❗Let's close the gap: We still need your help to raise $40,000 by April 1. Donate now

Kristin Schwab

Reporter

SHORT BIO

Kristin Schwab is a reporter at Marketplace focusing on the consumer economy. She's based in Brooklyn, New York.

Before Marketplace, Kristin produced narrative and news podcasts for The New York Times, New York Magazine and The Wall Street Journal. She teaches audio journalism at her alma mater, Columbia Journalism School.

Kristin also has a BFA in dance from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. After performing with ballet and modern companies, she got her start in journalism as an editor at Dance Magazine. Kristin grew up in Minnesota and has been a bit reporting obsessed since watching the '90s PBS show "Ghostwriter" as a kid. Yes, she had one of those necklace pens and a marbled composition notebook.

Latest Stories (497)

Casual restaurant chains like Olive Garden see declining sales

Mar 26, 2024
Darden Restaurants, which owns chains like Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, had its first same-store sales decline since the pandemic.
Casual chains like Olive Garden don't typically lure in higher-income customers, but also aren't the most affordable option for lower-income households.
Scott Olson/Getty Images

As higher-income households do more shopping at Walmart, the store is stocking fancier brands

Mar 22, 2024
The fluorescent lit aisles of big box stores don’t scream luxury. But for certain items, consumers just don’t care.
The fluorescent lit aisles of big box stores don’t scream luxury. But for certain items, consumers just don't care.
Scott Olson/Getty Images

Package deliveries are clogging city streets

Mar 21, 2024
Retailers, shipping companies and cities are working together to solve the problem.
Michael Singh prepares for his Amazon cargo bike delivery shift.
Kristin Schwab/Marketplace

Retailers take on Amazon Prime with new subscription services

Mar 7, 2024
Walmart's on-demand delivery program starts Sunday. Target's version of Amazon Prime launches in April. Is there room for more subscriptions?
The average American has12 subscriptions, says Raghu Iyengar of The Wharton School. That doesn't leave much room for Target's and Walmart's.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Macy's isn't facing a retail apocalypse. It's facing a shrinking middle class.

Mar 6, 2024
Department stores were created to serve an income group that's declining while the poorer and wealthier cohorts expand.
Macy's is one of the retailers that have downsized in recent years. Gap, Foot Locker and Bed Bath & Beyond have also struggled. 
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Department stores like Macy's rely on an old shopping model. Can they change?

Feb 27, 2024
In the age of globalism and online shopping, the department store’s strength — as a place for everything — has became its weakness.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Years later, pandemic purchases trigger buyer's remorse

Feb 26, 2024
From outdoor heaters to exercise equipment to homes, people made purchases they now regret.
Purchases of exercise equipment, air fryers and outdoor heaters boomed. But now some of those purchases are collecting dust.
Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Why Amazon is replacing Walgreens Boots Alliance on the Dow Jones

Feb 21, 2024
A Dow Jones committee considers company growth and investor interest when deciding which stocks to include in the index.
Adding Amazon to the Dow will give investors more exposure to consumer retail.
Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Diners aren't going to steakhouses just for the steak anymore

Feb 19, 2024
Some steakhouses are changing their menus and venues to accommodate new consumer preferences.
Some people like going to steakhouses for the vibe or ambiance, not just the steaks, says journalist Alina Dizik.
Andrew Toth/Getty Images for Harv

Vacant office buildings create a tax revenue problem for cities

Feb 16, 2024
Take Boston. Over the next five years, that city could face a tax revenue shortfall to the tune of $1.2 to $1.5 billion, according to a new study from the Boston Policy Institute.
Over the next five years, Boston could face a tax revenue shortfall of up to $1.5 billion.
Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images