Product returns are a necessary evil for retailers; shoppers won’t buy without them, but shipping and return-to-stock costs have a major impact on revenue. Experts estimate the average return costs a retailer between 15 percent to 30 percent of the original purchase price, and cumulatively, returns cost retailers $550 billion every year. In our new…
The biggest shopping months for retail are upon us. Many retailers think way ahead of time, many months in advance. It’s a good practice. But what if you re-evaluate your pricing strategy now, is it too late? The short answer is no. It’s not too late; there's still time. In fact, it’s likely most retailers…
In this episode of Retail Right Now, Total Retail's Joe Keenan and Kristina Stidham discuss an article recently published by Total Retail titled, “4 ‘Symptoms’ That Point to a Headless Commerce ‘Cure’,” authored by Cory Cummings, co-founder and CEO of Pack Digital. In an e-commerce world obsessed with customer experience, headless commerce is the new…
The QR code has become a ubiquitous part of the consumer experience amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, as businesses seek ways to limit physical contact. Consumer confidence in the QR code is also high. Eighty-seven percent of respondents in a 2020 Ivanti Report felt secure using a QR code to complete a financial transaction. However, in…
Search engine optimization (SEO) has transformed the marketing world. More and more companies are allocating their marketing budget toward SEO practices (10 percent to 25 percent, according to a study conducted by MarketingSherpa, Magento and eBay). They’re spending even more on brand awareness, brand building and pay per click (PPC). After all, an optimized website for…
2020 was the first year where online sales surpassed in-person sales for small to midsize businesses (SMBs). Despite that, the trend isn't set to continue, and 2021 and 2022 projections show online sales will flatten out to slightly equal in-person sales. As far as face-to-face vs. online sales, the kind of industry where a small business works matters when it comes to how their customers like…
In this episode of Total Retail Tech Insights, Editor-in-Chief Joe Keenan interviews John Lunn, founder and CEO of Gr4vy, the only payment orchestration platform built natively in the cloud giving retailers scale and control of their payment stack from anywhere. Lunn discusses his professional background in payments and fintech, his inspiration to start Gr4vy, and…
When the pandemic hit, many brands were forced to limit store hours or close locations, often furloughing employees or eliminating jobs altogether. Now, as shoppers return and safety restrictions complicate the in-store experience, retailers are looking to hire once again — but this hasn’t been an easy task. According to CNBC, the number of available jobs…
With holiday shopping beginning earlier each year, now is the time for brands to identify and understand their customers’ behavior online to stay competitive during the busiest time for retailers. A new study indicated that six out of 10 consumers will mainly shop online this holiday season, and more than half plan to start before…
The past two years have brought with them many retail changes. One glance at an empty store shelf reveals how inventory and supply chain hiccups have become an ongoing issue since the start of the pandemic. Retailers all over the U.S. now manage shopper expectations with phrases such as “Now’s the time to be thinking…
