Digital Innovation

Since founding Bluemercury 18 years ago with his wife, Marla, Total Retail’s 2017 Retailer of the Year Barry Beck’s leadership has helped the brand become one of the fastest-growing retailers. Under his leadership, Bluemercury has grown to nearly 200 stores (it grew its store count by more than 50 percent in 2016), has operations in more than 30 states, and employs nearly 2,000 people. (Bluemercury was acquired by Macy’s in 2015 for a reported $210 million.) Learn more about Barry Beck in this wide-ranging interview.

Beauty retailer Sephora has promoted Mary Beth Laughton to executive vice president of U.S. omni retail. Previously, Laughton was senior vice president of digital. “Mary Beth is a visionary and strategist with a deep understanding of how customers are evolving,” said Calvin McDonald, chief executive officer and president of Sephora Americas. “During her time at…

Despite the traditional retail industry being beset by online competitors and margin pressure, here’s a bit of good news from a recent Capgemini report: More than 80 percent of consumers are willing to pay more for a better experience. However, that same study found that while 75 percent of organizations believe themselves to be customer…

The holiday shopping season presents a prime opportunity for retailers to acquire new customers.

Millennials, Generation Y, Echo Boomers, the Demand Generation — call them what you want, but this key group of over 75 million U.S. consumers is undoubtedly changing today’s shopping scene. Brands have been forced to evolve their omnichannel strategies as well as tailor their offerings and merchandising to millennials, since this demographic now has over $200 million in annual…

Debates flare and facts fly when talking about brick-and-mortar retail. Some experts say it's reached its end. Within the past year alone, 18 retailers have declared bankruptcy. National brands from Ralph Lauren and BCBG Max Azria to Payless and Sears have closed thousands of stores across the United States. Others, however, say brick-and-mortar sales are…

When retailers have problems with store ad management, communication and displays, digital signage is the answer. Digital signage is a rapidly growing tool used among retailers large and small. This e-book will allow retailers to discover how digital signage draws in customers, represents your brand, and displays memorable ads that drive sales.

It wasn’t long ago that every organization — regardless of industry — was working in earnest on an app. This new tool, they reasoned, would be an easy way to stay top-of-mind with consumers and an essential way to grow digital sales. The promise of the app turned out to be something of a myth,…

Retailers that want to get the inside scoop this back-to-school (BTS) season can hit the books to get extra credit with shoppers. Our survey of 1,200 parents of K-12 children shows that while total spending remains flat, there are big shifts in consumer trends. Consumers are expected to spend more than double when shopping in-store,…

Retailers are investing in technology and resources to improve customers’ experiences as their online shopping expectations increase. This is particularly true in the age of Amazon.com, which has made personalization, one-click purchasing and same-day delivery commonplace. Over the summer we've been reviewing Total Retail and IBM's recent report, The Amazon Effect: How Retailers Are Adapting Their Businesses…