How PUMA Has Integrated Technology Into its New York City Flagship Store
October 17, 2019 at 11:19 am

PUMA opened the doors to its first-ever North American flagship store recently, located on Fifth Avenue in New York City. With a focus on cutting-edge technology and innovative products, the store showcases an immersive PUMA brand space. The flagship store offers consumers a unique shopping experience through innovative sports engagement zones, a customization studio, and…

McKinsey Builds a ‘Store of the Future’ in Mall of America
October 16, 2019 at 11:30 am

Global management consulting firm McKinsey & Company launched a new pop-up store at the Mall of America last month, a large investment in its retail practice. The store, Modern Retail Collective, features products from Elevé Cosmetics, Kendra Scott, ThirdLove and type:A Deodorant. “The purpose of the store is to provide retailers a real, flexible environment — a learning…

Ross Stores Completes 2019 Store Growth Plans
October 14, 2019 at 3:07 pm

Ross Stores said this week that is has opened 30 new Ross Dress for Less and 12 dd's DISCOUNTS stores across 19 different states in September and October, completing the company's store growth plans for fiscal 2019 with the addition of 98 new stores. The 42 locations added this fall include nine stores in the company's…

Amazon's Plan for Grocery Stores, and the Impact on the Industry
October 11, 2019 at 12:49 pm

In this episode of Retail Right Now, Total Retail's Joe Keenan and Kristina Stidham discuss Amazon.com’s plan to open a grocery store concept, one that will be separate from its Whole Foods subsidiary. Amazon will reportedly be testing the grocery store chain in three markets, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia, potentially as early as the…

The New Age of Retail Tugs at Consumer Emotions
October 11, 2019 at 12:39 pm

Consumers today are savvy. The traditional hard sell approach doesn’t move products off of shelves and into homes as it once did. However, what shoppers will open their wallets for (across all demographics) is an experience, whether technology-enhanced or immersive. To entice consumers in-store or online, brands must evolve alongside – if not ahead of…

A Big Year for Stores
October 10, 2019 at 12:33 pm

RSR has been conducting an annual benchmark on the state of the store since the company launched in 2007. It’s one area where we always hope to see change from the previous year’s respondents. After all, many of us have grown disillusioned with how little the shopping experience has changed in the physical world. As…

NRF Forecasts Solid Holiday Sales Growth
October 4, 2019 at 10:06 am

The National Retail Federation (NRF) forecasts that holiday sales will rise between 3.8 percent and 4.2 percent, even as uncertainty looms over an escalating trade war with China. The holiday sales forecast, announced Thursday, marks an increase from the disappointing 2.1 percent growth seen in the November and December 2018 period that came well short…

Amazon to Launch Grocery Stores in 3 Major US Cities
October 2, 2019 at 1:00 pm

Amazon.com reportedly is moving forward with the opening of grocery stores separate from its Whole Foods Market subsidiary, according to SupermarketNews.com. Store locations will begin opening in Philadelphia, Chicago, and Los Angeles, possibly as early as the end of this year, as Amazon has reportedly already signed more than a dozen leases in the Los…

Forever 21 Files for Bankruptcy, to Close Up to 178 Stores
September 30, 2019 at 12:42 pm

Fashion chain Forever 21 has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The privately held company based in Los Angeles said Sunday it will close up to 178 stores in the U.S. According to the bankruptcy filing, the company operates about 800 stores globally, including more than 500 stores in the U.S. Forever 21 said it would focus…

Why the Future of Brick-and-Mortar Retail Looks (Surprisingly) Strong
September 26, 2019 at 11:41 am

Don’t count out brick-and-mortar retailers. While it’s true that clicks haven't overtaken bricks in total retail sales, e-commerce has fundamentally changed consumer behavior and heightened their expectations for customer experience. Claiming just 8.9 percent of total retail sales in 2017, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce, e-commerce is still a relatively small bite of…