Store Associates

COVID-19 has proven to be both a unique challenge and an unprecedented opportunity for furniture retailers. Prior to the pandemic, consumers were already starting to feel more comfortable purchasing furniture online. In fact, spending in the category saw an increase of nearly 20 percent annually. This shift has accelerated even more rapidly in recent months as…

We’ll address how, through proper communication and training, Sephora was able to set its employees up for success while reopening.

The retail landscape looks completely different today compared to the beginning of 2020. COVID-19 has caused stores to shut down and employees to be furloughed. Retailers were already challenged before the pandemic began, and now many consumers are wary of returning to stores. Furthermore, social distancing regulations limit the number of people allowed in a…

It’s no secret that COVID-19 has caused retailers to rethink and shift their now tighter marketing budgets. Weary of investing in digital advertising and marketing that cannot be clearly measured, retailers are moving away from big branding initiatives that don't yield direct results in favor of performance techniques that directly translate to sales. Beyond marketing…

In December, HBR took a look at what makes the “Best Companies to Work For” different from their competitors and uncovered a few common themes. The researchers found that these companies focus on their employees’ “life satisfaction,” not just job satisfaction. They provide ample opportunities for team members to build a highly matrixed career around…

In episode 259 of Total Retail Talks, Editor-in-Chief Joe Keenan interviews Jessica Ringena, senior vice president and chief digital officer at Hy-Vee, an employee-owned grocery retailer with over 250 stores in eight states, headquartered in West Des Moines, Iowa. Listen in as Ringena discusses the challenges that the retailer has faced operating as an essential…

Microsoft said on Friday it will permanently close all of its 83 store locations and will instead focus on its e-commerce business, where customers can visit for support, sales, training and more. The decision comes after Microsoft temporarily closed stores in March due to the spread of the coronavirus. Microsoft said the thousands of workers from these stores have…

Target is raising its minimum wage to $15 an hour beginning July 5, CNBC reported. The retailer will also be giving hourly employees a one-time bonus of $200. Target temporarily raised its wages by $2 an hour in March as the COVID-19 pandemic began, so this announcement makes the raise permanent. This raise will be for hourly…

The COVID-19 crisis is proving to be a catalyst for change across all dimensions of retail. Some of this transformation was already underway for some specialty brands. They were on a path to building a more direct-to-consumer (D-to-C) business. However, what the pandemic ultimately underscores for them and others is that retail can’t go back…

We’re living in an unprecedented time — and it’s drastically affecting retail employees. After all, none of us expected to live through a global pandemic that would uproot economies around the world. Retail employees are working harder than ever, and many must also deal with reduced hours, layoffs, or furloughs. That makes it all the…