Merchandising

Walmart Rolls Out New Apparel Brands for Women, Kids and Plus Sizes
February 19, 2018 at 12:53 pm

Walmart is introducing new low-cost apparel brands for women, kids and plus-size customers — and phasing out older brands — in an effort to lure shoppers away from Amazon.com, which is steadily increasing its apparel sales, according to a Bloomberg report. The store brands include Time and Tru in ladieswear, which will replace the jettisoned DanskinNow label,…

Macy's Launches Pop-Up Marketplaces in its Stores
February 7, 2018 at 11:23 am

Macy's announced this week that it will be opening pop-up shops in its stores in a new marketplace concept called "The Market @ Macy's." The new storefront layout gives pods of space to brands and companies on the Macy’s ground floor to promote and sell their products. CNBC reports the idea is to give Macy’s customers…

The Curated Future: Why Less Selection, Not More, Will Be the Defining Retail Trend in 2018
February 1, 2018 at 2:13 pm

Retail is in a constant state of death and rebirth. The Curated Future examines retail's next big trend — curation over selection. As digitally native brands continue to flood an already saturated market, this research report looks at the impact on consumers. Frustrated, consumers are increasingly turning to a trusted voice — retailers — to curate a selection of products aimed directly at a defined consumer type.

What Amazon’s Private Label Business Means for Retailers
January 29, 2018 at 8:22 am

Amazon.com has more customer search and purchase data than any e-commerce business. It can build a private-label brand in six months using these data. Amazon’s private-label products have access to the best merchandising and targeting on the marketplace. And the brand doesn’t even need to be profitable. How do national brands compete with this? According…

Why Responsive Merchandising is Retailers’ Key to Meeting Customer Needs
January 17, 2018 at 12:21 pm

Picture yourself as an associate in a retail store. You just finished straightening up the rack when a potential customer walks in. At that moment, a dynamic relationship begins. You’re assuming and inferring, and forming a mosaic from the minutiae of details. The customer is surveying the signage to decide where to go and making…

How Small E-Tailers Can Thrive in the Age of Retail Consolidation
December 22, 2017 at 9:46 am

Do small and new online retailers have a chance to succeed anymore? Industry analysts say that 2017's parade of acquisitions by major retailers — Whole Foods by Amazon.com, Kate Spade by Coach, HSN by QVC, among others — are making it harder for smaller retailers to survive. How can SMB sellers compete with these players’ same-day…

Zappos Launches New Retail Experience
November 20, 2017 at 1:07 pm

Zappos announced last week the launch of The_ONES, a new retail experience that celebrates classic sneakers. The experience includes a new online hub (FindTheOnes.com), shoppable Instagram page (@The_ONES), and limited-time “pop-ins” in premium boutiques. The first pop-in, called BEYOND, was launched in New York City on Nov. 15 in partnership with Tarek Hassan, the owner…

Top Performing Brands in the Eyes of a Mystery Shopper
November 20, 2017 at 12:51 pm

To really understand the customer journey, you’ve got to take it yourself. That’s why we stepped in consumers’ shoes for our Global Mystery Shopping Study. We walked through eight different shopping scenarios with 50 global brands to learn where they're succeeding and where they’re falling short. As mystery shoppers, our team simulated purchasing products, researched…