In-Store Technology

The bourgeoning partnership between Whole Foods Market and Instacart is expanding. The upscale grocery chain and the unicorn delivery startup have been working together since 2014 to create a network of store locations enabling online ordering and same-day delivery. Today, the companies officially announced plans to expand their partnership and increase the number of Whole Foods…

Technology can be an enormous benefit to retailers once consumers are in their stores. A couple of retailers that are being progressive with in-store technology are Macy’s, with its tracking beacons and smart dressing room features, and UGG Australia, with RFID tags and “magic” mirrors to show off customization. These technologies are a value add…

During the 2015 holiday season, retailers collected massive amounts of data from their customers. It can be easy to forget about this information during the hectic holidays, but as the New Year gets rolling retailers have a tremendous opportunity to score a competitive advantage in 2016. Many lessons can be gleaned from analyzing data collected…

Barneys New York is opening a flagship store in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood. The location, which will take up almost an entire city block on 7th Avenue, is a homecoming: it’s where the luxury department store, then a menswear brand, was originally founded in 1923. The return to its downtown roots comes about 20 years after the…

Walking the National Retail Federation's (NRF) BIG Show last week, attendees would have to remind themselves they were attending a show hosted by the largest and longest standing trade association for the brick-and-mortar retail industry. The buzzwords at the show were predominately from a digital lexicon, as were many of the most compelling displays and…

Total Retail Executive Editor Joe Keenan interviews Kate Kibler, vice president, direct to consumer, Timberland, on how the outdoor lifestyle brand is working to bridge the gap between online and offline shopping. The conversation took place this week at the National Retail Federation's Big Show in New York City.

Pharmacy chain Rite Aid has rolled out proximity beacons in each of its more than 4,500 stores across the U.S. The deployment marks the largest beacon installation in a retail setting to date, a bragging right once belonging to department store chain Macy's.The Rite Aid beacon program is in partnership with inMarket, a mobile shopper marketing…

Despite the surge in online advertising, most consumers still do the vast majority of their shopping in brick-and-mortar stores. According to PwC, nearly 40 percent of consumers make purchases inside a physical store every week, compared to 27 percent who do the same online. Unlike online audiences, that may or may not be shopping when…

Santa's going virtual in a new marketing push from J.C. Penney this holiday season. In an effort to drive more shoppers to the brand and its stores, the Plano, Tex.-based retailer has set up four virtual reality experiences at malls around the country. Dubbed "Twas the Flight Before Christmas," the initiative sends participants — outfitted…

Many people have a morning workout routine to ensure they're awake and focused when they reach their desk. I choose to go for a 45-minute run before grabbing a coffee and a banana and heading to the office. A morning exercise regime can blow out the cobwebs and pay dividends in productivity. Retail employees can…