‘A Resurgence Of Physical Retail’: Retailers Report Upticks In Store Sales

It wasn’t too long ago that analysts bemoaned the onset of the “retail apocalypse,” but retail earnings reports coming out in the past two weeks have them singing a different tune. On Wednesday, Target’s earnings presented investors with hope for the future and probably granted them a sigh of relief — the retailer flew past Wall Street’s expectations and saw its biggest sales growth in 13 years. Target reported that comparable sales increased by 6.5 percent, buoyed by stronger foot traffic at physical stores, and e-commerce sales have grown by 41 percent since a year ago. On the earnings call, Brian Cornell, chairman and executive officer of Target Corp., said the favorable results come from not only a booming economy, but the labors of Target’s $7 billion plan it impacted in early 2017, which included improving delivery and pickup options, adding more private label brands, remodeling stores and introducing smaller store formats. Read more at Digiday.