NRF forecasts nonstore sales will grow up to 9% in 2024

REI Co-op will open its new store in Appleton, Wisconsin on September 4 for limited in-store shopping, offering a wide assortment of quality outdoor gear for hiking, camping, mountain biking and paddling. The new 20,000-square-foot store at the Center Valley shopping center was originally scheduled to open in the spring but was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. REI Appleton will also offer Buy Online, Pickup In Store capabilities and zero contact bike shop services. With nearly 300,000 lifetime members in state, REI Appleton will join the co-op’s existing Wisconsin locations in Brookfield and Madison. “Appleton is an incredible community, and we’re thrilled to finally open our doors and connect our members to the many outdoor spaces in the region,” said Gary Kim, REI Appleton store manager. “Whether our members are enjoying their favorite activity or want to try something new for the first time, we’ll have the gear they need to get outside.”

FY23 third quarter service performance scores covering April 1 through June 9, included: *First-Class Mail: 92.3% of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, an increase of 1.3 percentage points from the fiscal second quarter. *Marketing Mail: 96.0% of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, an increase of 1.4 percentage points from the fiscal second quarter. *Periodicals: 88.8% of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, an increase of 2.4 percentage points from the fiscal second quarter.

Total revenues across all categories for February 2023 were up 0.2% as compared to February 2022, coming in at $1.0 billion. Year-to-date revenues were up 1.8%, at $2.3 billion for the first two months of the year. Trade (Consumer Books) revenues were down 0.4% in February, coming in at $706.3 million. In terms of physical paper format revenues during the month of February, in the Trade (Consumer Books) category, Hardback revenues were down 6.4%, coming in at $235.5 million; Paperbacks were down 0.9%, with $244.7 million in revenue; Mass Market was down 3.2% to $15.5 million; and Special Bindings were down 5.5%, with $16.2 million in revenue. eBook revenues were down 4.8% for the month as compared to February 2022 for a total of $87.5 million, and overall Digital Audio format was up 31.6% for February, coming in at $84.5 million in revenue.