Why Lowe's is closing 51 stores

Women account for 85 percent of all consumer purchases, but not even 30 percent of today’s retail industry leaders are women.  Hand in hand with retail’s struggle to retain female employees, is the industry’s challenge to respond to its evolving shopper demands.

As holiday shopping intensifies this week so will the nonsensical debate over physical vs. digital retail. In what promises to be the most highly integrated season ever, the word “store” has outlived its usefulness.

Restaurant delivery isn’t new, but in the age of meal kit mania and grocerants, where all types of operators are vying for share of stomach, traditional retailers face an expanded market opportunity with new competitive dynamics.