The good news going into retail 2018? Experts agree that the strong showing during holiday 2017 presages good things to come for the segment, as customers seem to have gotten their shopping groove back. Unfortunately, though, there is also some less-than-good news. Experts are already predicting that physical retail — particularly in the form of department stores — is still looking at another year of closures.  Read More...

It’s 2018! That means that now, whenever people perceive something as backwards, unfashionable or antiquated, they’ll be quick to say it’s “so 2017.” Let’s not completely write off the old year just because the new one has arrived, though. A lot of good things happened in retail in 2017. Here are a few favorites that our readers clicked and clicked again.  Read More...

Consumers aren’t writing checks, but there are still 22 billion of them in the U.S. economy. Why? Instant payments are possible, so it shouldn’t take two weeks to get paid for today’s work. With push payments, consumers could be receiving good funds in real time for anything from child support to sweepstakes, from airline vouchers to tax returns. In a recent webinar with PYMNTS' Karen Webster, Ingo Money CEO Drew Edwards explained who in the world is still using paper checks — and which marketplace forces it will take to finally kill the check, once and for all.  Read More...