Technology

Studies show that the retail industry is suffering from substantially lower levels of employee engagement. Defined by Forbes as “the emotional commitment the employee has to the organization and its goals,” employee engagement is a serious business issue that impacts the bottom line. Growing evidence worldwide reveals how lower worker engagement affects overall company success, suggesting that engagement must be escalated to a board-level issue for retailers. The impact on profitability, productivity, employee retention and work culture is just too profound.

Modern retailers face growing pressure to deliver an in-store experience that attracts customers and keeps them coming back. While many retailers have started adopting technology to meet this need, one of the most critical in-store moments has gone unnoticed: checkout. The current checkout experience is very similar to how it worked decades ago, and this…

The retail industry is undergoing a major transformation as e-commerce disrupts traditional brick-and-mortar store models and gives rise to new modes of “experiential retail” — last week's bankruptcy filing by Sears speaks to that trend. Experiential retail is being driven by a number of factors, including the increasing popularity of e-commerce, the decline in traditional…

In this special episode of Total Retail Talks, recorded at last month's Total Retail Tech conference, Guido Campello, CEO of Cosabella, gives a presentation on how the luxury lingerie brand is using artificial intelligence (AI) across its organization, from marketing (e.g., email automation) to website optimization (e.g., A/B testing) to product personalization.

Below you will find the full-length videos of our keynote presentations at Total Retail Tech, an event held in September 2018 that brought together retail executives and leaders for content and conversations on the intersection of retail technology and marketing. The presentations of Scott Emmons, head of the digital innovation lab at Neiman Marcus; and…

Scott Emmons, head of the digital innovation lab at Neiman Marcus, delivered a keynote presentation at Total Retail Tech in September. In this clip from Emmons’ presentation, he discusses the tech trends that the upscale department store is investing in, from augmented and virtual reality (e.g., makeup try-on tool available in-store) to personalization, which he…

Qurate Retail Group (QRG) announced several initiatives designed to better position its HSN and QVC U.S. businesses for long-term growth. Most important is the formation of an integrated business unit called QXH, which Qurate said will ensure an aligned approach to the U.S. market. As part of the transformation, Qurate will eliminate 350 positions by the…

It can be hard being a small business today. How does one compete with industry powerhouses that offer millions of SKUs and free two-day shipping? Amazon Prime Now, for example, has over 940,000 products available across 32 U.S. cities, and Target has 39 distribution centers in the U.S. alone. The human and capital resources needed…

Retail marketers have spent the last decade looking to personalization as the primary strategy for bringing shoppers back through their doors, both physical and virtual. With more than 3,000 stores already shutting down this year, it’s never been a bigger priority to understand the customer and what's going to get them to make a purchase.…

The answers featured below come from Total Retail's fourth annual Game Changers issue, sponsored by Emarsys. The goal of this issue is to highlight the entrepreneurs and startup businesses that are disrupting the traditional retail industry, whether it be it through digital innovation, unique product, enhancements to the supply chain, or a multitude of other ways. We…