Today on Total Retail

Through my years in the fintech and restaurant tech industries, I've witnessed firsthand the transformative impact of technology on the retail and food service industries. Today, as we navigate a landscape marked by rising labor costs and personnel shortages, the adoption of self-service technology isn't just an option, it's becoming a necessity. The Changing Face…

Shoe Carnival is expanding with the acquisition of Rogan's Shoes, a midwestern independent shoe retailer with 28 stores in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Illinois. Shoe Carnival announced the acquisition Tuesday, saying it had purchased Rogan's Shoes for $45 million. The company said the move "advances [its] strategy to be the nation’s leading family footwear retailer" and…

Amidst the rise of artificial intelligence and changing customer preferences, the retail industry is experiencing a significant transformation. This means it's more crucial than ever for your retail business to keep up and provide the best experience for your customers. Value-driven customers seek high-quality service and fair prices for the products they purchase. They often…

In an age where everyday goods cost more than ever, is our appetite for the finer things subsiding? According to Bank of America card data, credit card spending for luxury fashion is down 16 percent year-over-year, the product of a six-quarter-long decline. In October, one of the world’s top luxury retailers saw its stock drop…

Microsoft and Google strategically unveiled their generative artificial intelligence capabilities for the retail industry in time for the National Retail Federation's 2024 Big Show in New York, capturing the attention of the world's leading retailers and industry leaders at this premier event. These offerings, spanning customer engagement, shopper journey experiences, and operational enhancements, align seamlessly…

2023 was another record-setting year for e-commerce sales and the growth is expected to continue in 2024. How companies achieve their growth will depend on how effective they are with engaging their audience via different channels and subsequently maximizing the return on investment of those channels. In all of this, one thing remains consistent year…

On Tuesday, Tiger Woods announced a partnership with TaylorMade Golf to create a new lifestyle brand, Sun Day Red. According to the brand's website, the line "promises to bring a new and elevated standard to performance wear and luxury lifestyle fashion." Sun Day Red will be a completely stand-alone brand with a dedicated team of…

Modern consumers clearly value lenient, streamlined and cheap — if not free — return policies. At the same time, the cost of processing these returns has never been higher. To further complicate matters, a given retailer’s biggest returners are often some of their best customers. A majority of shoppers surveyed said they make the most…

The retail industry, particularly e-commerce, is expansive, constantly evolving, and dynamic. The primary challenge for retailers lies in retaining existing customers amidst competition and the rising cost of acquiring new customers. The 2023 State of Customer Messaging Report highlights the significance of customer retention, with 95 percent of professionals emphasizing its importance. Effective customer retention…

It’s not just you — advertising is getting more personal. Retailers and brands know more about consumers than ever, thanks to their first-party data, and retail media networks (RMNs) can deliver personalized advertising by leveraging it. Beyond its role in targeting consumers, this transactional data can also serve as a powerful attribution method, closing the…