United Parcel Service of America, Inc. (UPS)

Retailers are hunkering down to deal with a flood of returns on January 3, which is informally being called National Returns Day.

As we head into 2018, here are the key trends we believe will drive the U.S. retail sector.

One of the nation’s largest owners and operators of grocery-anchored shopping centers got a little bigger this week.

Expecting shipping volume to jump 5% this holiday season, UPS is on track to shatter its holiday shipping records.

UPS is preparing to impose another shipping rate increase.

Amazon’s new program could give carriers like United Parcel Service and FedEx a run for their money.   The online giant is experimenting with a program that rivals services handled by longtime partners UPS and FedEx. Specifically, it is dabbling in a program designed to make more products available for free two-day delivery and relieve overcrowding in its warehouses, according to Bloomberg.  

UPS is ramping up its holiday workforce.   The company plans to hire approximately 95,000 seasonal employees to support an anticipated increase in package shipments during the 2017 holiday shopping season. UPS expects increased delivery volume to span between early November and January 2018.    This marks the fourth straight year that UPS is hiring this number of employees for the holiday season, according to Reuters.   

Early signs from retailers indicate a hot job market for workers this holiday season.    Despite store closures and consolidation within the industry, retailers are signaling that there might be high demand for seasonal jobs, according to a forecast from global outplacement and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.