In episode 460, Editor-in-Chief Joe Keenan interviews Kristen Elmer, senior director of e-commerce and lifecycle marketing at Bark, the world’s most dog-centric company offering the best products, services and content for dogs and dog parents, including its BarkBox monthly subscription. Listen in as Elmer provides an overview of the Bark business (0:50), her role (3:10),…
Joe Keenan
NAPCO Research recently produced a pair of comprehensive reports on the state of the digital gift card industries in the U.S. and Australian markets. These studies, produced in conjunction with Blackhawk Network, evaluate the purchaser and recipient experience for both digital and physical cards of a brand's own gift card, based upon 100-plus unique criteria.…
In episode 460, Editor-in-Chief Joe Keenan interviews Kristen Elmer, senior director of e-commerce and lifecycle marketing at Bark, the world’s most dog-centric company offering the best products, services and content for dogs and dog parents, including its BarkBox monthly subscription. Listen in as Elmer provides an overview of the Bark business (0:50), her role (3:10), […]
Walmart is seeking to acquire more members for its premium loyalty program, Walmart+, with a 50 percent off deal for a year. The half-off deal lasts through July 18. The timing of the offer strategically leads up to Amazon.com's Prime Day event, which is scheduled for July 16 and 17. Walmart+ subscribers gain early access to major…
The parent of Saks Fifth Avenue sealed a $2.65 billion deal to buy rival Neiman Marcus, according to people familiar with the matter, creating a powerhouse in luxury retailing that seeks to hang onto wealthy shoppers — all with a little help from Amazon.com. Amazon and Salesforce will take minority stakes in the combined company, to…
In episode 459 of Total Retail Talks, Editor-in-Chief Joe Keenan interviews Brett Herskowitz, senior manager of loyalty at The Vitamin Shoppe, the global, omnichannel specialty retailer and wellness lifestyle company. Listen in as Herskowitz provides an overview of The Vitamin Shoppe's revamped loyalty program, Healthy Awards (1:20), the factors that influenced the new program setup…
Walgreens plans to close a large share of its U.S. stores over the next three years, CEO Tim Wentworth said on a conference call with industry analysts on Thursday. Wentworth described a quarter of the company's 8,500 stores as "underperforming," saying the pharmacy chain would close a "significant portion" of those locations. The exact number…
Under Armour on Friday said it has agreed to pay $434 million to settle a 2017 class action lawsuit accusing the sports apparel maker of defrauding shareholders about its revenue growth in order to meet Wall Street forecasts. The proposed settlement, subject to court approval, averts a scheduled July 15 trial in Baltimore federal court.…
In episode 458 of Total Retail Talks, Editor-in-Chief Joe Keenan interviews Gerardo Soto, vice president of brand marketing and sports partnerships at Lowe's, a FORTUNE® 50 home improvement company serving approximately 16 million customer transactions a week in the United States. Listen in as Soto details the retailer's partnership with global soccer star Lionel Messi,…
Apple has shut down its buy now, pay later (BNPL) service known as Apple Pay Later, less than a year after launching it. The service was discontinued in the U.S. as of Monday, ahead of Apple's launch of new Apple Pay features set to hit iPhones this fall. The changes will let Apple Pay users…
In episode 457 of Total Retail Talks, Editor-in-Chief Joe Keenan interviews Margot Grinberg, president of Movado, an iconic Swiss watch brand recognized for design innovation and excellence, and senior vice president of e-commerce for Movado Group, one of the world's premier watchmakers. Listen in as Grinberg provides an overview of the Movado brand and her…
Paper shelf price labels are going away at thousands of Walmart stores. The company announced late last week an expanded rollout of digital shelf labels that will allow it to update prices on over 120,000 items within minutes. Weekly updates to paper shelf labels typically took a store worker about two days. With digital labels,…
In episode 456 of Total Retail Talks, Editor-in-Chief Joe Keenan interviews Alok Jain, senior director of CRM, loyalty and marketing analytics at West Marine, the nation's leading omnichannel provider in the marine aftermarket. Listen in as Jain discusses his career background in the loyalty space (1:00), an underutilized aspect of CRM (customer relationship management) data…
Investment firm Consortium Brand Partners announced on Monday that it acquired athleisure brand Outdoor Voices on May 15 for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition comes three months after Sourcing Journal reported that the 10-year-old activewear startup was planning to file for bankruptcy. Once a hit among millennials for its colorful athleisure in its signature geometric patterns,…
In episode 454 of Total Retail Talks, Editor-in-Chief Joe Keenan interviews Allison Ferguson, head of customer loyalty at Honda, a manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and battery-powered equipment. Listen in as Ferguson discusses her role at Honda (0:50), what she enjoys about working in loyalty at the company (1:35), how Honda is engaging with its customers…
