Merchandising

Every organization eventually faces the same question: What happens when the people who know how to do something exceptionally well leave? That question followed me through Murano, the island off Venice where glassmakers have worked the same furnaces for centuries. The craftsmanship is extraordinary, but what fascinated me wasn't just the glass. It was how…

Agentic artificial intelligence is getting better at helping shoppers picture a purchase. Generative virtual try-on can place a dress on a shopper’s photo. Conversational tools can cut a large catalog down to a handful of options. That's real progress. What these experiences often leave unresolved is the question that decides whether an apparel purchase feels…

Fanatics has partnered with OpenAI to introduce an artificial intelligence-powered shopping feature designed to make it easier for sports fans to discover and purchase merchandise across its online stores. The new “Shop the Look” tool, developed using OpenAI’s Codex, recommends coordinated outfits and accessories based on shoppers’ favorite teams, product preferences and available inventory. The…

Merchandise has always been one of the most direct links between artists, sports teams and fans. A tour shirt, a limited-edition jersey drop, a collectible tied to a release — these objects hold the residue of a moment and give it physical form. For artists, merch has been one of the few consistent ways to…

In episode 519 of Total Retail Talks, Editor-in-Chief Joe Keenan interviews Jillian Cueff, chief merchandising officer at Claire's, a global specialty retailer known for tween and teen fashion accessories, costume jewelry, and iconic ear-piercing services. Listen in as Cueff shares how she's implemented her own vision for the brand's merchandising organization (1:25) and how Claire's…

Best Buy is launching a new gaming experience for customers as it leans into the fast-growing business, reports CNBC. The new experience features gaming content, new technology and special offers, among other features. The online destination is called Best Buy Gamers and is launching in a beta version. The announcement comes ahead of some of…

Most retailers treat a return as something that starts when the package comes back. By then, the sale is booked, the item has shipped, and the only question is how quickly to process the refund. That's too late. By the time an order ships, most of the information that can indicate whether it's likely to…

Imagine a shopper standing in a physical retail aisle. In the span of two minutes, they flip open a mobile app to check a digital product page, then hop over to an artificial intelligence assistant to verify a specific compatibility question. The shopper isn’t marveling at your corporate "omnichannel architecture." They're just trying to buy…

Retailers have spent the better part of the decade making their supply chains smarter. Warehouses run on predictive analytics. Trucks are tracked in real time. Demand forecasting has never been so precise. And yet, for all that progress, the final 10 feet of the journey — the walk from the back room to the shelf…

Global e-commerce returns reached nearly $850 billion in 2025, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF), and the number keeps climbing. The industry's response is a familiar one: stricter return policies, return fees, warehouse process optimization. However, these measures treat symptoms. The real cause lies elsewhere, and earlier. It forms in the consumer's mind long…