6 Steps Grocers Can Take to Empower Their Frontline Workers With Technology
April 8, 2021 at 5:00 pm

E-commerce in the grocery industry was already climbing in the past few years, with 23 percent of U.S. households shopping for groceries online in 2017. Today, however, a growing number of households have picked up the online grocery habit throughout COVID-19, with 43 percent saying they’re likely to continue with this even after the pandemic…

What Nike's Exit From More Wholesale Partnerships Could Mean for Traditional Retailers
April 1, 2021 at 7:57 pm

In this episode of Retail Right Now, Total Retail's Ashley Chiaradio and Kristina Stidham discuss Nike’s announcement that it’s ending wholesale partnerships with six more key retailers, including DSW, Urban Outfitters, and Macy's. This is the second time in the past year that the athletic brand has cut ties with multiple wholesale partners. However, Nike isn’t…

Why In-Store Experiences Are the Key to Thriving in 2021
March 17, 2021 at 12:14 pm

Most retailers haven’t used words like “thrive” very often in the past year, at least not with respect to their business. For the first time in recent memory, consumers were barred from most forms of in-person shopping by stay-at-home orders, while many stayed away from stores by choice. Concerns about health have defined every aspect…

What Shoppers Expect From Brick-and-Mortar Retailers
March 16, 2021 at 6:14 pm

Shoppers should expect retailers to help them turn the page on a turbulent 2020 by offering price value built into memorable experiences in 2021. The combination of (hopefully) loosened regulations, a COVID-19 vaccine, and consumer desire to re-establish their pre-2020 shopping routines should permit retailers to attract and retain more consumers in 2021 than they…

Industry Analyst Oliver Chen Identifies the Retailers That Have Best Adapted to Shifting Consumer Behaviors
March 11, 2021 at 8:18 pm

During the January Women in Retail and Total Retail Virtual Exchange event, Oliver Chen, managing director, retail and luxury sector head at Cowen and Company, shares his insights and analysis on multiple industry-related topics in an interview with Jennifer DiPasquale, president of Total Retail. In this video clip from the session, Chen identifies the retailers and…

Industry Veteran Brian Lange Shares His Vision for the Future of Retail
March 10, 2021 at 7:29 pm

In this bonus episode of Total Retail Talks, Editor-in-Chief Joe Keenan interviews Brian Lange, co-founder of Future Commerce, a retail media research startup focused on helping e-commerce businesses create strategic vision. Listen in as Lange discusses his career background, the inspiration behind starting Future Commerce, and what he finds compelling about working in the retail…

Modernizing Internal Processes for the New Normal in Retail
March 10, 2021 at 1:14 pm

The retail industry is among those most impacted by the societal changes the pandemic has created. Retailers have been catapulted into an era that's heavily reliant upon online shopping and curbside pickup. Under the current circumstances, up to 64 percent of consumers have reported that they don’t feel comfortable engaging in routine activities outside of…

Charming Charlie to Open 14 New Locations This Spring
March 8, 2021 at 4:41 pm

Women's apparel and fashion accessories retailer Charming Charlie announced last week that it plans to open 14 new locations between March and April, with a focus on Texas, California, New York, and the Midwest. The stores will include Charming Charlie's usual color-grouping merchandise model and offer product categories including apparel, handbags, fashion jewelry, gifts, beauty, shoes, scarves, tech, travel, and…

Disney to Close Up to 60 Stores, Shift Focus to E-Commerce
March 4, 2021 at 4:35 pm

Disney said earlier this week that it will close 20 percent of its brick-and-mortar store locations before the end of the year as part of a bigger focus on its e-commerce business. At least 60 of its North American locations will close, the company said, citing changing consumer behaviors and a desire to link its online…

CEO Jared Margolis Shares Payless' Brick-and-Mortar Strategy for Relaunch
March 3, 2021 at 6:00 pm

Payless, like many traditional brick-and-mortar retailers, has endured its challenges in recent years. In early 2019, the footwear retailer filed for bankruptcy and began closing all of its U.S. stores. Jared Margolis, CEO of Payless, is leading the company through its relaunch in the North American market, which began this past summer. In this video clip from…