Category: News & Trends

January 17, 2024

The relationship between dogs and humans can be traced as far back as 30,000 years ago. But our four-legged friends no longer help us hunt, and instead we send them Valentine’s cards (Moonpig reported a 30% year on year increase […]

January 17, 2024

At the NRF 2024: Retail’s Big Show, the CFOs of Macy’s, Rothy’s, and Levi Strauss shared a panel that discussed how the CFO role in retail has changed due in large part to the need to invest in technology to […]

January 10, 2024

As we step into 2024, the retail industry is poised for a transformative year at brick-and-mortar locations, marked by innovative product trends that marry functionality with aesthetics. Industry thought leaders Harrison Horan of Banker Wire, Zach Adams of Bjelin and […]

January 9, 2024

Google Shopping ads are now accessible to Instacart’s advertising partners, which can leverage Instacart’s retail media data. This means that CPG advertisers that work with Instacart can now activate Google Shopping ads powered by Instacart’s first-party data and closed-loop insights […]

January 5, 2024

Personalization is at something of a crossroads. The New Year saw a key step in the coming deprecation of third-party cookies, which have been one of marketers’ most powerful tools for tracking online activity for many years. A small group […]

January 4, 2024

Walgreens is pinning its recovery hopes on cost-containment and expansion of its health care services, further indication that what many observers see as a lackluster customer experience in the front of its U.S. stores won’t be changing much. Some analysts […]

January 3, 2024

Long viewed as a necessary evil, the retail returns process is emerging as an unexpected avenue for growth and customer engagement. In the rapidly expanding ecommerce market, projected to reach $3 billion in 2023, a significant 20% to 30% of […]

January 3, 2024

When it comes to trends to watch, it never fails — there are many buzzwords that seem to pop up year after year. However, as a retailer, if you’re not setting your sights on things such as supply chain, customer […]

January 3, 2024

Returns, including fraudulent returns, have escalated as e-commerce has grown. When it acquired the Reverse Logistics Association last year, the NRF itself has expanded its own membership to accommodate the burgeoning industry affiliated with returns. “Digital growth has an increased […]

January 2, 2024

While the pandemic’s effects weren’t felt as broadly as in recent years, retailers faced a new set of challenges this holiday season. Holiday hiring for some companies was lower than in years past, including Macy’s, which announced plans to hire […]

December 28, 2023

The Container Store has promoted two executives as it continues to focus on strengthening its “Custom Spaces” business. Lindy Rawlinson, formerly EVP of Ecommerce and Digital Marketing has been promoted to Chief Digital Officer; and Jennifer Pape formerly of VP […]

December 27, 2023

Consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies are obsessed with two things: maximizing revenue and minimizing operational expenses. The same could be true of all for-profit organizations, but the CPG industry is unique in its unrelenting pace of new product launches designed […]

December 22, 2023

Costco workers in Norfolk, Virginia, voted “overwhelmingly” Wednesday to unionize with Teamsters Local 822. It’s the union’s first organizing victory at the big-box wholesale retailer in two decades, the Teamsters said in an announcement. At the Norfolk store, which is […]

December 21, 2023

It’s no secret that retailers and brands have become obsessed with driving conversion in their quest to recover the more than half of shoppers who abandon checkout before completing their purchase. After all, “conversion rate optimization” is one of the […]

December 21, 2023

The holiday season brings joy, magic, beautiful decorations and a soundtrack of carols and standards that we revisit year after year. Sure, these tracks may get us in a festive mood, but for retail workers listening to them on what […]

December 20, 2023

As more cargo ships grapple with escaling attacks at the Suez Canal, led by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, retail industry groups are monitoring the problem and devising possible solutions. The violence is leading some shippers to take precautions and […]

December 20, 2023

Though the holiday rush currently sits at the top of most retailers’ priority lists, there’s another industry-wide event just around the corner: the 2024 NRF Big Show. The annual gathering of retail leaders and innovators brings together over 6,000 of […]

December 19, 2023

The Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust lawsuit against Amazon isn’t likely to start until some time in 2026, if not later, according to a joint statement by the parties filed this week. In estimating when it would be ready for trial, […]

December 15, 2023

The National Retail Federation on Thursday announced the launch of a Center for Retail Sustainability. The center is intended to support retailers’ efforts to generate economic value while creating net positive environmental, social and community benefits. The center’s initial focus […]

December 15, 2023

Back in 2022, the message was clear — retail crime was on the rise: “There’s no two ways about it,” said Gautham Vadakkepatt, Director of the Center for Retail Transformation at the George Mason University School of Business in an […]