Today on Total Retail

A recent survey on the effectiveness of marketing via social media influencers has officially burst a long-suspicioned bubble: The facts are in, and nearly 90 percent of consumers are no longer willing to buy what influencers are paid to sell. Such unnerving data indicate a particularly dramatic shift in the marketing landscape for fashion retailers,…

Delivering a seamless customer experience across multiple channels requires an e-commerce solution with omnichannel capabilities to ensure a consistent brand experience across all channels. Whether customers are interacting with your business through a website, mobile app, social media or physical store, this consistency builds trust, strengthens brand loyalty, and reinforces the brand image. In addition…

In episode 417 of Total Retail Talks, Editor-in-Chief Joe Keenan interviews Thomas Kirk, global loyalty strategy director, and Claudio Corti, global membership strategy senior manager at Adidas, the second largest sportswear manufacturer in the world. Listen in as Kirk and Corti discuss how Adidas collects customer feedback around its adiClub loyalty program (1:35) and how adapting…

There has been much talk of late around artificial intelligence and its growing applications across many use cases in business. In the retail sector, AI is being leveraged in a variety of ways, from demand forecasting to automated inventory management to pricing decisions to optimizing product placement. Another way, perhaps not often considered, is the…

TikTok has officially brought e-commerce to the U.S. with the launch of its TikTok Shop. The social media company, which is in direct competition with Meta's social media channels Instagram and Facebook, announced the U.S. debut of TikTok Shop on Tuesday. The app now features shoppable videos and livestreams directly to For You feeds across…

Holiday shoppers this year will be price-conscious, budget-minded, and mostly online. They’ll prioritize customer service, fast delivery at reasonable rates, and accommodating return policies. And they’ll start early, with many planning to begin in September, diminishing the impact of Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. Those are just some of the findings from a July…

In today’s highly competitive retail market, customer loyalty is often a pivotal driver of business success. So much so that studies have shown that increasing customer retention rates by just 5 percent can boost profits up to 95 percent. However, gone are the days of one-size-fits-all loyalty programs that offer the same rewards and incentives…

For small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), assimilating artificial intelligence (AI) into their everyday operations seems overwhelming, which creates hesitancy to its widespread adoption. A combined study by Deloitte and Stanford University discovered that 25 percent of smaller businesses currently use AI in chatbots, predictive analytics, and marketing automation. In comparison, there's a 40 percent adoption…

In episode 418 of Total Retail Talks, Editor-in-Chief Joe Keenan interviews Lyndsie Adams, former vice president of CRM and loyalty marketing, and James Nelson, director of marketing analytics at Life Time, a chain of athletic clubs in the United States and Canada. Listen in as Adams and Nelson discuss what omnichannel personalization looks like at…

Grocery chains Kroger and Albertsons plan to sell more than 400 stores to C&S Wholesale Grocers for nearly $2 billion, Reuters reported Wednesday. The sale is part of a proposed $24.5 billion merger between the two companies, which are trying to secure U.S. regulatory clearance. Reuters reported the deal would give C&S, a privately held…