Macy's posted its strongest fiscal first-quarter comparable sales performance in four years on Wednesday, as the legacy department store’s turnaround continues to show progress. Led by the 200 so-called reimagined stores Macy’s has upgraded, comparable sales grew 3 percent overall during the quarter and 1.6 percent at its namesake banner. At Bloomingdale’s, comparable sales grew…

Most retailers still think of RFID as a counting tool. The ones gaining ground have figured out it's something else entirely. I've spent the better part of two decades working in retail technology — including in IT at lululemon, at Avery Dennison, and as a vice president of supply chain at PVH — and the…

While overall customer satisfaction scores in the retail sector are improving steadily year-over-year, recent data reveals that only 23 percent of customers feel fully satisfied with post-purchase support services. There are a variety of reasons why customers would need post-purchase support — e.g., returning an item, confirming a payment went through, tracking their shipment, etc.…

More shoppers are starting their buying journey by asking an artificial intelligence assistant instead of typing into a search bar. They ask ChatGPT which running shoe suits flat feet, or have Gemini compare two coffee makers. The AI answers in a few sentences, names a handful of products, and the shopper moves on, often without…

There's a belief embedded in retail marketing culture that organic traffic is essentially free. It shows up in merchant budget presentations, agency pitches, and omnichannel strategy decks. The logic seems airtight: search engine optimization (SEO), social media, product review communities, and content marketing cost nothing to place, ergo they cost nothing to run. But “no…