Adam Blair

Stacy Shaw wants to make it very clear that Starboard Group is specifically in the business of vacation retail, as opposed to the broader travel retail category. “That’s where our expertise lies — not with the business traveler, not duty-free airport shops,” said Shaw. She is SVP at the 65- year-old company, which supports and operates shipboard retail stores on nearly 100 ships operated by 15 cruise lines.

With returns siphoning off a staggering $743 billion from retailers’ bottom lines in 2023, it’s clear that the industry’s approach needs an overhaul. But instead of leaning on rigid policies that risk driving customers away, retailers can use this as an opportunity to rethink returns.

Walmart will sell its Advanced Systems and Robotics business to Symbotic for $200 million. As part of the deal, the robotics solution provider will engage in a Walmart-funded development program to enhance the retailer’s current online pickup and delivery fulfillment systems. Walmart has committed to purchasing and deploying systems from Symbotic for

Bearing out earlier reports of solid sales increases during the 2024 holiday season, U.S. Census Bureau data revealed that core retail sales increased by an unexpectedly robust 4% over 2023 to a record $994.1 billion, topping the National Retail Federation (NRF) ’s forecast of 2.5% to 3.5% growth. Full-year 2024 retail sales also showed healthy growth of 3.6% over the previous year, reaching a record $5.28 trillion.

The holiday season brings a surge in shopping, both in-store and online. From mountains of packaging to returned products that may contain hazardous materials, management of returned, damaged or expired products becomes increasingly complex and voluminous during the holidays and post-holiday season. Retailers must navigate these challenges while staying compliant with regulations so they can ensure smooth operations and demonstrate environmental responsibility. Companies with expertise in regulated waste management can offer valuable services and insights to manage holiday waste efficiently and sustainably.

By an 85% margin, Costco workers have authorized a strike by the 18,000 employees who are members of the Teamsters Union, to take effect on Jan. 31, 2025 when their current contract runs out.

Across the globe in 2024, 31.5% of overall plastic waste is expected to be mismanaged after disposal. This means it will either remain uncollected or improperly managed, ending up in landfill or causing toxic leakage. As the amount of mismanaged plastic waste continues to increase year on year, it is crucial to find ways to tackle this problem and strengthen our collective success rate in recycling.

Some 2025 retail design trends are easy to predict; for example, it’s a good bet that artificial intelligence (AI) will play a starring (or at least supporting) role. But we wanted to dig a bit deeper, so Retail TouchPoints interviewed two top execs from Arcadis, Principal Cindi Kato-Yokoyama and Principal and Experience Design Services Lead Paul Conder, to provide more depth and color to the forecast. They identified four big trends for the coming year:

Fanatics Collectibles will launch its first-ever flagship store in London this spring in an 8,647-square-foot space designed for interactive community-building events such as monthly trade nights, kids’ rip events, athlete appearances and partner activations in addition to retail space. The new store’s retail focus will be sports and entertainment trading cards and games, featuring Fanatics Collectible brands such as Topps, Merlin, Match Attax and Bowman.

The Home Depot has partnered with both Uber Eats and DoorDash to offer on-demand or scheduled delivery of home improvement and gardening products from its 2,000+ stores across the country. The retailer had added nationwide delivery via Instacart in May 2024.