Retailers like Walmart and Best Buy are cutting staff as consumers pull back on discretionary spending.

Ahead of March retail sales numbers, a Seattle candlemaker shares how her economy is doing.

Phillip Rollins, owner of OffBeat, says people saw him on the news and supported his shop by helping to clean up and dry things off.

Consumers can’t get enough of makeup, skincare and hair products even as inflation persists and a potential recession looms.

Annie Lang-Hartman, owner of Wild Lettie, just signed the lease on a new location, hoping to expand her product offerings.

Between inflation and a possibly looming recession, some big box stores are on edge.

Less of a good thing: “Marketplace” listeners tell us about products they’ve seen that have undergone “shrinkflation.”

For Venita Cooper, owner of Silhouette Sneakers & Art, business is up. But will it last? “The big challenge is just trying to keep engagement,” she says.

Manufacturers and retailers have to decide what to make or stock now based on where they think the economy will be later.

How a department store more than a century old has survived two pandemics, the Great Depression, and multiple recessions.