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Covering the latest news in the retail industry

  • September 12, 2025

    • U.S. consumer spending showed slight growth in August, with core retail sales ticking upward by 0.26% month-over-month in August, per NRF data. Annually, core retail sales had grown by 6.67% as August drew to a close (via Chain Store Age).
    • JCPenney is partnering with designer brand Bob Mackie to launch “Mackie,” an exclusive and limited-time collection (via Retail Touchpoints).
    • Retail coffee prices jumped by 4% in August, resulting in a surge in coffee prices of 21% YoY. This represents the fastest price increase since October 1997 (via CNN Business).
    • Ford is recalling 1.9 million vehicles globally due to a potentially defective rear-view camera which could display inverted or otherwise distorted images. The recall impacts a wide range of models (via FOX Business).
    • Black Rock Coffee Bar raised $294.1 million in its U.S. IPO, as the Scottsdale, Arizona company moved nearly 15 million shares at $20 (via Reuters).
    • U.S. consumer sentiment has shown signs of recent deterioration. Per the University of Michigan report, sentiment fell from a score of 58.2 in July to 55.4 in August, with trade and tariff policies remaining top of mind (via CNN Business).
    • Swatch has begun selling a special edition watch poking fun at President Trump’s tariffs on Switzerland, which amount to a 39% tariff rate. The watch reverses the face numbers of 3 and 9 (via Reuters).

  • September 11, 2025

    • U.S. economic metrics showed some signs of weakness, with CPI data indicating inflation had risen by 0.4% in August, tallying 2.9% annually — the highest figure since January. The jobs market also exhibits signs of softness moving forward (via CNN Business).
    • OpenAI and Oracle have reportedly signed a deal to purchase ~$300 billion in computing power over the course of the next five years (via The Verge).
    • RaceTrac is slated to purchase Chicago-based sandwich chain Potbelly in a deal worth an estimated $566 million (via The Chicago Tribune).
    • Dollar Tree is looking to onboard thousands of new employees, highlighting this push via its National Hiring Week event. The event runs Sept. 14-Sept.20, and the retailer is touting “competitive pay, flexible schedules and quality benefits” to interested applicants (via Chain Store Age).
    • Kroger raised its annual core sales guidance for the second time in a row, signaling strong demand for inexpensive essentials (via Reuters).
    • U.S. holiday spending is expected to slow, according to Deloitte data, although growth is still projected. This year is anticipated to see sales growth of between 2.9% to 3.4%, to $1.61 trillion to $1.62 trillion, versus last year’s figures. In 2024, holiday sales growth reached 4.2% versus year-prior figures (via Chain Store Age).
    • U.S. EV sales continued to break new ground in August, with 146,332 units sold that month, per Kelley Blue Book data. EV sales represented 9.9% of total new car sales, up from 9.1% in July (via Electrek).

  • September 10, 2025

    • Apple launched its new suite of smartphone products, including the thinner iPhone Air. All models now feature a ceramic shield display rather than the traditional glass, as well as increased battery and memory capacity (via CNN Business).
    • Dick’s Sporting Goods is partnering with football legend J.J. Watt to help launch its virtual House of Sport concept. That experiential retail concept includes a climbing wall, golf simulators, and HitTrax multi-sport cages (via Chain Store Age).
    • U.S. holiday sales are expected to improve by 4% year-over-year, according to Bain & Company forecasts, to reach $975 billion (via Chain Store Age).
    • Amazon’s Zoox robotaxi is currently offering free rides to passengers near the Las Vegas strip as the company awaits state approval to collect fares. When approval is gained, the company will be competing with Alphabet’s Waymo and Tesla (via Reuters).
    • U.S. wholesale prices exhibited a 0.1% dip as inflation appeared to cool, signaling that a Federal Reserve rate cut could be in the cards this month (via CNBC).
    • U.S. imports are expected to decline for the rest of the year, following a near-record peak this summer. “Tariffs have had a significant impact on trade. The trade outlook for the final months of the year is not optimistic,” Hackett Associates founder Ben Hackett said (via Chain Store Age).
    • Cracker Barrel indicated that it would no longer be renovating its restaurants as planned, following the failure of its logo rebranding. “You’ve shared your voices in recent weeks not just on our logo, but also on our restaurants. If your restaurant hasn’t been remodeled, you don’t need to worry, it won’t be,” the company wrote on X (via CNN Business).

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