Today on Total Retail

Sam’s Club will raise pay to incentivize workers to stay with the company — and not jump ship to Costco. Sam’s Club, the membership club arm of Walmart, will increase its minimum wage to $16 starting in November from $15 an hour. It will also raise wages for its nearly 100,000 employees, ranging from 3…

Suresh Kumar, Walmart’s global chief technology officer and chief development officer, says, "We’re in a new era of retail defined by profoundly personal shopping experiences. Each shopper defines how, where and when they obtain goods, and context is key. The 'why' behind the purchase. Retailers must predict shoppers’ needs, reduce decision-making, and enable highly personal…

In the competitive world of social commerce, TikTok has emerged as a leader by perfecting the art of a seamless in-app purchasing experience. As platforms like YouTube and Pinterest race to replicate this success, their ability to enable users to discover, engage with, and purchase products directly within content will be the deciding factor in…

One critical factor to achieving success in retail is understanding consumer behavior. Every day, the average consumer makes tens of thousands of decisions, driven in part by habits, impulses and even laziness. When pushed beyond the threshold, decision paralysis is induced — the paradox of choice. In retail, a proliferation of products within categories is…

In a rapidly evolving digital landscape, search is essential for large enterprises. Early search engines worked as keyword retrieval engines but have since evolved into semantic search engines as customer searches have become broader and less focused on exact words. Retailers continuously personalize their search engines based on customer preferences and engagement patterns. Now, the…

Amazon.com announced Tuesday that its Prime Big Deal Days event will return for two days on Oct. 8 and Oct. 9. The 48-hour fall sales event is Amazon’s second Prime exclusive sale this year after July’s Prime Day event. Prime Big Deal Days is exclusive to Prime members and will be offered in 19 countries.…

Back to school isn’t just for August. Halloween isn’t just for autumn. Christmas in July might have been the start, but PSLs are popping up in the dog days of summer — and consumers love it. For retailers and marketers, this shift in the holiday timeline marks a critical change, especially as they look to…

While generative artificial intelligence technologies like ChatGPT have been increasingly adopted in the retail sector, the full transformative potential remains underutilized. Beyond AI’s well-documented benefits in driving efficiency and reducing redundancies — especially in areas like forecasting, strategic planning, and automating customer interactions — it possesses a broader range of applications that can profoundly impact…

If you listen closely, you may hear the holiday bells jingling in the near distance as retailers start preparing for the peak holiday season. A key focus this year is how to navigate evolving consumer sentiment and continue delivering value for cost-conscious shoppers. Many people are facing considerable stressors already, so retailers should seek out…

As the holiday season approaches, retailers must brace themselves for another year of shifting trends and heightened consumer expectations. The 2024 shopping period promises to be even more intense, with a continued focus on online convenience, seamless in-store experiences, and faster fulfillment services. Preparing for the inevitable surge starts with understanding the trends shaping the…