|
|
Make sure you receive this newsletter by adding editor@content.mytotalretail.com to your Safe Sender, White List or Address Book.
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
The Bright Side of Retail
It's no secret that the retail industry is beset with a number of challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic, not the least of which are brick-and-mortar store closures. It's our responsibility at Total Retail to provide our audience with the latest news and analysis on the industry, even when that seems to be one bad story after the next. Truth be told, it can begin to become discouraging, leaving retailers asking themselves, "Is there a light at the end of the tunnel?"
This issue of Total Retail Report, and every Tuesday issue going forward for the foreseeable future, will answer that question with an emphatic "Yes!" While challenges are all still very much a part of the retail industry's everyday reality, so too are wonderful and uplifting stories of retailers and brands banding together to give back to those most in need in this time of crisis. From monetary donations for COVID-19 relief to manufacturing product and equipment for our front-line healthcare workers, and in so many other ways, retailers are doing their part to help make a positive difference in the lives of so many.
As such, we wanted to use this space to put a smile on our subscribers' faces by highlighting the positive stories emerging from the retail industry during this otherwise difficult time. The Bright Side of Retail is meant to reinforce the positive that's happening within our community, and perhaps inspire others to follow suit. Kudos to the retailers that are included in today's news roundup, and we look forward to highlighting more in this space going forward. Lastly, we want to hear from you with positive stories that we can share with our audience. You can reach me at jkeenan@napco.com.
Stay safe, be well, and we will get through this together.
Sincerely,
Joe Keenan
Editor-in-Chief
Total Retail
|
by Alex Sherman With more than 85 percent of global consumers having used an artificial intelligence-powered service in the last month, the first true AI-driven holiday shopping season has been completed. According to Adobe Analytics, online spending in the U.S. during Cyber Week reached $44.2 billion, up 7.7 percent year-over-year, driven in part by an 670 percent increase…
|
|
|
by Viki Zabala It happens all the time: brands pour time, money and resources into launching a new product, only to watch it flop once it hits the shelves. Timing or shelf placement are easy to blame, but launches often fail because brands skip the most important step: engaging with consumers before going to market. Gut instinct, historical…
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
by Vrinda Khurjekar Retailers today are battling a relentless gauntlet of unpredictability: geopolitical instability, supply chain shocks, and persistent inflation. For leaders, the mission is singular: to protect the bottom line in a market where external costs, particularly tariffs, can erode margins overnight. Traditional pricing models, reliant on static data and historical markups, simply cannot keep pace with…
|
|
Sponsored by Blackhawk Network
NAPCO Research and Blackhawk Network’s (BHN) latest benchmark studies analyze more than 100 digital gift card programs and 50 gift card malls, offering a clear view of what leading programs are doing to make gift cards easy to find, purchase and send. Why is this data important? The U.S. and Canadian gift card markets are projected to reach $311.7 billion by 2029, and gift cards were the top requested holiday gift for the 19th year in a row. If you want to strengthen your own gift card strategy, download the 2025 infographic.
|
|
Sponsored by iAdvize
E-commerce is entering a new era. As consumers shift from search bars and filters to AI-powered conversations, retailers are reimagining their digital storefronts to deliver faster, more intuitive, and more personalized shopping experiences. This new report from Total Retail and iAdvize explores how agentic commerce, where AI agents guide product discovery and purchase decisions, is redefining the online customer journey.
Download the report to learn how leading retailers are transforming traditional websites into high-performing AI storefronts built for the future of commerce.
|
|
|
by Katerina Jones Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to dominate conversations in business, finance, and technology. At the same time, organizations with transportation fleets face an economy now defined by prolonged volatility — rising equipment costs, exploding prices from trade wars, extended life cycles, labor shortages, inflationary pressures, and supply chain disruptions. In retail, this volatility now spans brick-and-mortar…
|
|
|
by Patrick Viau For retailers and publishers alike, the holiday season often exposes what’s working and what’s not in digital advertising operations, often setting the stage for the year ahead. Campaign volume spikes, timelines shrink, and the pressure intensifies. But the real story isn’t the holidays themselves; it’s about what these peak periods reveal about the industry’s operational…
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
