Merchandising

We don’t all want something shiny and new. Sometimes, we want something which brings us back to a (supposedly) happier and simpler time in our lives. But where’s the best place to buy these remnants of our past? For most Americans, the answer is turning to online resale marketplaces like eBay, Etsy, and Facebook Marketplace.…

Artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the most promising technologies for retail. According to market firm Tractica, global AI revenues will see a massive growth to $36.8 billion in 2025. AI capabilities have reached the level where brands are starting to take them seriously. To make a winning formula, now retailers just have to add…

The novel coronavirus and the precautions governments and individuals are taking to protect themselves from infection have already had a powerful impact on the global economy. Those impacts are likely to extend well into this year, possibly even into the fourth-quarter holiday shopping period. Between disruptions to manufacturing and supply chains and shifts in consumer…

In almost all product categories, consumers are making fewer trips to brick-and-mortar stores. When consumers see brands and products on shelves, they can touch, feel and learn about them, and awareness and buying increase. As that real-life exposure decreases, brands feel the pain of lost sales. In fact, when a store closes, only a small…

As the consumer mood in the U.S. around the COVID-19 outbreak has quickly shifted from curious to cautionary, retailers have a significant role to play in providing shoppers with a solution. U.S. exposure and response by federal and local governments continue to mount day-by-day, and therefore buying patterns are evolving rapidly as shoppers come to…

Everyone loves to say that “data is king,” pointing to Amazon.com and its “data-driven decision making.” In most cases, these well-intended but divisive statements create insecurities in most organizations. And if they’re actioned too hastily, they will slow down decision making while company leaders wait for data to give them a perfect answer. To its credit, Amazon…

In episode 236 of Total Retail Talks, Editor-in-Chief Joe Keenan interviews David Pisker, general manager, customer experience and e-commerce at Officeworks, a big-box Australian retailer providing office supplies and business services. Listen in as Pisker discusses Officeworks use of an in-store traffic tool from Kepler Analytics, which has helped with in-store operations such as merchandising…

J.C. Penney is relaunching one of its biggest in-house women’s apparel brands as part of its strategy to help boost sales and remain relevant, CNBC reported. The department stores's Ana brand has new products in stores and online, and the full assortment will be available by March. The brand will offer extended sizes and will have items…

As part of our 50 Best Retail Tips of 2019 report, Total Retail's editorial team spent time in last year's fourth quarter poring over each piece of content we published during the year to identify the 50 best tips. We reviewed the content published in our e-newsletter (Total Retail Report) and on our website, identifying the 50…

Bad recommendations hurt e-commerce. Online retailers must be armed with product and customer data to correctly recommend complementary products. If they don't have the data points, nor the ability to use them, mismatched product recommendations are inevitable. This can be a source of embarrassment for even the biggest retailers. Amazon.com made the headlines recently for all…