Retailing

Sylvia Whitman, proprietor of the English and American literature Shakespeare and Co. bookstore, checks her messages on her phone in Paris, France, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2020.

A new law in France aims to protect indie bookshops against outsized Amazon competition

October 27, 2021Books

Amazon often offers cheap books with fast and free delivery options, making it hard for independent bookstores to compete. The new law regulating delivery fees will put a bit more power back into the hands of indie shops.

Two computers with scanners are set up on a counter in a convenience store, surrounded by packaged snacks and rows of gum and mints.

Will automated convenience stores put South Koreans out of work?

February 22, 2018Business, Finance & Economics

Shoppers compete to purchase retail items on "Black Friday" at an Asda superstore in Wembley, north London November 28, 2014.

Black Friday bargains — and brawls — aren’t just for Americans anymore

November 28, 2014Business

Women wearing "No Walmart" head bands at a protest outside Walmart India offices in Gurgaon, India.

India’s street vendors are hanging on, but malls and supermarkets are closing in

November 19, 2014Economics

Delma Yerro, 53, and her granddaughter Heavenly at their sari-sari store in Tacloban, Philippines.

After Haiyan, Filipinos try to rebuild a cherished local link in the retail chain

January 6, 2014Business, Economics and Jobs

Black Friday? Around the world, bargain hunting takes many other forms

November 29, 2013Business, Economics and Jobs

As Americans hit the malls this Friday, we asked some folks around the globe about the equivalent to Black Friday in their country. What we found is a many similarities, but not many places that do it quite the American way.

After the attack in Nairobi, will going to the mall ever feel the same?

September 25, 2013Lifestyle & Belief

The creation of the enclosed shopping mall came about, ironically, for security purposes. But the terrorist attacks in Kenya have shattered the widely-held assumption that malls are secure spaces.

Want a Warhol for your wall? Go to Costco

August 15, 2013Arts, Culture & Media

There’s a movement afoot to bring art — real art — to the masses. Costco, though its website, is selling Warhols and Matisses, and that’s just the beginning. Art dealer Greg Moors says fine art is becoming more broadly available, in place of tacky prints.

Small town in New York reveling in new, community-owned department store

August 15, 2013Business, Economics and Jobs

Saranac Lake lost its only department store in 2002. When that happened, locals had to travel 50 miles to buy socks or sheets. So they banded together, made a plan and late last year they opened a community-owned department store. They’re happy to say that they’re selling more than they projected they would at this point in time.

Finding healthy foods in a food desert

August 15, 2013Health & Medicine

Many Americans can’t shop at Whole Foods or a local co-op, either because it’s too expensive or too far away. But there are still ways to eat healthy.