Technology

COVID-19 has flipped the retail sector upside down. Grocery stores and pharmacies are more critical than ever, but many other “nonessential” retailers are in a trickier position. They either have to lean into e-commerce or dramatically alter their brick-and-mortar stores to support social distancing and contactless shopping through curbside pickup; buy online, pick up in-store…

RC Willey Home Furnishings is a Furniture Today Top 100 retailer owned by Berkshire Hathaway and based in Salt Lake City. Offering exceptional selection, value, and service for over 80 years, it currently operates 13 stores and three distribution centers in Utah, Nevada, Idaho, and California. Unlike many home furnishings retailers, RC Willey sells appliances,…

The retail industry has been rocked by the worldwide market disruption created by COVID-19. Despite the unprecedented challenges retailers are facing, consumers are still heavily shopping. In fact, Cyber Monday 2020 saw the highest spending for the holiday to date. According to Adobe Analytics, Cyber Monday wrapped up 2020 with $10.8 billion in sales, representing…

The challenges retailers are facing in 2021 aren't simply regional anomalies. From the economic instability and demand volatility caused by the COVID-19 pandemic to sustainability concerns from rising levels of waste, these obstacles exist on a global scale and will only continue to evolve in the years to come. Finding the right answers requires an…

COVID-19 has shone a light on a common issue many retailers face: disjointed communications, particularly from company headquarters to brick-and-mortar store teams. With the safety of employees and customers depending on stores receiving timely information (e.g., safety policies and protocols) and taking immediate action, communication has become even more critical. Just before the COVID-19 pandemic…

COVID-19 forced great change on the retail industry, but this period only marks the beginning of how consumer habits are changing and the way retailers ultimately reach shoppers as well. For example, PwC found that 45 percent of consumers say they’re using their mobile phone more as a shopping channel since the COVID-19 outbreak. Furthermore,…

Online retail had already been experiencing massive growth before the arrival of COVID-19 — and then the pandemic hit. According to recently published data from IBM’s U.S. Retail Index, the abrupt shift to quarantine and social distancing measures accelerated the rise of e-commerce by about five years. Unsurprisingly, the same trends behind the surge in…

If you asked your favorite clothing brand if it knew the body measurements of its customers, the answer would likely be no. In fact, not many apparel brands or retailers do, and this lack of insight results in poor-fitting clothes, increased returns, and far too much wasted product. Amidst a global pandemic that has wreaked…

We’re thrilled to feature a Q&A with Eileen Mahoney, the executive vice president and chief information officer of PVH, the parent company of leading fashion brands such as Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Van Heusen, and others, in the Inner Circle this week. Mahoney discusses how she helped PVH pivot during the  COVID-19 pandemic, the retail tech trends she’s watching closely, how she feels about being a woman in a male-dominated field, and how she’s working to get more women into retail technology leadership.

While pandemic-driven disruption across the retail industry has brought new opportunities, it also exposed significant gaps in capabilities to balance demand and availability, while ensuring safe and contactless shopping experiences. Several retailers struggled with the surge in online purchases, inventory shortages due to skewed demand patterns, and workforce imbalance to fulfill customer orders. While the…