Omnichannel

Retailer of the Year: Barry Beck, Founder and COO, Bluemercury
October 11, 2017 at 4:02 pm

Since founding Bluemercury 18 years ago with his wife, Marla, Total Retail’s 2017 Retailer of the Year Barry Beck’s leadership has helped the brand become one of the fastest-growing retailers. Under his leadership, Bluemercury has grown to nearly 200 stores (it grew its store count by more than 50 percent in 2016), has operations in more than 30 states, and employs nearly 2,000 people. (Bluemercury was acquired by Macy’s in 2015 for a reported $210 million.) Learn more about Barry Beck in this wide-ranging interview.

Sephora Names Mary Beth Laughton EVP, US Omni Retail
October 11, 2017 at 2:13 pm

Beauty retailer Sephora has promoted Mary Beth Laughton to executive vice president of U.S. omni retail. Previously, Laughton was senior vice president of digital. “Mary Beth is a visionary and strategist with a deep understanding of how customers are evolving,” said Calvin McDonald, chief executive officer and president of Sephora Americas. “During her time at…

Total Retail's Game Changers 2017
October 9, 2017 at 1:03 pm

Beauty retailer Sephora has promoted Mary Beth Laughton to executive vice president of U.S. omni retail. Previously, Laughton was senior vice president of digital. “Mary Beth is a visionary and strategist with a deep understanding of how customers are evolving,” said Calvin McDonald, chief executive officer and president of Sephora Americas. “During her time at […]

DSW Execs on the Retailer's Transformation, Future of the Industry
October 9, 2017 at 12:48 pm

In episode 113 of Total Retail Talks, recorded at Shop.org last month in Los Angeles, DSW's CEO, Roger Rawlins, and CFO, Jared Poff, discuss the footwear retailer's new brand mission, which is focused on building engaging customer experiences, distorting traditional assortment, enabling associate product knowledge, and improving operational execution. Rawlins and Poff provide details on…

Costco Launches Same-Day Grocery Delivery
October 9, 2017 at 11:53 am

Costco announced last week that it's offering customers same-day grocery delivery. On Thursday, the company announced two new delivery options: two-day delivery for dry goods, and same-day delivery for orders that include fresh foods. The same-day service will be powered by grocery delivery company Instacart. The same-day delivery option, available in “most metropolitan areas,” lets…

Wal-Mart Aims to Handle Online Returns in 35 Seconds or Less
October 9, 2017 at 11:32 am

In its ongoing effort to compete with Amazon.com, Wal-Mart announced a new way of handling in-store returns of online purchases that it claims could shrink the processing time to 35 seconds. Starting next month, Mobile Express Returns will enable consumers to begin a return process on Wal-Mart’s app before bringing the item in question to any…

Creating Cohesive Omnichannel Experiences for Your Customer
October 5, 2017 at 6:01 pm

Forrester predicts that mobile commerce will increase by 184 percent before 2019, eventually reaching $142 billion in the U.S. As tablet and smartphone transactions continue to rise, it's becoming increasingly apparent that modern consumers are using mobile technology during every step of the purchase journey — product research, in-store interactions and, ultimately transactions. What's the…

OMNI-1000 Research: Are Global Retailers TRULY Offering Omnichannel Services?
October 5, 2017 at 9:35 am

The Omni-1000 provides a look at the actual omnichannel practices of the world’s leading retailers. Using a "random walk" methodology, OrderDynamics investigated retail websites to determine the e-commerce capabilities, policies and offerings of more than 1,000 retailers from the U.S., Canada, Australia, the U.K. and the Nordics (Sweden, Finland and Norway). The research proves that omnichannel commerce is far from being the standard model, even among leading retailers.

4 Ways That Signs Can Increase Property Value and Boost Retail Power
October 4, 2017 at 4:46 pm

Signage plays an essential role in out-of-home marketing — everything from street furniture and kiosks to interactive digital screens to the spectaculars that attract millions of people every year to Piccadilly Circus in London and Hollywood and Highland in Los Angeles. However, with the retail industry facing myriad life-threatening challenges, the power of signage can…