Kentucky Retail Federation

08/20/2026

Glad to be featured on WCHS TV story on Back to School Shopping.

08/18/2026

“Consumers are still spending, but they are increasingly doing so through prioritization rather than expansion; driven by purpose rather than promotions,” said Kiara Barrett, global head of thought leadership at Circana. “Promotional activity remains important, but broad discounts alone are generating less incremental demand.”

Shoppers are thinking beyond promotions when it comes to recent purchases.

08/13/2026

Retailers brought in goods ahead of new tariffs that went into effect last month, leading to an early peak season for import cargo.

Retailers brought in goods ahead of new tariffs that went into effect last month, leading to an early peak season for import cargo.

08/12/2026

Back to school shopping started earlier this year.

08/07/2026

This year’s peak shipping season is coming to an end, with import volume at the nation’s major container ports expected to remain high this month before starting to decline for the remainder of 2026, according to the Global Port Tracker report released today by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.

This year’s peak shipping season is coming to an end, with import volume at the nation’s major container ports expected to remain high this month before starting to decline for the remainder of 2026, according to the latest Global Port Tracker report from NRF and Hackett Associates.

08/06/2026

Back-to-school shoppers will prioritize essentials over apparel.
Clothing buys will be spread out over the school year, while sporting goods are increasingly considered essential, according to two reports.

Clothing buys will be spread out over the school year, while sporting goods are increasingly considered essential, according to two reports.

07/30/2026

KRF provides an outlook on back to school shopping.

Back-to-school shopping is expected to hit a record $43.3 billion this year, but families can find deals at stores like Walmart and Target by taking the time to compare prices.

07/30/2026

Kentucky families are already checking items off their back-to-school shopping lists, and retailers across the Commonwealth are prepared with competitive prices, promotions and a wide selection of…

07/29/2026

E-commerce is becoming increasingly common, but the store is still a critical part of the consumer journey. Online shopping is now a weekly habit for two-thirds of U.S. households (86 million), up from two in five households in 2019, according to new data from Numerator. Since 2019, online's share of one- to two-item baskets doubled from 16% to 32%, while its share of large, stock-up baskets grew from 3% to 12%.

E-commerce is becoming increasingly common, but the store is still a critical part of the consumer journey.

07/24/2026

Consumers are getting an early start on back-to-school shopping, with 62% of shoppers having already started shopping for the school year by early July, according to the annual survey released today by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics. While the figure is down slightly from 67% at the same point in 2025, it remains significantly higher than the 55% reported in 2024.

Consumers are getting an early start on back-to-school shopping, with 62% of shoppers having already started shopping for the school year by early July.