Costco pays $17 an hour after a second raise this year. Starbucks is raising hourly pay to $15 amid a union effort. Major chains are pushing to draw workers, who have shunned a million retail jobs.

Toy-makers are warning of emptier shelves and pricier toys this holiday season. Their supplies are ensnarled in floating traffic jams of container ships wallowing near key U.S. ports.

At any moment, some 15 million Americans work in retail. Many stay for years. Now companies face a labor crunch, and workers wish these jobs were designed as durable careers.

The U.S. retail industry is setting records: workers quitting and workers hired. Wages are finally growing. And despite the pandemic devastation, brand-new stores are still opening.

Love it or hate it, the PSL gods have spoken. The flavored coffee beverage — and all of the iterations it has spawned — is upon us.

Last year it was all about chairs and headphones. This year it's time for T-shirts and sneakers — and more laptops. Back-to-school shopping in the U.S. is expected to top $37 billion.

Next week's pay increase would put Costco ahead of much of the industry. CEO W. Craig Jelinek said higher pay reduces turnover and boosts productivity.

Burlington shut down online sales in March right before coronavirus lockdowns. But it's among the discount retailers that have endured the pandemic surprisingly well, even opening new stores.

Retail sales soared 5.3% last month compared to December, much more than anticipated, as U.S. families began receiving new federal coronavirus relief checks.

Restaurants and bars are reeling from spikes of coronavirus cases in their communities. Earlier holiday sales meant online shopping and electronics sales dipped in December. Retail sales fell 0.7%.

Retail sales dipped 1.1% in November compared with a month earlier as new coronavirus surges restricted outings to stores and especially restaurants.

Warehouse workers in Bessemer, Ala., notify federal labor authorities of plans to hold a unionization vote, teeing up a major labor battle at the retail giant known for its opposition to unionizing.

Shoppers kept buying electronics and home improvement supplies, but sales overall rose only 0.3% in October.

Women hold the majority of jobs in clothing and department stores, gift and souvenir shops. They run cash registers everywhere. Now thousands of stores have shuttered, leaving them jobless.

U.S. retail spending grew 1.9% last month, delivering a slight boost of confidence amid a recent spate of signs that the economic recovery has lost momentum from the pandemic's toll.