Marketing

In episode 307 of Total Retail Talks, Editor-in-Chief Joe Keenan interviews Joice Wirkus, senior vice president of marketing at Big Lots, a national neighborhood discount retailer. Wirkus discusses Big Lot's new "Be A BIGionaire" marketing campaign, the consumer research that factored into this campaign, and the shifts in customer behavior the retailer experienced during the…

We all know how much the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have altered consumers’ buying and shopping habits. As a result, brands have spent the past 16 months changing their business approaches, operations and delivery models to meet constantly shifting expectations. Retailers have had to first abandon and then reinvent their brick-and-mortar stores. Consumer goods…

The pandemic fast-tracked the growth of e-commerce on an exponential level. In 2020, e-commerce accounted for over 21 percent of retail sales — a monumental jump from the 15.8 percent of retail that it accounted for the year prior. There’s no doubt that e-commerce will continue to be an important part of the consumer journey,…

It's not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters. This idea attributed to Greek philosopher Epictetus and oft-quoted by sage parents and teachers was put to the test in 2020. Consumer brands and their marketing partners that took this to heart through the shocks, false starts, bad predictions, and lost…

There has been a lot to say by marketers lately about Apple’s latest iOS 15 release and how it will harm, even destroy our digital businesses. In short, if you've been living under a rock, Apple has put consumers in the driver’s seat allowing them to be selective in who they want to be tracked…

From humble but feisty beginnings at an outdoor market in 2004, Portland, Maine-based Sock It to Me has evolved into a mighty (and way talented) team of 40-plus employees creating over 400 original designs and servicing over 4,000 wholesale accounts as well as its own web store. Its growth has been fueled by its unique…

Our expert speakers will address how retailers can effectively use individualized promotions as a tool to drive e-commerce sales.

In today’s digital-first environment, people use different forms of social proof to inform almost every decision they make, and shopping is no exception. In fact, 66 percent of shoppers look for social proof before making online purchases. By definition, “social proof is the influence that the actions and attitudes of the people around us (either in…

Following a year when being inside the home was synonymous with the terms “lockdown” and “social distancing,” consumers are finding themselves more eager to be away from home. When consumers get out, they're engaged and active, offering an ideal state of mind to be receptive to an advertiser’s messaging. Therefore, reaching consumers out in the…

It’s been over a year since store-first brands suddenly found themselves on the same digital playing field as pure-play direct-to-consumer (D-to-C) brands for the first time in history. One of the many things we learned from this unintentional experiment is that brands that once generated up to 85 percent of their revenue offline simply weren’t…