In-Store Pickup

The COVID-19 pandemic has turned retail upside down. Pre-coronavirus, digital commerce was already outpacing overall retail growth. Services such as buy online, pick up in-store (BOPIS) were steadily increasing, but aside from grocery and select big-box retailers, curbside pickup wasn't even on the long-term road map for most retailers. Today, BOPIS and curbside pickup have…

In this episode of Retail Right Now, Total Retail's Ashley Chiaradio and Kristina Stidham discuss 2020 holiday retail predictions, as written in a recent Total Retail article by Michael Osborne, president and CEO of SmarterHQ. Despite all the uncertainty retailers are faced with, the article outlines three trends that retailers should expect and capitalize on…

Amazon Prime Day won't be the only big sales event in October. Walmart and Target have both announced plans to host their own online sales events that just happen to coincide with Amazon's annual shopping fest. On Monday, Walmart said it will be holding a "Big Save" online event that runs Oct. 11 through Oct. 15. Walmart will offer Black…

Verizon Media today announced the launch of Groceries from Walmart, a Yahoo Mail feature that enables users to browse, add to cart, and purchase essential groceries from Walmart within Yahoo Mail. According to Verizon Media, this is the first time that email users can fill a shopping cart from their inbox, streamlining their shopping experience from…

With malls closing at record rates and other retailers shuttering their stores reaching the thousands, there’s been a lot of talk about a retail apocalypse. However, if you dig a little deeper you’ll see that the future of retail isn’t so grim. Consumers still value the experience of shopping in physical stores. Even pure-play digital…

Amazon.com is converting more of its Whole Foods locations into "dark stores," which are dedicated solely to fulfilling online orders. The move is part of an effort by Amazon to keep up with increased demand for groceries during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a FOX Business report. “With stay-at-home orders in place, customers have generated unprecedented demand for grocery delivery,"…

Starting in May, Best Buy plans to gradually reopen its stores to customers with appointments, CNBC reported. Shoppers will be able to schedule a time to meet with a sales associate to discuss a potential purchase of an appliance, talk through technology needs, and more. Best Buy, which has 1,000 U.S. stores, will begin by offering this…

A record $7.40 billion was spent online by the end of Black Friday, the second largest online sales day ever (last year’s Cyber Monday reached $7.9 billion in sales),  according to Adobe Analytics. This $7.40 billion total represented a 43 percent year-over-year increase. What's more, the average order value set a new record for Black Friday (at…

It seems the holidays come earlier every year — Lowe’s and Walmart have had their Christmas trees up since late September — but for many there's still time left to prepare for the onslaught of gift-givers. The time to do so is now. While this author has been predicting holiday trends for several years, this…

Amazon.com is expanding a program that turns physical retail stores into package pickup centers, GeekWire reported. The pickup service program, Counter, will be added to thousands of store locations at GNC, Health Mart and Stage Stores. Amazon launched the Counter program through a partnership with Rite-Aid in June. "This new network of pickup points gives…