Retail personalization has long been the domain of the e-commerce retailers that redefined the concept of local retailing by bringing it to a geographically unrestricted audience at scale, leaving traditional retailers scrambling to combat their new, impersonal identity. And as retail stalwarts shuttered their doors and malls became modern American ghost towns, the narrative that…
Nearly 90 percent of retail sales still take place in physical stores. Yet the rise of voice-activated “intelligent assistants” such as Amazon Alexa and Google Home is taking the brand relationship out of the store and into the home, forever changing the way that consumers engage with products and services. Fortunately for retailers, the same…
Crate and Barrel is relaunching its brand for kids, moving merchandise inside its stores to capture the attention of shoppers even before they consider starting a family. The home furnishings retailer is renaming Land of Nod, which operated five standalone stores and two outlets, as Crate & Kids, according to a report in Bloomberg. Crate & Kids…
Toys"R"Us may close up to 200 more stores as it tries to stay afloat and away from a path of bankruptcy. The New York Times reports one plan Toys"R"Us is considering includes shuttering 200 stores, and possibly more, as it tries to recover from a prolonged sales slump, including a dismal holiday season. While the planning…
Historically, retailers have focused on the industry as an exchange. Customers wanted to purchase products from them, so the best way to secure more customers was to offer the best products or offer products for the best possible price. Today, the landscape has changed. It’s no longer enough to merely offer good products at good…
Stockings over the fireplace weren’t the only things being filled to the top this holiday season — so were the pockets of retailers all over the country. First Data’s recent analysis of retail spending showed that consumers were out shopping in full force as overall holiday spending grew 6.2 percent year-over-year, the largest increase in…
It happened again. Just like in recent years past, no company put pressure on its competitors in 2017 quite like Amazon.com. The retail giant accounted for nearly half of last year's online sales, and with movement into spaces like grocery and healthcare, few industries have been spared from Amazon’s strength and ever-evolving business model. For…
J.C. Penney is anticipating closing eight of its department stores across the U.S. this year, a spokesman told CNBC. The move is part of the company's ongoing plan to right-size its store fleet as more sales move online. J.C. Penney operates roughly 875 department stores today. That's after the retailer shuttered nearly 140 stores throughout 2017.…
WeWork Companies is launching a partnership with J.Crew to host a panel discussion series at select WeWork locations in New York City, San Francisco, Atlanta and Philadelphia. As part of the partnership, these venues will also sell merchandise from J.Crew’s spring collection at pop-up shops that offer discounts to WeWork members. The events aim to bring together professionals…
U.S. retail sales unexpectedly fell in January, recording their biggest drop in nearly a year. According to CNBC, The Commerce Department said on Wednesday that retail sales decreased 0.3 percent last month, the largest decline since February 2017. Data for December was revised to show sales unchanged instead of rising 0.4 percent as previously reported.…
