Few forcing functions have magnified the friction between a clean customer experience (CX) and verifying identity like the global pandemic. Just since March, the numbers of new entrants into the digital economy has skyrocketed. This isn't because of some epiphany that digital is the future, but rather because they have very few other choices. Worried…
In episode 270 of Total Retail Talks, Editor-in-Chief Joe Keenan interviews Jeanne Anderson, senior vice president and general manager of Saatchi Art, the world’s leading online art marketplace, connecting people with art and artists they love. Listen in as Anderson discusses the company's history and mission, how Saatchi Art has evolved during the COVID-19 pandemic,…
There’s no question that the upcoming holiday shopping season, and Black Friday in particular, promises to be the strongest on record. With major retailers such as Walmart planning to remain closed on Thanksgiving — the modern start of the holiday shopping season — both brick-and-mortar and online retailers alike are gearing up to maximize their…
Things in the e-commerce industry are changing rapidly. As it stands, Amazon.com and Walmart are busy duking it out for digital retail supremacy. At the same time, more merchants are getting in on the game than ever before, with e-commerce on pace to account for nearly a quarter of all retail sales by 2023. At…
In this episode of Retail Right Now, Total Retail's Joe Keenan and Kristina Stidham discuss last week’s Amazon Prime Day event, and what it could potentially mean for this year’s holiday shopping season. Some of the key highlights to come out of Prime Day include a sales increase of 36 percent compared to Prime Day…
Although the future is unpredictable, some aspects of the post-COVID-19 retail shopping environment are coming into focus. Consumers will continue to buy products online, but there will remain occasions when a customer will want to return to the store. They won’t return, however, unless the shopping is contactless, experience-full and, most importantly, consumers genuinely feel…
As COVID-19 rapidly spread across the globe, consumers flocked to online retailers. Many of these homebound shoppers purchased everyday items online for the first time. In fact, data shows that more than a third of shoppers made their first online grocery purchase this past March. Although some retailers were ready for the influx of online…
A cybersecurity attack on Barnes & Noble exposed customers' personal information, including transaction history and email addresses. The bookseller sent an email notifying customers of the data breach, which it was aware of since Oct. 10. Barnes & Noble clarified customers' financial information, such as payment card information, was not among the exposed data. Total Retail's Take: In response to…
As the holidays quickly approach, many early-bird consumers have already begun rounding up items on their holiday lists, eager to beat the holiday rush. But as any retailer knows, there will inevitably be plenty of shoppers who need a little — or perhaps a lot — of help making that final dash to get their holiday shopping wrapped…
The Supreme Court’s 2018 historic ruling in South Dakota v. Wayfair opened the doors for states to collect tax revenue on internet sales coming into the state, even if a retailer wasn’t physically located within the state’s borders. While this was an opportunity for states to get revenue that was previously out of reach, no…
