Retail Stores

Despite the unprecedented challenges retailers are facing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, their resilience and determination is both impressive and encouraging. As various parts of the country proceed through a phased reopening, retailers are challenged with opening their stores in a safe and efficient manner. As pressured as they may be to reopen…

Shopping has changed as we know it. Consumers no longer stroll into stores and take their time interacting with products and people. Now, masks are mandatory almost everywhere and people try their best to stay six feet away from one another while making their way down narrow aisles. And while people are spending more money…

The Children’s Place plans to reduce its store footprint by one-third by the end of fiscal year 2021 as part of an ongoing effort to shift its core business online. Three hundred of the company’s 920 stores in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico are slated to be closed, with 200 closures planned for…

Gap Inc. is closing its trendy athleticwear brand Hill City less than two years after it launched. The apparel retailer said in a blog post on Thursday that it made the decision to close Hill City in order to dedicate its resources to its larger brands — Gap, Banana Republic, and Old Navy. Hill City was launched…

Best-selling or trending products are often displayed on a retailer’s homepage. It’s time for retailers to take e-commerce sales data and improve in-store visual merchandising. After all, aren’t window displays essentially a retailer’s homepage come to life? Since the COVID-19 pandemic struck, apparel brands have seen casual and athleisure sales soar. Savvy apparel brands with…

In this episode of Retail Right Now, Total Retail's Melissa Campanelli and Kristina Stidham discuss an article recently published by Total Retail titled, “4 Important Steps to Reopening Retail” by Tom Buiocchi, executive director, president and CEO of ServiceChannel. As COVID-19 restrictions and stay-at-home orders are lifted across the U.S., brick-and-mortar retailers face the daunting…

Signet Jewelers has announced plans to close 400 stores permanently, reports Yahoo News. The specialty jewelry retailer — parent to the Kay Jewelers, Zales, Jared, H. Samuel, Ernest Jones, Peoples Jewellers, Piercing Pagoda, and jamesallen.com brands — fell short on both top and bottom lines during the most recent quarter, the period when the majority of its…

As more states begin to lift their stay-at-home orders, brick-and-mortar retail chains face the daunting task of reopening on a massive scale. An estimated 630,000 stores were closed during the pandemic, along with gyms, restaurants and other businesses. For comparison, about 2,100 retail stores were opened in all of 2019. These closed businesses now have…

The rise of digital has shifted perceptions of brick-and-mortar retail. What was once a thrilling experience to venture in-store can now be considered an inconvenience, especially when a comparable product is often a button-push away. For some consumers, in-store shopping has fallen even lower in the ranks and become akin to that of a mundane…

We live in a time of vast unknowns: No one knows how long the COVID-19 pandemic will last, or how long social distancing requirements will restrict our day-to-day activities. As stay-at-home orders are gradually lifted, COVID-19 cases will continue to emerge until a vaccine is available. Businesses small and large, devastated by state-mandated stay-at-home orders,…