by U.S. Chamber of Commerce
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Joan Verdon

CONTRIBUTOR

About Joan

Joan Verdon has been covering business and retail news for the past 25 years. She has covered trends in tech, manufacturing, real estate and retail, first for The Record of North Jersey and USA Today, and now for CO—. She is a senior contributor, retail, for Forbes.com. Her passion is reporting on how Americans buy and sell. She has covered the birth of billion-dollar companies and the evolution of 100-year-old brands. Previously, she has been an education, general assignment and investigative reporter for The Grand Rapids Press and Buffalo Courier-Express. She spent a year working on Capitol Hill as an American Political Science Association Congressional Fellow.

Latest—
GOOD COMPANY » THE LEAP

CAMP Founder Discusses Plans for Growth
CAMP set out to reinvent the toy store with a single location in New York City. Now there are five CAMP stores, and the founders have big plans for more.
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GOOD COMPANY » LAUNCH PAD

Mobile Location Analytics Are Making Merchants Smarter
Mobile location analytics are giving malls, retailers and restaurants new information about how you spend your time. Can it do the same for your business?
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GOOD COMPANY » THE LEAP

High End Beauty Meets Sustainability on Goodee
Twin brothers Byron and Dexter Peart have stocked their new e-commerce site with items chosen for their beauty, sustainability and positive social impact.
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GOOD COMPANY » LAUNCH PAD

2020 Holiday Retail Sales Trends
The pandemic-triggered digital boom changed the way consumers shopped and how retailers did business this season. Those shifts will lead to permanent changes in the retail landscape, experts told CO—.
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GOOD COMPANY » LAUNCH PAD

Brands Open Hotels to Connect With Customers
Hotels can be the ultimate in lifestyle marketing. But there are risks and obstacles along with the rewards.
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GOOD COMPANY » LAUNCH PAD

How Major Retailers Are Incorporating Hospitality Into Their Businesses
Retailers hungry for new ways to attract shoppers and deliver experiences are increasingly adding upscale restaurants to their stores.
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GOOD COMPANY » THE LEAP

Google Nest Wants to Make Smart Homes More Human
Kate Freebairn, director of user experience, explains how the company that helped create the term ‘smart home’ now wants to focus on what makes a home more human.
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GOOD COMPANY » LAUNCH PAD

Why the Rental Economy Is Gaining Popularity
Rentals are the hottest trend in retail, with traditional brands and startups offering consumers short-term, commitment-free use of goods without the headaches, cost or ownership.
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GOOD COMPANY » LAUNCH PAD

How Major Retailers Are Fueling the Resale Trend
Dozens of digital startups are fueling ‘recommerce,’ the fastest-growing category in fashion retail, as traditional merchants are looking at the potential of the pre-owned market.
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GOOD COMPANY » THE LEAP

How Rent the Runway Thrives on Word-of-Mouth Marketing
RTR's COO explains how ‘good old-fashioned word-of-mouth’ helped the clothing rental company grow from startup to unicorn status.
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