ANNE D’INNOCENZIO

AP Retail Writer

D’Innocenzio writes about retail, trends, the consumer economy and hourly workers for The Associated Press.

Brianna Arps poses for a photo, Friday, March 21, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Founders of Black-owned brands adapt their hopes and business plans for a post-DEI era

The Black creators of some consumers products are rethinking their business plans as major U.S. companies end or water down their diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

A shopper passes by a display of large-screen televisions in a Costco warehouse Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, in east Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Americans increased spending tepidly last month as anxiety over the economy takes hold

U.S. shoppers stepped up their spending just a bit in February after a sharp pullback the previous month, signaling that Americans are shopping more cautiously as concerns about the direction of the economy mount.

Shoppers walk by a Forever 21 clothing store, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2019, in Tokyo, as the liquidation sale signs are posted on the storefront. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato, file)

Forever No More. Operator of mall staple Forever 21 files for bankruptcy protection

Forever 21 has filed for bankruptcy protection for a second time and plans to close down its U.S. business as traffic in U.S. shopping malls fades and competition from online retailers like Amazon, Temu and Shein intensifies.

Jeff Ware, president of Resurgence Brewing Company, poses for a portrait near a stockpile of aluminum cans, which are sourced from Canada, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Lauren Petracca)

From soup cans to airplanes, steel and aluminum are a fundamental part of American life

Steel and aluminum are ubiquitous in Americans’ lives. A stainless steel refrigerator holds aluminum soda cans. A stainless steel drum tumbles inside an aluminum washing machine.

Workers sort avocados at a packing plant in Uruapan, Mexico, Nov. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Armando Solis, File)

Trump’s erratic trade policies are baffling businesses, threatening investment and economic growth

President Donald Trump’s ever-changing, on-again, off-again tariff war with America’s three biggest trading partners – Mexico, Canada and China — is baffling businesses and causing them to delay or cancel the investments that help drive economic growth.

Startego Junior is displayed in the Jumbo Group booth at the Toy Fair, in New York's Javits Center, Monday, March 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Toys are expected to cost more by fall due to new US tariffs on Chinese imports

As toy inventors, toy manufacturers and buyers for stores that sell toys met for an annual trade show in New York last weekend, a topic besides which items were destined for holiday wish lists permeated the displays.

A Macy's department store is in Bay Shore, Long Island, New York, on Tuesday, December 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)

Macy’s fourth quarter is mixed and its 2025 outlook is tempered by tariffs and leery shoppers

Macy’s swung to a profit in the fourth quarter, though sales dipped with shoppers still cautious about spending.

A Target parking lot in Emeryville, Calif., Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Target posts strong Q4 profits and sales, but warns of cautious spending as tariffs take hold

Sales and profits slipped for Target during the crucial holiday quarter as customers held back on spending, and the company said there will be “meaningful pressure” on its profits to start the year because of tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China and other costs.

Customers wait in line for eggs at a Costco store in the Van Nuys section of Los Angeles on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File)

Tariff threats and uncertainty could weigh on consumers, drag down US economy, gov’t report suggests

Ongoing tariff threats from Washington and potentially sweeping government job cuts have darkened consumers’ mood and may be weighing on an otherwise mostly healthy economy.

Protestors hold signs during a rally for a nationwide economic blackout Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Economic blackout: Will a 24-hour boycott make a difference?

An “economic blackout” promoted on social media is underway but with no clear indication of how many people took part or whether retail companies and restaurants will notice any effect from the grassroots protest.

Fabric and craft retailer Joann to go out of business and close all of its stores

Fabric and crafts retailer Joann Inc., which has been a destination for generations of quilters, knitters and other lovers of crafts for more than 80 years, is going out of business and shuttering all its stores.

Shown is a Walmart location in Philadelphia, Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2021. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

Walmart rolled through 2024, but uncertainty about consumers and tariffs seep into year ahead

Walmart delivered another year of strong sales and profits with its competitive prices an increasingly strong magnet for inflation-weary shoppers, but this year appears to come with new challenges in an uncertain economic landscape.

Pedestrians pass a Target store near the Target Corporation's headquarters Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, in Minneapolis, Minn. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)

Daughters of Target’s late cofounder raise concern over company’s pullback on DEI efforts

The daughters of one of the cofounders of Target are expressing their alarm and shock at the discounter’s recent moves to roll back its diversity, equity and inclusion program.

A table is stacked with striped lounge sets in a Costco warehouse Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, in east Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

US retail sales plunged along with temperatures in January after a bustling holiday season

U.S. retail sales dropped sharply last month, in part because cold weather kept more Americans indoors and dented sales at car dealers and most other stores.

Estee Lauder products are displayed at a store in Boston, Friday, Aug. 25, 2017. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)

Estee Lauder to cut up to 7,000 jobs as sales slide

Estee Lauder said it’s expanding its restructuring plan to include job cuts anywhere from 5,800 to 7,000 by fiscal 2026 as the global beauty company tries to boost sales and profits.

A person heads into a Target store Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024, in Lakewood, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

Target is ending its diversity goals as a strong DEI opponent occupies the White House

Discount store chain Target says it’s joining rival Walmart and a number of other prominent American brands in scaling back corporate diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

A cart wrangler gathers shopping carts outside a Costco warehouse in Sheridan, Colo., July 16, 2024. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

Costco successfully defends its diversity policies as other US companies scale theirs back

Costco has claimed victory in pushing back on a shareholder proposal that urges the wholesale club operator to conduct an evaluation of any business risks posed by its diversity, equity and inclusion practices.

Shoppers pass displays of goods in a Costco warehouse Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024, in Sheridan, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

Nation’s largest trade group: holiday sales rose a better-than-expected 4%

Sales for the 2024 holiday shopping season turned out to be robust and better than expected, as easing inflation on merchandise drove shoppers to buy, according to the nation’s largest retail trade group.

A shopper looks at handbags at Macy's department store on Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Anne D'Innocenzio, File)

American shoppers wrap up the year in a spending mood, boding well for the U.S. economy

American consumers wrapped up the year in a spending mood, shopping for all sorts of merchandise from furniture to clothing, and eating out at restaurants, according to the latest government snapshot.

A Kohl's store is shown in Indianapolis, Thursday, April 2, 2020. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)

Kohl’s to close 27 stores by April as struggling department stores works to improve sales

Kohl’s is planning to close 27 underperforming stores in 15 states by April as the struggling department store chain aims to boost profitability and improve sagging sales.

This combination image shows signage of Chipotle restaurant Feb. 8, 2016, Walmart store, in Walpole, Mass., Sept. 3, 2019, McDonald's restaurant on April 29, 2024, in Albany, Ore., a Target store sign is shown in Amherst, N.Y., Aug. 18, 2009. (AP Photo)

Value-seekers drove 2024’s retail trends and dead ends

Value was in vogue in 2024. Shoppers and restaurant patrons in the U.S. were choosy about where and how to spend their money as they wrestled with high housing and food prices. Well-heeled shoppers traded down to Walmart and Aldi.

A shopper looks at handbags at Macy's department store on Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Anne D'Innocenzio, File)

Holiday shoppers increased spending by 3.8% despite higher prices

New data shows holiday sales rose this year even as Americans wrestled with still high prices in many grocery necessities and other financial worries.

Storage bins from the Container Store are shown on Dec.13, 2024 in New York. (AP Photo/Cathy Bussewitz, File)

The Container Store, buffeted by rough housing market and competition, seeks bankruptcy protection

The Container Store has filed for bankruptcy protection, as the storage and organizational goods retailer with roots dating back to 1978 grapples with mounting losses and cash flow shortages.

A shopper leaves the Big Lots store on Dec. 4, 2012 in Berlin, Vt. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot, File)

Big Lots conducts going-out-of-business sales after sale of company falls through

Discount chain Big Lots is conducting going-out-of-business sales at its remaining locations after a sale of the company didn’t materialize.

This undated photo provided by Jess Druey shows a skinny artificial tree bought at Target that Druey decorated with retro big holiday ornament balls in primary colors in reds and blues. (Jess Druey via AP)

Younger generations swap tradition for self-expression with holiday decorations

Whether dressed in black, mimicking bare branches or decked out with enough bows for a Taylor Swift concert, the Christmas trees in some U.S. homes this year display an unconventional streak.

Shoppers pass by electric bicycles on display in a Cabela's sporting goods store Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024, in Lone Tree, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Retail sales rose at healthy pace last month in latest sign of US economy’s health

Consumers stepped up their spending at retail stores last month, providing a boost to the economy in the early phases of the winter holiday shopping season. The Commerce Department said Tuesday that retail sales rose 0.7% in November.

People watch from inside as a Macy's float passes during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, Nov. 28, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa, File)

Macy’s tightens financial controls after employee covered up what became a $151 million mistake

Macy’s is tightening financial accounting measures after completing a probe of a rogue employee who hid $151 million in delivery expenses over a span of nearly three years.

Black Friday shoppers at the Walden Galleria's Macy's in Buffalo, NY., Friday, Nov. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Activist investors urge Macy’s to create a real estate unit among other changes to boost stock

Activist investor Barington Capital Group is calling on department store retailer Macy’s to develop an internal real estate subsidiary, reduce capital expenditures, and explore strategic options for its Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury chains among other changes to boost its slumping stock, according

Construction crew members wait to pour concrete in a parking lot on Sept. 4, 2024, in Waukee, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)

US added a strong 227,000 jobs in November in bounce-back from October slowdown

America’s job market rebounded in November, adding 227,000 workers in a solid recovery from the previous month, when the effects of strikes and hurricanes had sharply diminished employers’ payrolls.

An aerial view shows a packed parking lot at Citadel Outlets in Commerce, Calif., Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024, as early Black Friday shoppers arrive at the mall. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Retailers coax Black Friday shoppers into stores with big discounts and giveaways

Retailers in the U.S. have used giveaways and bigger-than expected discounts to reward shoppers who ventured out on Black Friday.