Omnichannel

To survive and succeed in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic, retailers quickly adapted to meet customers' priorities and needs. Convenience became a touchstone of our "new normal," defining how, when, and where we shop. This trend will continue to be a hallmark of how consumers and retailers engage in the future. A recent report…

How people consume and engage with a brand differs online and offline. Both are important for nurturing consumers and moving them along the journey to conversion. Integrating your online and offline marketing strategies can help to deliver a consistent brand message, and is more effective at driving action from consumers than treating both mediums in silos. In this article, I examine why businesses should look to integrate their online and offline marketing, and how successful…

In episode 293 of Total Retail Talks, Editor-in-Chief Joe Keenan interviews Chase Fisher, founder and CEO of Blenders Eyewear, a direct-to-consumer (D-to-C) lifestyle eyewear brand specializing in fresh, vibrant and affordable eyewear. Listen in as Fisher discusses the origin of Blenders Eyewear, his professional and personal background as a semi-pro surfer, and the first steps…

In this episode of Retail Right Now, Total Retail's Melissa Campanelli and Kristina Stidham discuss the retailers with the best omnichannel gift card programs, as featured in the latest report from Total Retail’s sister brand, NAPCO Research, and Blackhawk Network. The 2020 Merchant Gift Card Omnichannel Evaluation report provides a comprehensive review of the state of…

For the fourth consecutive year, NAPCO Research, in conjunction with Blackhawk Network, executed a comprehensive review of the state of merchants’ gift card offerings. However, unlike the previous three years, the 2020 review included an assessment of retailers’ e-commerce/digital, mobile, and in-store gift card offerings, providing a truly omnichannel view into the consumer gift card…

The last year proved to be the most difficult retailers have ever faced. At a time when shoppers needed to stock up, retailers were forced to place limits on select items. As lines and basket sizes increased, retailers had to pull back on the number of people allowed inside stores. It was an ongoing situation…

As early as April 2020, Forrester had predicted global retail sales to record a $2.1 trillion loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We've seen the retail industry go through a fundamental shift, with an average decline of 9.6 percent globally in 2020. With supply chains throttled and consumers asked to stay indoors, the world witnessed a sharp…

COVID-19 has flipped the retail sector upside down. Grocery stores and pharmacies are more critical than ever, but many other “nonessential” retailers are in a trickier position. They either have to lean into e-commerce or dramatically alter their brick-and-mortar stores to support social distancing and contactless shopping through curbside pickup; buy online, pick up in-store…

During the January Women in Retail and Total Retail Virtual Exchange event, Oliver Chen, managing director, retail and luxury sector head at Cowen and Company, shares his insights and analysis on multiple industry-related topics in an interview with Jennifer DiPasquale, president of Total Retail. In this video clip from the session, Chen identifies the retailers and…

As we consider the most significant trends impacting purchasing today, consumer demand for private brands continues to remain a focus, as well as the need for convenient and digitally enhanced shopping solutions. Among the ongoing effects of the pandemic, COVID has forever shifted customer behavior with respect to how consumers shop and what they purchase.…