ANNE D’INNOCENZIO

Retail reporter

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

FILE - Shoppers and sightseers walk along 5th Avenue, Dec. 11, 2023, in New York. The National Retail Federation said Wednesday, March 20, 2024, that retail sales will increase anywhere between 2.5% and 3.5% this year, a solid but still slower pace than the 3.6% seen last year. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, File)

US retail sales to increase between 2.5% and 3.5% in 2024, trade group forecasts

The largest U.S. retail trade group is forecasting that the country’s retail sales will increase anywhere between 2.5% and 3.5% this year.

An employee dressed as Chuck E. Cheese holds a flyer advertising new memberships at a location Wednesday, March 13, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Want to feel special? Stores and restaurants with paid memberships are betting on it

Paid loyalty programs are all the rage in the restaurant and retail worlds.

FILE - Employees arrange a display at a Kohl's store in Clifton, N.J., Jan. 26, 2024. On Thursday, March 14, 2024, the Commerce Department releases U.S. retail sales data for February. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

February retail sales up 0.6%, yet fissures emerge in what has been a driving force for US economy

American shoppers picked up their spending a bit in February after pulling back the previous month. But last month’s gain was weaker than expected, and January’s decline was revised even lower, suggesting that consumers are becoming more cautious.

FILE - A person heads into a Target store Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024, in Lakewood, Colo. The company is slated to announce fourth-quarter financial results on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, hours before it holds its annual meeting with investors and analysts. The results and executive comments should offer more clues on shopper behavior in a still tough economic environment. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

Target launches new paid membership program in a bid to drive sales

Target, looking for ways to reverse a sales malaise, is getting into Amazon territory: the paid membership game.

(AP Illustration/Jenni Sohn)

Saks CEO Marc Metrick on how he’s tackling online return fraud, a growing industrywide issue

At Saks Fifth Avenue’s return area at its Manhattan flagship, shoppers now see a camera and signage highlighting the enhanced video surveillance and a new policy: customers must now show a photo ID.

Anne D'Innocenzio shows a portrait of herself, right, with her sister, Donna Burke, left, and mother, Marie D'Innocenzio, as she sits on a sofa from her childhood home, Monday, Feb. 26, 2024, in New York. D'Innocenzio said, "After Mom's passing, my sister and I quickly made a plan to honor her wishes: what to keep, which items to give to relatives and friends, which basic items to donate — and what to just discard." (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

A blender from the 1960s, a restored 1936 piano. What I learned from clearing out my childhood home

For AP writer Anne D’Innocenzio, losing her mother was hard enough. But dismantling her childhood home only magnified the loss.

FILE - People are silhouetted against the sky at dawn as they attend a sale at a Best Buy store Friday, Nov. 25, 2022, in Overland Park, Kan. Best Buy reported lower fourth-quarter sales and net income, Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, as shoppers remain cautious about spending on gadgets. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

Best Buy’s shares up after chain posts smaller-than expected sales decline for 4Q

Best Buy’s shares rose on Thursday as the nation’s largest consumer electronics chain posted a smaller-than-expected sales decline for the fiscal fourth quarter, signaling that the bottom of spending for gadgets may be in sight.

FILE - An Uber sign is displayed inside a car in Glenview, Ill., Saturday, Dec. 17, 2022. Consumers will pay more for that airline flight or willing to fork out more for a ride on Uber during rush hour. But a big shopper backlash to media reports this past week that fast-food chain Wendy’s had plans to increase prices during the busiest time at its restaurants clearly showed that consumers don’t want basic food items like hamburgers and shakes going up and down(AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)

Surge in Wendy’s complaints exposes limits to consumer tolerance of unstable prices

A social media backlash to media reports that said fast-food chain Wendy’s had plans to increase menu prices during its busiest hours shows a limit to where, when and for what U.S. consumers will trade more cash for convenience.

The Macy's store at Union Square is seen in San Francisco, Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024. Macy's will close 150 unproductive namesake stores over the next three years including 50 by year-end, the department store operator said Tuesday after posting a fourth-quarter loss and declining sales. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

Macy’s to close 150 namesake stores as sales slip, pivot to luxury with new Bloomingdale’s locations

Macy’s will close 150 unproductive namesake stores over the next three years, including 50 by year-end.

File - Customers arrive at a Home Depot store in the Van Nuys section of Los Angeles on July 24, 2023. The nation's labor board ruled on Wednesday that Home Depot violated federal labor law when it fired an employee for refusing to remove the hand-drawn "BLM" acronym for "Black Lives Matter" from his work apron. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File)

Labor board: Home Depot violated labor law by firing an employee who drew ‘BLM’ on work apron

The nation’s labor board ruled on Wednesday that Home Depot violated federal labor law when it fired an employee for refusing to remove the hand-drawn “BLM” acronym for “Black Lives Matter” from a work apron.

Walmart rips again in Q4 but as inflation retreats, so does customer spending per trip

Walmart has reported another quarter of strong results. Its low prices attracted shoppers looking for deals in an economically challenging environment marked by bouts of inflation.

FILE - In this Nov. 29, 2019, file photo Nike clothes are displayed at a store in Colma, Calif. Nike is cutting 2% of its global workforce, or a little over 1,600 jobs, as the athletic wear giant aims to cut costs and reinvests its savings into what it sees as big growth areas like sport, health and wellness. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

Nike to cut 2%, or 1,600 jobs, as athletic wear giant cuts costs and reinvests in areas like health

Nike is cutting 2% of its global workforce, or a little over 1,600 jobs, as the athletic wear giant aims to cut costs and reinvests its savings into what it sees as big growth areas like sport, health and wellness.

Shoppers peruse stacks of hoodies on display in a Costco warehouse Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024, in Timnath, Colo. The Commerce Department releases U.S. retail sales data for January on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Retail sales fall 0.8% in January from December as shoppers pause after strong holiday season

Americans pulled back their spending in January after splurging during the holiday season. Retail sales fell 0.8% from the strong pace in December when retail sales were up a revised 0.4%, according to the Commerce Department.

An employee straightens displays at a Kohl's store in Clifton, N.J., Friday, Jan. 26, 2024. A year ago, the store had tables stacked high with sweaters and shirts in a rainbow of colors as well as dress racks crammed with a wide assortment of styles. Now, it boasts a more edited approach — tables have slim piles of knit shirts that focus on fewer colors, and many dress racks have been reduced to just three or four styles. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Less is more? Consumers have fewer choices as brands prune their offerings to focus on best sellers

Plenty of retailers and suppliers are reducing the variety of their offerings to focus instead on what they think will sell best.

FILE - Fashion designer Zac Posen speaks with the media on the red carpet arrival at the Council of Fashion Designers of America awards, Monday, Nov. 6, 2023, in New York. In news announced Monday, Feb. 5, 2024, Gap has tapped Posen as the chain's creative director. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)

Gap Inc. taps American fashion designer Zac Posen as creative director

Gap has tapped American fashion designer Zac Posen as the chain’s creative director. The hire announced Monday is among the first big personnel moves under the San Francisco-based chain’s new CEO.

FILE - In this Nov. 2, 2011 file photo, Estee Lauder products are displayed at a department store in S. Portland, Maine. Estee Lauder announced it’s cutting 3% to 5% of its global workforce as it aims to increase profits and become more nimble in a still challenging international environment. The company’s plans, announced Monday, Feb. 5, 2024, came as it reported a drop in profits and sales for the fourth quarter, dragged down by sluggish sales in China. (AP Photo/Pat Wellenbach, File)

Estee Lauder to cut 3% to 5% of its employees after sales, profit slide in its most recent quarter

Cosmetic giant Estee Lauder announced it’s cutting 3% to 5% of its global workforce as part of a restructuring program that aims to increase profits and become more nimble in a still challenging international environment.

Walmart to build or convert 150-plus stores in next 5 years. It hasn’t opened new stores in 3 years

Walmart plans to build or convert more than 150 U.S. stores in the next five years, while continuing to remodel existing stores.

Walmart’s latest perk for U.S. store managers? Stock grants

Walmart is further sweetening the perks for its U.S. store managers as the nation’s largest retailer and private employer seeks to retain and attract top workers in a still competitive job market.

FILE - A Levi's banner adorns the facade of the New York Stock Exchange, March 21, 2019. Denim giant Levi Strauss & Co. said Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024, that it's slashing its global corporate workforce by 10% to 15% in the first half of the year as part of a two-year restructuring plan that seeks to simplify its operations. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

Levi’s to slash its global workforce by up to 15% as part of a 2-year restructuring plan

Denim giant Levi Strauss & Co. says that it’s slashing its global corporate workforce by 10% to 15% in the first half of the year.

FILE - A Walmart sign is displayed over the entrance to a store on June 25, 2019 in Pittsburgh. Walmart is raising the starting base pay for store managers, while redesigning its bonus plan that will put more of an emphasis on profits for these leaders. The moves, announced Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024, will be effective Feb. 1. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

Walmart raises starting pay; redesigns bonuses for store managers

Walmart is raising the starting base pay for store managers, while redesigning its bonus plan that will put more of an emphasis on profits for these leaders.

A shopper looks at outerwear at a store in Schaumburg, Ill., Monday, Dec. 18, 2023. On Wednesday, the Commerce Department releases U.S. retail sales data for December. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

National Retail Federation: holiday sales up 3.8% in line with forecasts

Sales for the holiday 2023 season slowed from its blistering pace a year ago but the season still ended up being solid, despite some economic hurdles, according to the nation’s largest retail trade group.

FILE - Shoppers visit the Christmas Village in Philadelphia, Dec. 13, 2023. On Wednesday, the Commerce Department releases U.S. retail sales data for December. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

Retail sales up strongly in December as Americans showed continued willingness to spend

Americans stepped up their spending at retailers in December, closing out the holiday shopping season and the year on an upbeat tone and signaling that people remain confident enough to keep spending freely.

(AP Illustration/Peter Hamlin)

Mall executive Bill Taubman talks about pandemic-shaped shopper trends, tenant demand

As the president and chief operating officer of upscale mall landlord Taubman Realty Group, Bill Taubman has a bird’s eye view of consumer habits, which have become more unpredictable since the pandemic.

File - Conservative activist Edward Blum speaks at a news conference in Washington, June 29, 2023. Blum is citing Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 to go after a venture capital fund called Fearless Fund, which invests in businesses owned by women of color. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

DEI opponents are using a 1866 Civil Rights law to challenge equity policies in the workplace

Opponents of diversity programs are increasingly banking on an 1866 civil rights law meant to protect Black people from economic exclusion as a way to challenge corporate diversity and equity policies as well as funding to Black-owned businesses.

As DEI comes under legal attack, companies quietly alter their programs

Conservative advocates have filed a growing number of legal challenges, encouraged by the Supreme Court’s June ruling ending affirmative action in college admissions.

People walk by the Walmart booth during the CES tech show Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Walmart experiments with AI to enhance customers’ shopping experiences

Walmart has unveiled plans to dive further into the world of artificial intelligence — and drones — to improve its customers’ shopping experiences.

A sign aimed at last minute holiday shoppers is displayed at a retail store in Schaumburg, Ill., Monday, Dec. 18, 2023. Retailers are stepping up discounting and other enticements for the final days before Christmas as they try to lure last minute shoppers who've been waiting to get the best deals in an economically challenging environment. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Haven’t bought holiday gifts yet? There’s still time with last-minute sales

Retailers are stepping up sales and other enticements in the final days before Christmas to lure shoppers who’ve been waiting for the best deals or who didn’t have the time or the urge to wrap up gift-buying earlier.

Customers use self-checkout kiosks at Stew Leonard's grocery store in Paramus, N.J., Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2023, in New York. Self-checkout faces a reckoning of sorts just as retailers are in the midst of their busiest time of the year. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

Love it or hate it, self-checkout is here to stay. But it’s going through a reckoning

The promise of self-checkout has meant that customers can avoid long lines by scanning and bagging their own items. But it has also meant shoppers griping about clunky technology.

A woman carrying a shopping bag passes Macy's department store in Herald Square, Monday, Dec. 11, 2023, in New York. On Thursday, the Commerce Department releases U.S. retail sales data for November. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Retail sales rise 0.3% in November as Americans hit gas, not brakes on shopping, travel, restaurants

Americans picked up their spending from October to November as the unofficial holiday season kicked off, underscoring that shoppers still have power to keep buying.

Hasbro cuts 1,100 jobs, or 20% of its workforce, prompted by the ongoing malaise in the toy business

Toy maker Hasbro is cutting about 1,100 jobs, or 20% of its workforce. The job cuts come as the malaise in the toy business extends through another holiday shopping season.