Today on Total Retail

Personalized commerce experiences have long been the holy grail for retail and consumer packaged goods (CPGs) companies. As consumers now expect to interact and purchase from companies via an array of touchpoints, it's now more important than ever for brands to provide a seamless and cohesive omnichannel digital experience, no matter how customers start or…

Chico's FAS Inc. shareholders approved the sale of the fashion company for $1 billion cash to New York-based private equity firm Sycamore Partners, reports News-Press. New owner Sycamore Partners has moved Chico’s brands — Chico's, White House Black Market, and Soma — into KnitWell, a holding company formed last year. KnitWell also includes Ann Taylor,…

Amid economic volatility, brands across the globe are asking themselves: How can we consistently increase revenue during inconsistent times? Looking at the variety of potential solutions, many prominent merchants and e-commerce providers are opting to increase investment in their international online retail presence. Walmart, for instance, is charting a five-year plan to double its gross…

During the pandemic, it seemed as if shopping had changed forever. With stay-at-home orders and lockdowns across the U.S., consumers had no choice but to shop online. Today, however, the COVID-19 pandemic is largely behind us, and in-store shopping is very much back. According to one survey, 85 percent of retail sales in 2023 are…

Is it just me, or is advertising getting weirder? There was a time not long ago when brands and ad agencies would talk about the big idea and the importance of telling a compelling story. But these days, with TikTok dominating the social media landscape, it seems like big ideas are being traded in for…

Consumers are generally dissatisfied with their retail experiences, at least according to a global study from the IBM Institute for Business Value called "Revolutionize retail with AI everywhere: Customers won't wait." The report points out that only 9 percent of consumers said they were content with their in-store shopping experiences and 14 percent content with…

In episode 434 of Total Retail Talks, Editor-in-Chief Joe Keenan interviews Kathy Doyle Thomas, president of Half Price Books (HPB), a chain of new and used bookstores. Listen in as Doyle Thomas provides an overview of the HPB's business (0:50), discusses her career with the company (2:25), offers insight into how the resale book industry…

There's a near obsession with achieving the 360-degree customer view. With a single, centralized customer record, marketers believe they can achieve their dreams of perfectly orchestrated marketing across channels. Customer data platforms (CDPs) are typically the system of choice, serving as the global ID or ID of record. Identity resolution has become a key part…

Artificial intelligence allows retailers to gain a far deeper understanding of customer preferences and behaviors by analyzing information like browsing and purchase histories. Using sophisticated AI algorithms, retailers can build comprehensive profiles that reveal what individual shoppers like and need over time. This empowers retailers to provide hyperpersonalized product recommendations that closely match each customer's…

Major retailers reported record levels of retail theft in 2023, and it seems that the problem is only worsening by the day. According to a 2023 National Retail Security Survey, retail losses swelled to $112.1 billion in 2022, up a staggering 19 percent from $93.9 billion the year prior. Popular retail chains like Target, Kohl’s,…