Today on Total Retail

As we begin 2024, the world of e-commerce will see continued evolution and disruption. Consumer behavior has fundamentally shifted over the past several years, with more shoppers flocking to digital storefronts and leveraging digital shopping technologies. With this backdrop in mind, here are four key predictions for what's in store for e-commerce in 2024. Consumers…

Customer loyalty, like many aspects of commerce, has undergone a major transformation since 2020 — away from transactional benefits and toward enriched experiences. Before the onset of the pandemic, points redemption and “buy some get some” loyalty models were already losing out to value-focused loyalty offerings like subscriptions, design services, and member pricing that are…

While debates rage around the pros and cons of artificial intelligence, the technology is slowly being adopted by the online retail sector and generating some positive results. It has the potential to do so much more, though. While many people talk about AI, it’s fair to say that few fully understand its potential or how…

Online retailer Zulily is shutting down, reports CNBC. The business ceased operations on Fri., Dec. 22, 2023. In a note on the company’s homepage, an official said Zulily’s leadership had “made the difficult but necessary decision to conduct an orderly wind-down of the business to maximize value for the companies’ creditors” by entering an assignment…

The National Retail Federation forecasted 2023 holiday sales to grow between 3 percent and 4 percent. And while sales growth has slowed due to the pandemic, economic uncertainty, and other factors, retailers must still compete — if not compete even harder — for consumers’ eyeballs and wallets. The smartest retailers will leverage advanced technologies like…

In episode 433 of Total Retail Talks, Editor-in-Chief Joe Keenan interviews Alex Reveles, vice president of global brand management at JanSport, a VF Corp backpack and bag brand. Listen in as Reveles discusses her role within JanSport (0:50), why the brand is targeting Gen Z consumers (1:45), and the shopping behaviors this demographic is exhibiting…

The United States has a startling food waste problem, much of it caused by the grocery retail market. Thirty percent of food in grocery stores is thrown away in the U.S., and 16 billion pounds of food is wasted by retailers every year, according to RTS data. In fact, the food that grocers waste is…

Customer expectations have gone through a number of changes in a short few years. Everyone was chasing the ability to offer two-day shipping, but the need for speed is trending down, with 85 percent of customers not opening their packages on the first day. We’ve seen a creative resurgence in retail offerings, blurring the barrier between…

Nike on Thursday unveiled plans to cut costs by about $2 billion over the next three years as it warned about a “softer” revenue outlook for the second half of the year. The athletic brand plans to simplify its product assortment, increase automation and its use of technology, streamline the overall organization, and leverage its…

Rare is the e-commerce small to midsize business (SMB) that has the time, resources and expertise to build its own website. It’s basically Amazon.com, Shopify, a Shopify competitor, or bust. Thanks to a bunch of artificial intelligence-powered releases from Shopify in the second half of 2023, that’s not necessarily as limiting as it might sound.…