellers anxious

Listen · 9:26
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1111156566/1198988637" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Thursday

Sunday

Monday

Thursday

Wednesday

From living rooms to landfills, some holiday shopping returns take a 'very sad path'

A postal worker carries packages through the snow on Jan. 3 in Washington, D.C. Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images

Business

From living rooms to landfills, some holiday shopping returns take a 'very sad path'

It's peak season for returns, which are setting a new record. Some end up back on shelves or get resold to other merchants, and some wind up in landfills or sail overseas.

From living rooms to landfills, some holiday shopping returns take a 'very sad path'

Listen · 4:43
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1072066943/1072548530" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Friday

The hidden costs of holiday consumerism

Buy now, pay later and online returns are just a couple of the hidden costs of holiday shopping. the_burtons/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
the_burtons/Getty Images

It's Been a Minute

The hidden costs of holiday consumerism

A lot of consumers are worried about supply chain delays this holiday season — but there are also other issues to watch out for when shopping. Guest host Ayesha Rascoe talks about the hidden costs of holiday consumption with The Atlantic staff writer Amanda Mull and The Washington Post retail reporter Abha Bhattarai. They discuss the potential downfalls of buy now, pay later services and where online shopping returns really go. Then, they play a game of Who Said That?

The hidden costs of holiday consumerism

Listen · 31:19
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1056868471/1199267416" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Thursday

Starbucks and Costco raise wages in the nationwide competition for workers

Facing a union effort, Starbucks, which is also making changes to training and scheduling, says that it supports the workers' right to organize but that a union was unnecessary. Mario Tama/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Mario Tama/Getty Images

Business

Starbucks and Costco raise wages in the nationwide competition for workers

Costco pays $17 an hour after a second raise this year. Starbucks is raising hourly pay to $15 amid a union effort. Major chains are pushing to draw workers, who have shunned a million retail jobs.

Friday

Santa's sleigh is looking emptier. Fewer toys, higher prices loom for holiday season

An employee organizes an aisle at Mary Arnold Toys, New York City's oldest toy store, on Aug. 2. Kena Betancur/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Kena Betancur/AFP/Getty Images

Stuck in transit: The supply chain in disarray

Santa's sleigh is looking emptier. Fewer toys, higher prices loom for holiday season

Toy-makers are warning of emptier shelves and pricier toys this holiday season. Their supplies are ensnarled in floating traffic jams of container ships wallowing near key U.S. ports.

Santa's sleigh is looking emptier. Fewer toys, higher prices loom for holiday season

Listen · 3:46
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1041844327/1042038715" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Monday

Retail Jobs Are Treated As A Temporary Bridge To Something Better. But Why?

At any moment of this past decade, U.S. retail jobs have supported about 15 million workers. Inti St Clair/Getty Images/Tetra images RF hide caption

toggle caption
Inti St Clair/Getty Images/Tetra images RF

Help Wanted: Where Are The Workers?

Retail Jobs Are Treated As A Temporary Bridge To Something Better. But Why?

At any moment, some 15 million Americans work in retail. Many stay for years. Now companies face a labor crunch, and workers wish these jobs were designed as durable careers.

Retail Jobs Are Treated As A Temporary Bridge To Something Better. But Why?

Listen · 4:23
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1039706916/1040830080" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript