Merchandising

Amazon Debuts 'Amazon Vehicles'
August 25, 2016 at 11:00 am

Amazon.com is launching a new feature called Amazon Vehicles today. This is a destination on the website that will house car specifications and reviews to help shoppers research, but Amazon won't be selling cars. Amazon also won’t link to special deals or offers from dealerships. The online retailer did try to sell cars once before — in 2000,…

Kohl's Adds Beauty Departments to All Locations
August 24, 2016 at 11:07 am

As part of a turnaround plan, Kohl’s has added beauty departments to all its 1,100 stores. Brands like Lorac, Pür, Bliss and theBalm will be sold in the new departments, which range from 670 to 1,000 square feet depending on the location. Kohl’s also moved hair dryers and irons from the home section into the…

5 Retail Trends to Follow Now
August 19, 2016 at 10:08 am

As consumers continue to seek convenience and instant gratification via mobile devices, retailers are challenged with thinking about new ways to generate customer interest and loyalty. To develop insights in these areas, Synchrony Financial recently tracked existing and emerging trends impacting both the retail and mobile payments space and published them in a new report. The report…

Olympic Gear Boosting Sales for Retailers
August 17, 2016 at 11:23 am

The athletes aren’t the only ones winning gold this summer. Retailers selling Olympic merchandise are seeing higher-than-usual sales. Fanatics, an online sports apparel retailer, is seeing sales up 50 percent higher compared to the 2012 London Games. The most popular items include the Nike Team USA Snapback, the Nike Team USA Medal Stand Full-Zip Jacket…

What is Product Market Fit?
August 10, 2016 at 1:43 pm

Listen in as Iconery Founder and CEO Ivka Adam talks with The Grommet Co-Founder Jules Pieri about product market fit. Want to hear more? You can register to hear the entire session on-demand, as well as other great content from this year's Total Retail Virtual Conference & Expo!

Coach to Close Shops Inside Department Stores
August 9, 2016 at 11:45 am

Coach on Tuesday announced that it will shutter about 25 percent of its North American department store locations. Most of the locations tend to be low volume, according to the company, and the closings will be spread out in terms of geography. Coach will keep open its best-performing sites and avoid the stores that put its…

Target Sells Amazon Products Again
August 9, 2016 at 10:37 am

For the first time in four years, Target will sell Amazon.com tablets and e-readers on its website and in its stores. Target stopped selling Kindles in May 2012, according to an article from The New York Times. At the time, Target was one of the bigger carriers of the e-readers outside of the e-commerce space.…

Kmart’s Retail Experiment Goes Awry
July 28, 2016 at 11:34 am

Sears Holdings Chief Executive Eddie Lampert is freaking out his employees. The CEO has started moving Kmart stockroom merchandise onto the sales floor. The move, according to the company, is aimed at freeing up employees to assist shoppers, making sure they “[do] not wait in line at the checkout,” reported the New York Post. But…

Only Retailers Lose When a Customer Gets Lost
July 28, 2016 at 9:37 am

We’ve all been there. You enter a store for one thing, but on the way to finding that very item you stumble upon countless other products you didn’t know you needed. A hundred dollars later and you have the $5 socks you came for, and a new blender, some shampoo, a birthday card for your…

Zara Accused of Copying Indie Artist's Designs
July 22, 2016 at 11:10 am

Zara is in the spotlight for allegedly copying the designs of independent artist Tuesday Bassen. The Los Angeles-based illustrator and designer posted the below picture to her over 100,000 Instagram followers earlier this week showing the side-by-side comparisons of her work next to Zara’s designs. Total Retail’s Take: I get that mistakes happen, but when…