Category: News & Trends

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 […]

December 14, 2023

The National Retail Federation (NRF) has introduced the Center for Retail Sustainability, designed to help retailers generate economic value while also creating benefits for the environment, communities and societies. Initial efforts will focus on leveraging consumer insights around sustainability products […]

December 13, 2023

DTC brands Gilt Groupe, Stitch Fix and Casper have teamed up to create a new feed-based, discovery-driven shopping app called Yaysay that is designed to elevate and gamify off-price shopping online. The mobile app uses AI technology to deliver shoppers […]

December 12, 2023

The FTC and a coalition of 17 state attorneys general sued Amazon in September. They alleged that the e-commerce giant engaged in “punitive and coercive tactics” to maintain various retail monopolies. The alleged monopolies include actions and policies that affect […]

December 11, 2023

In today’s consumer landscape, the customer experience (CX) is everything. As innovation in CX advances, the customer likewise comes to expect even better experiences when they engage with a brand. Enter artificial intelligence (AI) — one of the most promising […]

December 11, 2023

In an era where self-checkout is the retail norm, we’ve come to appreciate its convenience, speed, and the power it places in the hands of the shopper. Nowadays, you walk into a store expecting self-checkout. Yet, envision a checkout experience […]

December 4, 2023

The National Retail Federation on Friday said it has edited a retail crime report released in April, and has withdrawn a claim regarding organized retail crime following an analysis from Retail Dive. The group had cited an estimate of the […]

December 1, 2023

Claiming “digitization,” “customer experience,” or “faster supply chains” as retail trends seems rather obvious. If you’re a retailer and you’re not focused on those things every year, you will not be in business long. So rather than trying to convince […]

November 29, 2023

Target has started testing 10-items-or-less checkout lanes at a handful of its stores. According to The Street, Target had generally not specified a limit to its self-checkout stations, unlike most grocery stores. Now, certain locations are “testing the limits” in […]

November 28, 2023

Consumer spending on Cyber Monday surpassed initial projections to reach $12.4 billion — both a 9.6% year-over-year increase and the biggest online shopping day of all time, according to Adobe Analytics. Monday’s sales capped off a banner Cyber Week, which […]

November 27, 2023

As Cyber Monday sales continue to roll in, Cyber Week appears to have allayed retailers anxieties by delivering another year of record consumer spending, according to Adobe Analytics. Online spending on Black Friday came in above projections, at $9.8 billion […]

November 15, 2023

For many ecommerce brands, stress-testing their digital systems in preparation for the holidays is an essential ritual. Retailers need to ensure their systems can scale to upcoming seasonal traffic spikes like Cyber Week so they can capture the attention and […]

November 10, 2023

For several years now the term “retail media” has been buzzing around both retail and media circles. Whether you’re looking for a deeper understanding of the implications and applications of retail media or need a down-and-dirty explainer on what retail […]

November 8, 2023

The retail industry stands at a crossroads over concerns about sustainability. The need to adopt eco-friendly practices has become more pressing than ever, and retail is evolving beyond just selling goods to play a vital role in combating climate change […]

November 6, 2023

While retailers are preparing for the busiest season of the year, the industry, alongside the overall labor force, appears to be reducing its workforce compared to a year ago. According to Challenger, Gray & Christmas’ report, U.S. employers eliminated 36,836 […]

November 3, 2023

The National Retail Federation (NRF) is predicting robust holiday sales, with U.S. spending forecast to climb 3%-4% over 2022, generating between $957.3 billion to $966.6 billion. While the 2023 growth rate is lower than in recent years, when stimulus spending […]

October 31, 2023

The challenge of figuring out reverse logistics is much like unwinding yarn. Where do you start? And then, what does it take to avoid getting all tangled up later on? With returns, none of this is easy. Some put extra […]

October 30, 2023

Crocs has initiated a retail takeback pilot program, aimed at enhancing its sustainability and circular economy efforts. The program encourages shoppers to bring their old Crocs shoes to select stores in ten states across the country, regardless of their condition. […]

October 24, 2023

With seemingly endless reports coming in about retail shrink each day, it feels like theft is out of control in America. Some of these recent reports include: Home Depot tracking down a crime ring San Francisco PD launching blitz operations […]

October 24, 2023

U.S. retail sales in September held fairly steady, rising 3.4% overall in the sectors tracked by Retail Dive, according to the numbers released monthly by the U.S. Department of Commerce. Still, the report portends a tepid holiday shopping season, analysts […]