Retailers are constantly trying to figure out not just how to sell their current inventory, but also what to offer to consumers for the next season. Thanks to new research from a University of Maryland marketing professor, predicting what consumers want could get easier.

AAA’s prediction for 54.6 million Thanksgiving weekend travelers would push travel in the United States to 98 percent of pre-pandemic volume. But it may not be enough to reserve airport parking spaces beforehand or allocate extra time for TSA lines.

Continuing a trend that has been building for the past several years, retailers started their Black Friday holiday promotions well before the traditional post-Thanksgiving shopping day this year.

Retailers have been working to reduce inventory to make room for holiday season items. Mishaps in planning dating back to last year are haunting them with excess stock of unwanted products, prompting tactics such as price-cutting, order cancellations and pack and hold.

As courses convene for the new academic year, the Smith School is welcoming eight new scholars to its faculty. Sean Cao is joining the accounting department as an associate professor. Cao received a PhD from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.