In-Store Technology
January 16, 2020 at 9:51 am
The dust has settled following the “retail apocalypse” of 2018, and the numbers reveal that retail’s radical transformation is more nuanced than we once thought. While headlines in early 2019 spelled the end of retail, data from IHL Group shows otherwise. In 2019, retailers announced 2,965 more store openings than closings. Certain retailers led the…
January 15, 2020 at 10:57 am
More than 8,200 retail stores closed in 2019. Well-known brands like Forever 21, Radio Shack, and Barneys New York declared bankruptcy as consumers continued to move away from physical stores in favor of online shopping or more specialized experiences. Whether they’re looking at a product in person or on their mobile device, consumers now expect…
January 15, 2020 at 9:36 am
The notion that millennials are harbingers of the retail apocalypse is, in fact, a myth. New data from Accenture quashes this misconception, having found 82 percent of millennials prefer shopping in brick-and-mortar stores. The fact that millennials haven’t simply abandoned brick-and-mortar retail in favor of online shopping is a testament to the power of a smart, unified…
January 14, 2020 at 12:35 pm
Yesterday at the 2020 National Retail Federation Big Show in New York City, Total Retail's Joe Keenan sat down for an interview with Jennifer Williams, vice president, retail services at Perry Ellis International. Williams discusses Perry Ellis' Life Ready application, its initial rollout in wholesale partner Dillard's stores over the past year, and the brand's partnerships with…
December 16, 2019 at 10:59 am
As director of market research at the Consumer Technology Association (CTA)®, I have an insider’s view of the latest and greatest innovations and technology. And there’s an important, but unexpected, trend in the intersection of technology and retail: tech innovations are giving shoppers even more reasons to visit brick-and-mortar stores. Ninety percent of consumer shopping still…
December 9, 2019 at 12:35 pm
I’ve long been a proponent of making omnichannel a C-suite issue. It has to come from the top down. But the brands struggling to deliver a true omnichannel experience have a fundamental issue. At an organizational level, many brands still operate online and in-store in silos. E-commerce and physical retail are their own separate entities,…
December 3, 2019 at 9:55 am
Holiday shopping season isn’t on the horizon … it’s here. In fact, some stores began launching holiday deals as early as October. And while consumers are seemingly ready and willing to buy, customer experience can make or break peak season for any retailer. Almost every shopper coming through your doors or visiting your website is…
October 29, 2019 at 2:08 pm
The retail industry has heard the narrative enough: online retail is disrupting and may even unseat traditional brick-and-mortar retailers sooner than later. But the data tells another story. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, e-commerce accounted for only 10.2 percent of total U.S. retail sales at the close of Q1 2019. That evidence serves as…
October 28, 2019 at 9:57 am
As smartphones continue to serve as shoppers' personal assistants, retailers can utilize key capabilities like in-store beacons to offer personalized updates to customers’ smartphones throughout their shopping journey. Whether a consumer is shopping in-store, attending an event, or even shopping at a reseller partner, they expect to receive special information to further influence their purchase…
October 22, 2019 at 11:16 am
The optics on the health of the retail industry have been gloomy for some time now, with one old-school brand after another biting the dust on a regular basis, according to major headlines. More often than not, the blame lands on online brands and big-box giants like Amazon.com or Walmart, which are relatively easy targets…
