COVID-19 Resources: Leadership, Data, Employment Info., and Fun Stuff
May 3, 2020 at 7:36 pm

Welcome to this week's Retail Resources blog post, a curated list of the best content and resources I've seen over the past week that I hope will help you navigate through the coronavirus pandemic. This week I offer information about leadership, interesting data, employment information, and fun stuff that will hopefully help improve your spirits!…

Black Friday is Dead … And Other 2018 Retail Predictions
January 24, 2018 at 10:19 am

Each day, the world seems bigger, more diverse and moves much faster. Predicting the future — always a dubious proposition — seems like a fool’s errand in this climate, given the dizzying pace of disruption. But as Peter Drucker once said, “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” For retailers, that…

A Few Thoughts From Costco’s Jim Sinegal
November 1, 2017 at 2:31 pm

It’s not often that you get to hear from retail legends like Jim Sinegal, co-founder and director of Costco Wholesale Corp. That’s why I was so excited to attend his talk at SAP’s Retail Executive Forum, which was held in New York City earlier this month. And he didn't disappoint. Sinegal served as the CEO…

Takeaways From the NRF Big Show
January 20, 2016 at 1:50 pm

I’ve just returned from the National Retail Federation’s Big Show in New York City, and I thought this would be a good opportunity to give those of you who didn’t make it to the show some of the major takeaways I have after spending two days wandering the vast Jacob Javits Convention Center. So without…

Top 10 Stories of the Year
December 23, 2015 at 11:20 am

With this being the last issue of Total Retail Report of 2015 (it returns on Mon., Jan. 4), we thought it would be a good time to put together a list of our most popular content of the year. This content is ranked in order based on the number of page views. Our best wishes…

Domo Arigato, Lowe’s, for Using Robots
October 29, 2014

It’s not April Fool’s Day! Just before the holidays, Lowe's really is introducing two robotic shopping assistants at one of its Orchard Supply Hardware stores in San Jose, Calif. According to a press release from the home improvement retailer, the autonomous robots — called OSHbots — were developed by Fellow Robots, a technology company that specializes in the design and development of autonomous service robots, in partnership with Lowe's own Innovation Labs.

20-Plus Things to Watch in Retail, Part 1
August 29, 2013

I came across an interesting report last week from marketing communications firm JWT called Retail Rebooted. The report focuses on key trends taking place within the retail industry today. I was most interested in the report’s "20-Plus Things to Watch in Retail" section, which offers a relatively quick rundown of developments in retail, from innovative business models to shifting consumer behaviors to the latest technology launches. In today’s blog post (part one of a two-part series), I’ll recap 10 of these 20-plus things, such as 3-D printing, alternative brand currencies, and click-and-collect shopping.

We Cut Cable: What This Means to Retailers
August 19, 2013

Our cable bill doubled. Apparently we had an introductory rate — which lasted more than five years. We had nearly 500 channels, and nothing ever seemed to be on, so we cut cable. Cold turkey. Even returned the cable company's DVR full of unwatched episodes of nothing in particular.

A Chat With Beth Guastella, giggle’s New President and COO, Part 1
July 30, 2013

I had the opportunity to chat recently with Beth Guastella, the recently named president and chief operating officer of giggle, an omnichannel specialty retailer of upscale baby products and resources. In part one of this two-part blog post, we discuss what attracted Guastella to giggle; what specialty retail is; and how giggle’s catalog business works.