In-Store Technology
March 19, 2020 at 4:41 pm
The brick-and-mortar retail model has changed quite significantly in recent years in response to the continued growth of e-commerce. To understand why, it’s illustrative to ask what it is about the e-commerce model that appeals so strongly to consumers. It isn’t the deals — in fact, online shopping is sometimes more expensive depending on what you’re…
March 18, 2020 at 3:43 pm
It’s coming to the end of a Thursday afternoon in the office. A push notification reminds you of dinner plans at 7:00 p.m., a monthly chance to catch up with an old friend. You haven’t booked ahead, but both decide to go back to the popular ceviche bar on terrace at Westfield after a quick…
March 13, 2020 at 4:53 pm
In this episode of Retail Right Now, Total Retail's Ashley Chiaradio and Kristina Stidham discuss Amazon.com's announcement that it’s launching a new business line selling the technology behind its cashier-less convenience stores to other retailers. The technology, which Amazon calls Just Walk Out, will detect what products shoppers take from or return to shelves and keeps…
March 12, 2020 at 1:56 pm
Today’s retailers are taking advantage of the increasingly affordable touchscreen technology that was popularized by smartphones to provide in-store, interactive digital screens that engage their customers in new and exciting ways. According to some estimates, as many as 94 percent of all retailers deploy interactive digital signs in some capacity, which both speaks to the…
March 9, 2020 at 2:17 pm
Amazon.com confirmed today that it's launching a new business line selling the technology behind its cashier-less convenience stores to other retailers. In addition, Amazon told Reuters it has signed “several” deals with customers it would not name. The technology, which Amazon calls Just Walk Out, enables shoppers to enter a store, grab merchandise, and go. Here's how it works: In…
February 28, 2020 at 3:06 pm
A recent article in The New York Times looked at life in retail during the recent holiday selling season. It centered on a busy Manhattan store of a big, well-regarded apparel chain and one of its merchandising managers. I wasn’t surprised to read the retailer equipped employees with several apps to expedite sales and keep…
February 18, 2020 at 11:37 am
Across hotel lobbies and restaurants to retail shops and corporate offices, interactive devices are increasingly available for people to use. Trips to the local supermarket include self-checkout options, while technology in a retail showroom can showcase products that aren't physically in-store. And in the quick-serve restaurant industry, we see heavy hitters like McDonald’s and Taco…
February 18, 2020 at 10:24 am
Brick-and-mortar retail has a long and prosperous future ahead. Despite popular misconceptions about online stores and drone deliveries, people still need real stores in their lives — and will for decades to come. Research from Escalent found that despite the impressive growth of e-commerce, in-store sales still dwarf online sales ($152.7 billion vs. $62.5 billion).…
January 22, 2020 at 3:18 pm
The merging of physical and digital has made retail customers more demanding than ever. What do customers want? They want everything … and they want it now. They want the excitement only physical retail can deliver. As Neiman Marcus CEO Geoffroy van Raemdonck told Forbes about its new store at Manhattan’s Hudson Yards, it’s not…
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…
