Analysis and commentary
Every retailer claims to be 'AI-powered' now. But the gap between the press releases and actual store-level impact remains enormous. Here's what's real and what's marketing.
By David Kim
Target's new CEO is throwing billions at stores, tech, and workers. The plan sounds ambitious, but the real question is whether a legacy retailer can reinvent itself while Walmart and Amazon keep pulling away.
By Marcus Williams
Walmart is rolling out electronic shelf labels to every store by year-end. Retailers say it's about efficiency. Critics say it's a Trojan horse for surge pricing. Both sides have a point.
By Priya Sharma
The shopping mall is being reinvented as a mixed-use town center with housing, healthcare, and community spaces. The irony? The less a mall looks like a mall, the better it performs.
By Marcus Williams
The data is in: tariffs are costing the average American household over $1,500 a year. Here's why the pain is real, unevenly distributed, and unlikely to go away.
By Elena Rodriguez
Remember when physical retail was supposed to be dead? With 5,500 new stores opening in 2026 and closures hitting a three-year low, it's time to retire the apocalypse narrative for good.
By Sarah Chen