Digital Innovation

Voice recognition technology has come a long way since IBM introduced the Shoebox in 1961, which had a vocabulary of just over a dozen words. Today’s voice-enabled devices perform so many different tasks they’ve earned the nickname, “virtual assistants.” Some even have their own personalities. However, virtual assistants, like Alexa and Cortana, aren't just streaming music and delivering…

As noted in last week's article announcing the release of the latest installment of the Top 100 Fastest-Growing Retailers, Chewy was at the top of the rankings, posting a 37.19 percent increase in year-over-year (YoY) sales for its 2019 fiscal year. For the annual report, Total Retail conducted a YoY comparison of 2019 fiscal year net…

As we all have been sheltering in place in the midst of the global pandemic, e-commerce has been on the rise as many companies have had to close retail operations or simply shut down. Over the last six months, growth rates of e-commerce purchases have skyrocketed, accelerating a trend that began years prior to the…

For its latest research report, Top 100 Fastest-Growing Retailers, Total Retail conducted a year-over-year comparison of 2019 fiscal year net sales vs. 2018 fiscal year net sales for 160-plus publicly traded retailers, ranking the top 100. At the top of those rankings is Chewy.com, which is one of the newest companies added to the list,…

COVID-19 has left an indelible mark on many sectors. Consumers are continuing to shift priorities and spending habits as they adjust to new realities. Across the country, children are back to school in many different forms. Back-to-school marks the second busiest season of the year for retailers; an event that's only superseded by the holidays.…

In episode 265 of Total Retail Talks, Editor-in-Chief Joe Keenan interviews James Pope, director of marketing and sales operations at FLOR, a customizable flooring company. Listen in as Pope describes what makes FLOR unique in the marketplace, how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the company, and the significant growth it has seen in its direct-to-consumer (D-to-C)…

The world has changed drastically in the last few months thanks to COVID-19, and the retail industry is no exception. In the B-to-B world, traditional modes of face-to-face selling have become impossible, and now it’s likely that much of what has changed for B-to-B sellers will never be quite the same. For many businesses around…

As 2020 unfolds and economies across the country reopen, two new constituencies will meet each other: the post-COVID brand and the post-COVID consumer. Coronavirus has changed what we buy and how we buy it, and for as much as a third of consumers that disruption will last for the foreseeable future. IAB analysis reveals a…

COVID-19 has taken a significant and tragic toll on communities around the world, impacting seemingly every part of how societies have traditionally interacted and engaged with one another. Retail is no exception; the industry was already in a significant period of digital evolution — though not without growing pains. Online retail sales were up about…

As the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we all shop, work and interact, the digital customer experience has solidified its place as the most important aspect of retail businesses. These past months, IT teams have been feeling more pressure than ever before to make each customer's digital interaction perfect. According to the recent Agents…