Blogs

The coronavirus has been a life-changing event. We've never experienced anything like this before. Baby Boomers were young when polio was nearly eradicated with the Salk vaccine in 1955. At that time, very little was known about polio, which paralyzed and often killed young children. Science has greatly advanced since then. Even so, until we…

The retail industry, like many others, is being disrupted and permanently changed by the ever-increasing capabilities and applications of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). As I wrote in my last post, we're just beginning to see the benefits of AI and ML implementations in the retail sector, but they've already helped forward-thinking companies…

With all the buzz about artificial intelligence (AI) these days, retailers are naturally asking, “Is AI for real, or is it just a passing fad?” Nearly every retail technology company is now slapping the “AI” moniker on their marketing materials, but which AI applications are really moving the needle for retailers? A Gartner report released…

Our purpose for this blog is to share our direct marketing experience, particularly around direct mail, catalogs, paid search, and website optimization. Since Stephen Lett founded Lett Direct in 1995, retailers and e-tailers across the country have valued its transparency and educational approach to improve their profitability by planning, executing and analyzing their marketing programs.…

Last Friday, the U.S. Postal Service announced temporary price increases effective Oct. 18, 2020 through Dec. 27, 2020. Increases are quite significant, as follows: Parcel Select (DDU entry): Up to 7.5 percent Parcel Select (DSCF entry): Up to 9.1 percent Parcel Select (DNDC entry): Up to 6.7 percent Parcel Return Service: Up to 7.9 percent…

I'm so excited to announce that I will be moderating a session at the CommerceNext Virtual Summit, taking place July 28-29! Based on the theme “Path to Recovery,” the CommerceNext Virtual Summit is designed to help retailers rebuild after extended store closures and a rapid transformation of e-commerce shaped by COVID-19. During the event, you’ll hear from brands…

Welcome to this week's Retail Resources, which features a curated list of the best content and resources I've found over the past week. This week, I offer information and resources about leadership, diversity and inclusion, and some fun stuff, too. As always, if there's anything you would like me to share in a future post, let…

Welcome to this week's Retail Resources, which features a curated list of the best content and resources I've found for you over the past week. This week, I offer information and resources about leadership, remote team building tools and perks, more ways to fight racism and become better allies, and more. If there's anything you would…

Welcome to this week's Retail Resources. This week, I'm dedicating this post to what I believe are valuable resources to help retail business leaders fight racism and become better allies. If there's anything you would like me to share in a future post, let me know by dropping me a line at mcampanelli@napco.com. LinkedIn has made its seven-course…

Welcome to this week's Retail Resources, which features a curated list of the best content and resources I've found over the past week. This week, I offer information and resources about leadership, data related to COVID-19, and some fun stuff, too. As always, if there's anything you would like me to share in a future post,…

Welcome to this week's Retail Resources, which features a curated list of the best content and resources I've found for you over the past week. This week, I offer information and resources about leadership, COVID-19 recovery readiness as stores and offices begin to slowly open, and wellness. As always, if there's anything you would like me…

UPS announced two Peak Surcharge increases effective May 31, 2020: an increase on UPS Ground Residential and UPS SurePost packages, as well as an add-on charge for larger shipments that incur the Large Package Surcharge (LPS). Ground Residential as well as SurePost will be assessed an additional surcharge of $.30/package when the current average weekly…

Although once mostly limited to tiny local consignment and secondhand shops, fashion and apparel recommerce today includes a range of digitally native companies offering resale, rental, upcycling and/or subscription models. Each of these business models can extend the useful life of apparel and increase the average number of times an item is worn, helping cut…

Traditionally recognized for managing fulfillment services, today’s top third-party logistics (3PLs) providers play a much larger role — one that remains supportive while providing exclusive insights and guidance. They serve as an extension of the retail operations team, coordinating distribution, helping create customer experiences, ensuring on-time and correct delivery, and, maybe most importantly, serving as…

Welcome to this week's Retail Resources, which features a curated list of the best content and resources that I hope will help you navigate through the coronavirus pandemic. This week I offer information and resources about business strategies, wellness tips, and personal finance information. If there's anything you would like me to share in a…

The novel coronavirus and the precautions governments and individuals are taking to protect themselves from infection have already had a powerful impact on the global economy. Those impacts are likely to extend well into this year, possibly even into the fourth-quarter holiday shopping period. Between disruptions to manufacturing and supply chains and shifts in consumer…

The impact of COVID-19 has been felt throughout supply chains worldwide. With much production impacted, and facing an uncertain future, many retailers are wondering how to manage existing inventory in the short and long term. For retailers with longer seasonal lead times, spring and summer inventory is likely already in stock, or at least secured.…

I'm no stranger to writing about disaster preparedness and crisis management. I live in an area where we get hit with a hurricane every few years. And while we're in uncharted waters here with the COVID-19 Coronavirus, there are some things that marketers forget about doing in times of crisis. I will leave up to…

Nike announced last week that as part of the company’s focus on elevating consumer experiences through more direct, personal relationships, it will stop selling its merchandise directly to Amazon.com. Here’s why Nike made the right decision. Partnering with Amazon undoubtedly has benefits — namely, a built-in audience and speedy delivery options. However, it’s crucial to consider…

The retail industry is feeling the effects of 15 percent tariffs imposed on Sept. 1 on a wide range of consumer imports, and is bracing for the impact of their expansion to additional goods on Dec. 15. These tariffs cover a total of about $300 billion worth of imports from China. Increases on tariffs imposed…

What is the greatest coffee secret at Starbucks you never knew? Simple answer: a cup of coffee from its Clover machine. I will get to the sales and marketing point of this blog post in a moment. But first let’s talk about a subject most of us love: coffee! If you've never had a "Clover," you're…

I was excited to interview Tom Ebling last week, a true retail technology leader whose stint as CEO of Demandware from 2010-2016 included growing the software company into a $300 million public company that was acquired by Salesforce for $2.8 billion in 2016. Prior to Demandware, Ebling was the CEO of Lattice Engines, ProfitLogic and…

I always love to learn about unique partnerships in the retail space, and I recently heard about one that involves two of my faves — food and jewelry — so I thought I’d share it with you. The partnership, which launched in June, is between online jewelry retailer BaubleBar and FoodKick by FreshDirect, an on-demand business…

Despite conventional wisdom to the contrary, men are shopping both online and in-stores at higher rates than women. As discovered in First Insight’s latest consumer survey, The Rise of the New Male Power Shopper, men are bucking long-believed trends surrounding shopping habits. Men are more frequently shopping across all major channels both online and in-store,…

Each day, the world seems bigger, more diverse and moves much faster. Predicting the future — always a dubious proposition — seems like a fool’s errand in this climate, given the dizzying pace of disruption. But as Peter Drucker once said, “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” For retailers, that…

It's official: Digital technology has permanently altered the retail landscape. To examine why and how, Synchrony Financial took a deep dive into this reality with its current report, "Driving Shopper Engagement Through Digital Technology," which includes data from the 2016 Synchrony Financial Digital Study. The study, which gathered insights on mobile adoption and digital usage,…

It’s not often that you get to hear from retail legends like Jim Sinegal, co-founder and director of Costco Wholesale Corp. That’s why I was so excited to attend his talk at SAP’s Retail Executive Forum, which was held in New York City earlier this month. And he didn't disappoint. Sinegal served as the CEO…

I’ve just returned from the National Retail Federation’s Big Show in New York City, and I thought this would be a good opportunity to give those of you who didn’t make it to the show some of the major takeaways I have after spending two days wandering the vast Jacob Javits Convention Center. So without…

With this being the last issue of Total Retail Report of 2015 (it returns on Mon., Jan. 4), we thought it would be a good time to put together a list of our most popular content of the year. This content is ranked in order based on the number of page views. Our best wishes…

As I go through the discovery process with prospective SPI customers, there's a moment in almost every engagement when one of the planners or allocators shows their current multitab, multidimension, multipivot table, holographic (OK, I exaggerated on the last point) homegrown Excel spreadsheet. It always impresses. I'm genuinely in awe of the complex usage of…

Influencer marketing isn't new; using celebrities to sell products is an age-old practice. However, a new type of influencer marketing — using regular customers as brand spokespeople — is on the rise. Highlighted in a National Retail Federation (NRF) article, “Customers Are the New Celebrities,” this trend of curating a group of select social media…

While Facebook's users are getting their first taste of the new "Reactions" emojis that recently rolled out, marketers are already working to better understand the impact they will have on their social media efforts. Facebook Reactions, in case you missed it, are a collection of six emoji that can be clicked on all posts and…

Six hundred billion dollars. That’s what advertisers are set to spend worldwide in 2015. Social media powerhouses Facebook and Twitter have rolled out new ways to target consumers through advertisements. But is the return on investment there for the companies that are fronting the bill? According to Gallup, 62 percent of consumers say that social…