Today on Total Retail

Nordstrom is looking to go private, with members of the Nordstrom family offering $3.8 billion to seal the deal, according to a report from The Seattle Times. Nordstrom CEO Erik Nordstrom and his brother Pete, who serves as president of the company, announced Wednesday they had been exploring ways to take the upscale department store…

E-commerce holiday spending reached an impressive peak of $1.17 trillion in 2023, up 3 percent from 2022. If this trend continues — as many analysts expect — then retailers are in for a challenging but lucrative 2024 season. Retailers’ obstacle (or their opportunity) will be to capitalize on increased consumer spending while heeding shifting consumer…

The most successful retail brands in the world — Amazon.com, Target, Walmart, among others — have fully embraced digital transformation to deliver better shopping experiences and increase customer satisfaction and loyalty. The fast moving, highly competitive and lucrative retail industry only continues to grow. Adobe recently reported that consumers spent $331.6 billion online from Jan. 1 to…

In the last few years, retail stores have transformed from delivering basic sales functions into much more. They're now customer engagement hubs, micro-fulfillment centers, omnichannel service centers and much more. As the lines between channels continue to blur, the variety, volume and velocity of store associate tasks has exploded. Recent research with retail executives —…

After successfully launching and operating over 100 retail stores for more than 60 brands across the United States, we, at Leap, have the unique opportunity to witness a significant shift in global retail strategy. More and more international brands are turning their attention to the U.S. market, not just for their e-commerce expansion, but to…

Back-to-school shopping helped many large retailers see a foot traffic spike, according to a new report from Placer.ai. The report, School Season Sparks Retail Growth, shows that weekly visits to major back-to-school retail categories, including superstores, department stores, and other apparel retailers, enjoyed strong year-over-year (YoY) visit boosts through July and August 2024. During the…

Why do consumers browse? What makes them pause and consider? What makes them buy? This is the retail puzzle Walmart, Target, Costco, Amazon.com (to name a few!!) work so hard to solve. The puzzle remains equally complicated in online digital storefronts and brick-and-mortar stores spread across the world. How can you anticipate and articulate the…

Customer expectations are at an all-time high. The facilitation of near-instant gratification has led to reduced consumer patience and more frequent temper tantrums. Though no-wait resolution is a common expectation from customers seeking support, delivering abuse to contact center agents shouldn't be the default response to an imperfect interaction. Unfortunately, a recent study found that…

Last month, S&P Global Intelligence reported a “historic surge” in bankruptcies, with businesses closing at the fastest pace since 2020. Few were affected by this surge more than retail small businesses. While American consumers will eventually move on to new favored establishments, that isn’t an option for local store owners, many of whom skipped holidays,…

Shopping has never been easier. Purchasing a new pair of sandals, plane tickets or even your groceries from home — or anywhere, for that matter — is simply convenient. Meanwhile, it’s up to online retailers to catch shoppers’ attention. Not an easy job considering the competitive environment in which e-commerce businesses are now operating in.…