To survive in today's economic climate, retailers must stay on the cutting edge of technology, business strategy, and more. This section is all about business strategy, with content focused on topics such as retail technology trends, retail and e-commerce marketing strategies, merchandising, omnichannel best practices, and more!
We’re increasingly relying on artificial intelligence (AI) in our daily lives. There’s potential for vast improvements in the ways we live and work, but there are some important caveats that are crucial to understand, particularly if you’re charged with bringing these tools into your organization: Machine learning makes AI so powerful. AI is only as...
As we near the end of what has been a volatile year for the retail industry, we thought it would be a good opportunity to review the top trends that have impacted retailers in 2022. While this list isn’t exhaustive (there’s simply too much to cover in a single article), it does provide valuable insights...
As the 2022 holiday season concludes, we’re seeing interesting trends across the retail sector. Despite multiple macroeconomic factors and CPI inflation, the retail sector looks strong, with consumers shopping for the holidays. Reuters recently stated that retail sales increased by 1.3 percent in October. Similarly, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that total sales for August...
How many Zoom calls have you participated in this past week? I’m gonna venture to say it’s been a LOT. I was asked the following question on a call: “What worked for you during quarantine that you kept in place when things got back to normal?” My reply: “I like how we seem to be...
I get asked a lot, “What do you wish you would have known a few years ago that you know now?” OMG. Soooooo many things. When I started my business, the pandemic hit literally two months later. Awesome timing, right? We were living in a new city. I had no friends. I had no network...
There are several holiday shopping trends influencing retailers’ this season. While shoppers are concerned about inflation, they remain upbeat about holiday giving. Instead of waiting until the last minute, however, many are shopping early and budgeting for their big holiday spends. Through Synchrony’s Monthly Consumer Tracker (August), we set out to learn more about what...
In the past few years, both brands and retailers have worked toward diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) goals by reallocating budget to support diverse-owned businesses on both the media publisher side and the media buyer side. Retail Media Has a Stake in the Game as Media Owners Retail media is the fastest-growing segment of digital...
If you thought the retail industry couldn’t beat the heat, think again. With sales and foot traffic up in many sectors, retail was surprisingly hot this summer. Thanks to key summer gifting holidays (Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, graduation season, etc.), party supplies, apparel, and health and beauty are just some product categories that experienced substantial visitation gains between...
Asha Saxena, CEO and founder of Women Leaders in Data and AI (WLDA), is passionate about the integration of artificial intelligence into business, and making the sector more diverse and inclusive of women. At the recent Total Retail Tech event in Nashville, hosted by our sister brand, Total Retail, Saxena delivered a keynote presentation titled, The...
Consumers expect more from the brands they choose to interact with, and retailers’ mobile apps aren’t immune from this sentiment. Smartphones serve as the intermediary between brands and consumers, forming the connective tissue in complex customer journeys. As the amount of time people spend on mobile platforms continues to surge — especially as they steadily...
