This Week in Retail: Fed rate decision and Costco earnings

The long-anticipated December Federal Reserve meeting is this week, and a big rate decision is potentially coming down the pike. Many economists are expecting the Fed to cut rates in order to bolster an uncertain economy, but no one knows for sure until Fed Chair Jerome Powell speaks about the board’s decision on Wednesday.

Here’s what’s going on in retail this week:

In conferences: From Wednesday to Friday, the Automated Retail and Kiosk Innovation Show—formerly known as the Self-Service Innovation Summit—is coming to Tampa, Florida, to showcase new technologies and trends in vending and self-service retail. Speakers include executives from fast-casual chains, robotics and automation firms, and other industry experts.

On Wednesday and Thursday, the 2025 Commerce Insights Conference is taking place virtually. Formerly known as the Retail Insights Conference, the event looks at emerging trends in the retail industry and provides actionable insights on how to navigate them. Breakout sessions will touch on topics such as channel strategy, emerging health and wellness trends, and pricing tactics, to name a few.

Lastly, over the same two days, ICSC New York is coming to the Javits Center, which will host a two-day gathering of “dealmakers and industry experts who are driving innovation and evolution in the marketplaces industry.”

In webinars: Brayden Cruz, media strategist at retail technology firm Northbeam, is hosting a 30-minute webinar titled “Post-Black Friday Breakdown: What Worked and Key Learnings” on Wednesday. Cruz will break down what Northbeam saw over the sales holiday, including which channels drove growth, and then offer advice on how these insights should inform retail strategies for the rest of the year, including “when to front load or taper in December” and “what to scale into December and Q1 based on 2025 wins.”

In earnings: Costco is reporting its latest earnings on Thursday, and Wall Street is expecting another strong quarter for the membership store. In September, Costco reported double-digit growth in both membership income and online sales. Headed into this release, Costco has also made headlines for becoming the biggest company so far to file a lawsuit against the Trump administration seeking a refund of tariff charges should the Supreme Court overturn the trade policy.