Retail covers the stores themselves: how they set prices, how loyalty programs actually pay out, what a return policy permits, and which markdown tactics mislead. Coverage names retailers directly. Useful for readers who want to buy somewhere that takes an item back without a fight.
Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 caps the current import surcharge at 150 days, putting a July 24, 2026 expiration date on the tariff that has been pushing clothing prices up since February.
New York's Legislature ended its 2026 session without voting on the Fashion Act, leaving shoppers without the mandatory due-diligence and anti-greenwashing rules the bill would impose on large brands.
The April 2026 Consumer Price Index, released May 12, 2026, showed the apparel index rising 0.6 percent for the month, continuing a string of above-average clothing inflation.
The Section 122 tariff that replaced the struck-down IEEPA duties took effect February 24, 2026, and the math of retail markups means shoppers see the cost multiplied at the register.
March 2026 Consumer Price Index figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on April 10, 2026 put the apparel index at an all-time high, with clothing inflation running near 3.9 percent year over year.
The women's fashion chain filed Chapter 11 on February 5, 2026 and is closing all 457 U.S. stores, with deep liquidation discounts and a gift card deadline shoppers need to know.