retail

  • Retail Expert: Get Ready For The Biggest Ever Holiday Sales Season

    Bargain hunters shop for discounted merchandise at Macy’s on ‘Black Friday’ in New York City. (Michael Nagle/Getty Images) By Venky Shankar, Coleman Chair Professor & Director of Research, Center for Retailing Studies, Texas A&M University Mays Business School Shoppers and retailers alike should be salivating this holiday season. This…

  • Singles Day Shows China’s Global Retail Power

    A mascot for Alibaba’s online shopping site Tmall urges customers to buy on Singles Day. (Ng Han Guan/AP Photo) By Venkatesh Shankar, Texas A&M University Mays Business School, for The Conversation Nov. 11, or 11/11, has been celebrated as Singles Day – a sort of anti-Valentine’s Day for single people –…

  • Empty Shelves Versus Excess Product: How Retailers Should Balance Inventory Levels

    A warehouse worker walks between racks of costumes at Angels The Costumiers on July 29, 2008 in London. (Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images) By Andrew Vernon, Texas A&M University Mays Business School Retailers are stocking fewer goods on their shelves, but have companies taken inventory reduction too far? A number of…

  • Retail Expert: Back-To-School Shopping Second Only To Holiday Spending

    By Andrew Vernon, Texas A&M University Mays Business School The 2018 back-to-school shopping season is underway, and spending is expected to reach almost $27.6 billion – nearly 50 percent of annual school-related spending for a quarter of U.S. households. The one-month countdown to the first day of classes is…

  • Venkatesh Shankar Urges Egyptian Business Leaders To Collaborate With U.S.

    Vendors are seen in the Khan al-Khalili bazaar on February 8, 2006 in Islamic Cairo, Egypt. The Khan is one of the largest bazaars in the Middle East and began as a caravanserai built in 1382 by Garkas al-Khalili. (Marco Di Lauro/Getty Images) By Kelli Levey Reynolds, Texas A&M University…

  • Mays Spring 2018 Shopping Outlook

    By Andrew Vernon, Texas A&M University Mays Business School Positive economic trends – including lower interest rates, high consumer confidence, and low unemployment at 4.1 percent – continue the encouraging pace as we enter the spring shopping season. Chocolate bunnies and baskets are just around the corner According to…

  • Valentine’s Day 2018 Shopping Tips

    By Andrew Vernon, Texas A&M University Mays Business School Valentine’s spending looks to enjoy a similar boost seen with the 2017 holiday season, the most since the Great Recession of 2009. Strong indicators include a roaring stock market, low unemployment, and high consumer confidence. Kelli Hollinger, Director of the …

  • Mays C-CUBES Study: Value And Convenience Emerge As Top Drivers Of Online Shopping

    By Andrew Vernon, Texas A&M University Mays Business School Shifting consumer attitudes are favoring online shopping more and more compared to brick-and-mortar stores, according to the 2017 C-CUBES™ Benchmark Retail Study released by Mays Business School at Texas A&M University. Even with traditional stores adding more convenience services such…

  • Texas A&M Retail Expert: More Businesses Are Using Mobile Apps To Lure And Keep Consumers

    Using a store’s mobile app can affect in-store purchases. (Javier Arres/Shutterstock) By Venkatesh Shankar and Unnati Narang, Texas A&M University Mays School of Business, for The Conversation Intense retail competition has led old standbys, such as Sears, to close dozens of stores. Walmart is venturing online more. And Amazon is expanding offline, opening…

  • In-Store Shopping Still Matters This Holiday Season

    In-person shopping remains popular. (Jeff Chiu/AP) Kelli Hollinger, Center for Retailing Studies director and marketing lecturer, Texas A&M University, for The Conversation It surprises most millennials to learn that only about 10 percent of all retail purchases are actually made online. Each semester, when I ask hundreds of undergraduate business students…