Digital Innovation

No one, not even Nostradamus, could have predicted what 2020 became. Had anyone even heard the term "essential retailer" before March of last year? Could anyone have predicted that toilet paper would have the same scarcity as a couture dress? While the pandemic continues, the apparel/fashion industry and the consumers it serves have settled into…

In episode 285 of Total Retail Talks, Editor-in-Chief Joe Keenan interviews Gregg Melnick, executive vice president and chief stores officer at Bed Bath & Beyond. Listen in as Melnick discusses how the retail chain has transformed at an accelerated rate due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the value of operating within an "omni-always" lens, and how…

As customer expectations continue to shift in an increasingly digital world, shoppers have come to want products in the fastest and simplest way possible — even in the middle of a devastating pandemic. To say the retail landscape in 2020 was difficult would be an understatement. Brick-and-mortar stores were hit by a rapid downturn in…

Quarate Retail Group's QVC last week made its debut on YouTube TV, a live TV streaming service with more than 3 million subscribers. YouTube TV is available across smart TVs, streaming media players, smartphone apps, tablets, computers, game consoles, and smart displays. QVC is currently the only livestream shopping channel on  YouTube TV, according to Quarte Retail. It now joins YouTube TV’s lineup of…

In-store businesses continue to confront evolving challenges, competing priorities, and a sense of uncertainty when it comes to the sustained impact of COVID-19 on their operations. One of the most pressing questions being faced is whether to invest in solutions that offer customers a more convenient and innovative checkout experience. While forward-thinking in-store businesses already…

Was it just a year ago that all the buzz in retail was around “experiential retailing”? When Canada Goose, the clothing company, was creating arctic zones in its stores so customers could feel just how warm a CG parka would keep them? One exceptionally long year and one global pandemic later, the retail landscape has…

The world of commerce is continually changing and evolving as a direct impact of technological advances. In 2020, we learned how much technology can shape our experiences and how important it is to use it correctly to make customer journeys frictionless. Consumer expectations shift quickly, and everything in retail changes rapidly. In fact, I would…

The retail industry was massively disrupted with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Stores were shuttered and consumers had no choice but to make online purchases for items deemed non-essential. For primarily store-based retailers, this seismic shift was a major reality check, and in the most extreme cases, led to permanent closures and…

So much of life today is happening in front of the television. For consumers in the U.S., most of whom are spending far more time at home, the TV has once again become the cornerstone of daily entertainment and family time. According to Nielsen, viewership amid the pandemic has increased by as much as 60…

The pandemic transformed the way we shop almost overnight, leading to an immediate rise in digital grocery sales. Shipt and Instacart responded to increased demand for grocery delivery by hiring thousands of additional workers. Many retailers, both physical and digital, followed suit with more hires of their own. While I believe that consumers will ultimately…