Today on Total Retail

Levi Strauss & Co, makers of the iconic jeans, faced some pretty serious belt-tightening earlier this year. In April, the company announced that “escalating costs of freight, labor and cotton, as well as lingering supply chain disruptions” and “bloated inventory” were decimating margins. The market was quick to respond, with shares dropping 16 percent that…

The new Bed Bath & Beyond announced Monday its CEO, Jonathan Johnson, is immediately stepping down from his position just days after activist hedge fund JAT Capital called for his ouster. JAT Capital, which has a 9.6 percent stake in the company, sent a letter to the board dated Thursday that blamed Johnson for the company’s poor financial performance…

In episode 426 of Total Retail Talks, Editor-in-Chief Joe Keenan interviews Emily Essner, chief marketing officer of Saks, the premier digital platform for luxury fashion in North America. During the wide-ranging conversation, Essner discusses the fashion retailer's quarterly Saks Luxury Pulse survey (0:55) and key findings from its most recent survey data released in September (2:33), including…

E-commerce has seen exponential growth over the past few years, but the competition is fiercer than ever. For retailers looking to stand out in the digital landscape, Amazon.com's Over-the-Top (OTT) advertising platform offers a unique opportunity. In this post, I'll explore how Amazon OTT can help retailers build their e-commerce brand. What is Amazon OTT…

The retail spending outlook for holiday 2023 is bright, as researchers are predicting it to increase 4.5 percent to a whopping $1.3 trillion in the weeks soon upon us. Yet if we’ve learned anything these past few years, it’s that no holiday season for retailers is ever the same. This might be the year to…

The benefits of artificial intelligence are only expected to grow over time, with generative AI adoption outpacing that of smartphone and tablets in the U.S. While AI has been a buzzword for years, only now are marketers grasping the reality of what it can offer. Alongside growing adoption, we've seen an influx of players across…

Amazon.com is partnering with the buy now, pay later (BNPL) service Affirm to offer small business owners an alternative checkout option, CNBC first reported Thursday. While Amazon already offers customers the option to pay with Affirm if they have at least $50 worth of eligible items in their shopping cart, this expanded relationship with the…

A recent NerdWallet survey and analysis found that close to 222 million Americans plan to purchase gifts for friends and family this holiday season. In preparation, here’s what brands need to know about where to invest and what holiday trends to watch for. Trend #1: Pay Attention to Sustainability Conscious purchasing and gifting will be…

Online shopping is supposed to be all about speed and convenience. But for the 1.3 billion people globally who have a disability, accessibility issues can make it hard to browse e-commerce sites, compare products, or enter payment details. Imagine trying to buy a jacket online without knowing crucial details about fit, color or pattern. Or…

In an era when technology reigns supreme, it’s no surprise that the way we shop has undergone a significant transformation. A recent study revealed a staggering 58 percent of consumers now prefer online shopping over the traditional in-store experience. Riding this wave of change, advertisers are strategically capitalizing on the rising trend of “store-less” shopping,…