Today on Total Retail

E-commerce is on the cusp of a massive change. With more than 15 years of digitalization behind it, the old ways of doing things will soon no longer be acceptable. For years, e-commerce players have faced the same vital decision, courtesy of economic and business theorist Michael Porter. Imagine a crossroads. One clear path is…

The shopping experience has always been a social activity. From the agoras of ancient Greece to the 1980s mega malls, people have rarely shopped alone. However, in recent times, the surge in e-commerce has altered the landscape, making the process of purchasing concert tickets, fashion, and travel less social. It can be cumbersome to reach…

GameStop announced Thursday morning that billionaire activist investor Ryan Cohen would take over as the video game retailer’s chief executive, chairman and president effective immediately — and he won’t be collecting a salary. GameStop’s board, with Cohen abstaining, unanimously voted to appoint the entrepreneur as the retailer’s top executive on Wednesday. Cohen had previously held the title…

At the Total Retail Tech conference earlier this month in Denver, generative artificial intelligence was a theme of ongoing conversation. From keynote presentations and panel discussions on stage to peer group sessions and one-to-one meetings off stage, attendees were buzzing about generative AI and its current and future impact on their work and the organizations…

Imposter scams were the most common type of fraud reported to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 2022. Consumers lost $660 million in the U.S. alone to business impersonation scams that year. Brand impersonators and counterfeits have always been a problem for retailers, but technology is making it easy for organized imposters to run scams…

:Effective marketing strategies for the upcoming holiday shopping season include the following: 1. Utilize short-form videos. The competition for the best online experience is accelerating as consumers become increasingly selective about how they spend their time online. With time being a limited resource, it's crucial for brands to ensure that consumers get the most value…

Artificial intelligence is no stranger to the retail industry. Amazon.com was an early adopter of AI, leveraging it more than two decades ago to provide online shoppers with fairly rudimentary product recommendations. The use of AI in retail has advanced substantially since then and is now an important staple for brands’ e-commerce technology stacks, driving…

The growth of retail media networks the past couple of years has been nothing short of remarkable. The unavoidable reality that third-party cookies are in decline, and the subsequent loss of targeting granularity, has ushered in the steep growth of first-party data as an alternative. Retail media is the best manifestation of this capability and…

E-commerce giant Shopify is now a stakeholder in the wholesale platform Faire, the companies announced Wednesday. The deal establishes Faire as the recommended wholesale marketplace for Shopify and expands Shopify’s B2B offerings, helping drive growth for the brands as well as the independent retailers the two companies serve. “At Faire we have long admired Shopify’s like-minded…

The retail landscape is in a difficult place at the moment. Between economic stressors like high inflation rates, talent shortages and industry changes such as rapidly evolving customer expectations and surging demands, many retailers are scrambling to find a foothold in these uncertain times. They need to make every resource count. Merchandising teams are critical…