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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Will chatbots take over as personal shopping assistants?
A new survey of U.S. and U.K. shoppers finds 55 percent want a chatbot to provide support for finding specific products, in addition to customer service. How would you rate…
Do stores need to take shoppers on an ‘experiential learning’ trip to succeed?
A university study finds selling “deep” products at physical stores is a core builder of trust with customers and a primary reason digital native retailers open stores. Is close product…
Forget digital first. Stores first, digital second is the future of luxury retail.
Consumers have migrated to e-commerce at an unprecedented rate since the novel coronavirus pandemic began. One major luxury brand, however, is standing by the physical store as the future of…
Is it time for mainstream retail to go all-in on the resale market?
Secondhand is in. That’s the finding of the new “2021 Resale Report” published by thredUP. Annual sales of resale clothing, defined as the more curated segment of secondhand, currently stand at…
Is ‘Buy Local’ fatigue setting in?
The “Save my business!” plea that helped many local stores and restaurants salvage sales in the early months of the pandemic is losing relevance as the economy and job market…
Does retail have an answer for its jobs problem?
More retail workers quit their jobs in April than in any single month since the Labor Department started tracking the industry’s job numbers going back more than 20 years. Do…
Levi Strauss COO says partners helped it get through the pandemic
Liz O’Neill, chief operating officer for Levi Strauss, said that the denim brand was able to rely on its supply chain partners to help the company through challenges that arose…
What does it take for stores to satisfy their pickiest customers?
New university research finds hard-to-please, or “picky”, customers demonstrating shopping tendencies beyond just looking for the “best” option. What advice would you have for sales associates dealing with picky customers?
Can Victoria’s Secret shift its brand image from sexy to empowering?
Victoria’s Secret is retiring the Angels, its line-up of scantily-clad supermodels. The leading lingerie chain has now retained a group of athletes, activists and actors as brand ambassadors to support…
Amazon and its retailer rivals look to set Prime Day sales records
Amazon is expected to achieve a new sales record when its annual Prime Day event is complete. The same could be true for many of its rival retailers that have…
How should (and shouldn’t) retailers honor Juneteenth?
Juneteenth, which commemorates the end of slavery in the U.S., last week was designated as a federal holiday, creating opportunities and challenges for retailers. Do you see the potential for…
Retailers must centralize their data to thrive
Although most of today’s retailers have at least a basic understanding of the need to collect and centralize their local data, there are those that either do not have the…
Will Americans invite Best Buy into their backyards?
Best Buy has benefitted from the stay-at-home trend that developed since the pandemic broke out in 2020. With the belief that Americans will stick with the behavior, the retailer is…
Will ‘less is more’ or ‘more is better’ online merchandising drive bigger sales?
A university working paper finds online shoppers often use one coping mechanism to manage the exhaustion that comes with endless choices online: They take a break. Does the Paradox of…
Walgreens inks a deal with Uber Eats to expand same-day deliveries
Walgreens has put a full selection of its products on the menu for same-day delivery through Uber Eats across the U.S. How important will delivery options become within the pharmacy…
Can a financially stable, digitally-enabled Neiman Marcus make a comeback?
Neiman Marcus is expressing confidence in improving its prospects as it has wiped away debt that weighed it down for the past 15 years, begun making strategic investments in digital…
What does it take to make omnichannel marketing work?
A new university study highlights three big challenges to making omnichannel marketing work: data access and integration, marketing attribution and consumer privacy protection. What are the biggest challenges for driving…
Will Target hit the bullseye or miss with its store remodeling plan?
Target turned in a record performance last year and followed that up with a better-than-expected start in 2021. But the retailer has no plans to rest on its laurels. Will…
Is simpler better for rewards programs?
A new university study finds that non-tiered customer rewards programs aren’t so hot at driving frequency or spending but highly effective at serving loyalty’s core goal of reducing attrition. Do…
Boxed is taking bulk e-commerce public
It has been a couple of years since the press was buzzing with news about what might become of successful warehouse-style e-commerce startup Boxed. Now, after an unprecedented shift in…
Amazon scales its Just Walk Out tech for a full-size grocery store
Amazon.com is putting its cashierless Just Walk Out (JWO) technology to use in a new full-sized Amazon Fresh store in Bellevue, WA. Do you think Amazon will roll out Just…
