Mobile-Empowered Sales Associates Key to Competing With E-Commerce Titans
December 22, 2017 at 1:27 pm

Increasing innovation in technology means more disruption, and the retail industry isn't immune. With the online pure-plays continually cutting into the market once dominated by brick-and-mortar, retailers need to come up with new strategies and tactics to compete. One not-so-obvious answer may be to leverage one of the their most unique assets — store associates.…

The Great Indoors: How Retailers Are Bringing the Sights, Sounds and Smells of the Outdoors, In-Store
December 21, 2017 at 10:17 am

Some people think retail as we know it is dead. But what if the in-store experience encompassed an immersive video wall, virtual golf swing simulator and intoxicating campfire scents? I’d say it’s a game changer. Sports retailers from Dick's to Bass Pro are reimagining the brick-and-mortar experience and re-evaluating the science behind the consumer journey,…

Macy's Names Jill Ramsey Chief Product and Digital Revenue Officer
December 20, 2017 at 6:02 pm

Macy’s has  announced the appointment of Jill Ramsey as chief product and digital revenue officer, effective Jan. 8. In her role, Ramsey will focus on bridging the physical and digital worlds together through seamless customer experiences. She will have oversight of both product and revenue for…

Ron Harries, Vice President of Retail, Fabletics
December 20, 2017 at 5:51 pm

"We call it brick mining. When you take the data that you collect from that customer in a retail location, you can get to know your members and guests much differently than you could online only."

76% of U.S. Online Consumers Shopping on Amazon This Holiday Season
December 20, 2017 at 2:28 pm

Seventy-six percent of Americans shopping online this holiday season expect to do most of that shopping on Amazon.com, according to the results of CNBC's All-America Economic Survey for the fourth quarter, which was released this week. CNBC surveyed 800 adults from Dec. 10 - Dec. 13 to get their views on the state of the…

126M Consumers Plan to Shop on ‘Super Saturday’
December 20, 2017 at 2:15 pm

Just over half of U.S. adults surveyed expect to finish their holiday gift shopping by today, but others will still be buying gifts on Christmas Eve — and some will miss the deadline altogether. That’s according to the annual survey released today by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Prosper Insights & Analytics. The survey found…

Toys"R"Us Mulls Closing at Least 100 Stores
December 19, 2017 at 9:50 am

Toys“R”Us, which filed for bankruptcy in September, is considering closing at least 100 U.S. stores in the face of weak holiday sales, according to people with knowledge of the situation. U.S. sales have declined about 15 percent this holiday shopping season from a year earlier, according to people recently briefed on the matter, who asked not to be…

Gander Mountain Returns With New Name
December 15, 2017 at 12:16 pm

This week, Gander Mountain emerged from bankruptcy protection and reopened stores with a new name: Gander Outdoors. The outdoor apparel and product company was purchased by Camping World Holdings, an Illinois-based network of RV-centric retail locations, in April. Now under new ownership, the newly minted Gander Outdoors is on track to open 55 to 65…

Why 2018 Will Be the Year of Brick-and-Mortar Retail
December 14, 2017 at 1:24 pm

Technology is already everywhere and is becoming a bigger part of our lives every day. More than 93 percent of American adults under 50 use the internet, and 77 percent of Americans own a smartphone. It’s no wonder that consumers believe online shopping is the future of retail, with 52 percent of global consumers shopping…

Calypso St. Barth to Shutter All US Stores, Liquidate Inventory
December 13, 2017 at 1:29 pm

Luxury apparel and accessories retail chain Calypso St. Barth is shuttering all of it U.S. stores and liquidating its remaining inventory. Asset firms Tiger Group and Great American Group are supervising the going-out-of-business sales at the retailer’s 16 stores in New York, Georgia, Massachusetts, Colorado, California, Florida, Arizona, Maryland and South Carolina. The inventory is…