We’ve all heard talk about the pending death of brick-and-mortar in the digital age. We’re certainly seeing declines in an overpopulated retail marketplace as consumers grow more comfortable shopping online. In fact, in the fourth quarter of 2016, about 9.5 percent of all retail sales were transacted online. However, rather than experiencing a full-fledged extinction…
If you were to Google "hot topics in retail," you’d get a long list of articles outlining how to engage customers with mobile optimization, social media, omnichannel, loyalty programs and the Internet of Things. While no one disputes these are very important aspects of today’s retail businesses, a recent study from Market Force Information reminds…
Guess announced during its fourth quarter earnings call this week that it will be closing 60 underperforming stores this fiscal year. In the past two years, the retailer — which operates about 400 U.S. locations — has closed 62 U.S. stores, including 10 this past quarter. Guess reported fourth quarter total net revenue increases of 3.2…
In today’s hypercompetitive retail environment, there’s mounting pressure for retailers to leverage their brick-and-mortar presence as a competitive advantage. This reality arguably makes the store associate the most important asset retailers have. Associates can provide the personal service that differentiates their shopping experience from their competitors, including online pure-play retailers. In fact, store associates that…
Last week, Wal-Mart gave a share of more than $157 million to more than 850,000 employees in the U.S. These cash bonuses were based on their stores’ performance in the fourth quarter. The bonuses were awarded on the heels of Wal-Mart U.S. recording its strongest comp sales performance of the year in the fourth quarter…
In episode 83 of Total Retail Talks, Peter Weedfald, senior vice president of sales and marketing at Sharp Home Appliances, discusses how traditional brick-and-mortar retailers — and their product suppliers — can compete in today's digital retail environment. Weedfald also offers his thoughts on the technology trends that will have the biggest impact on the…
Staples said on Thursday it was closing another 70 stores in North America amid sharp sales declines in its top market and a continued pivot to business services and away from brick-and-mortar for the leading office supplies retailer. Comparable sales, which excludes the impact of newly opened or closed stores, fell 7 percent in the fourth…
Many retailers are still wrapping their heads around the full value of implementing an order management system (OMS) within their operations. But as the industry storms into 2017, we’ll see sweeping changes that revolutionize the way omnichannel retail operates. It has been widely predicted that sales, commerce and fulfillment investments will be one of the…
It seems as though every day there's another retailer closing stores, declaring bankruptcy or laying off employees. Most recently, J.C. Penney announced it will be closing 140 stores; HHGregg has filed for bankruptcy; and JackThreads laid off most of its staff. However, one company is flourishing at a time when others are failing. Xcel Brands,…
