Peak-a-Boo: Retail Apps See You
Do branded apps usage peak, after holidays, tentpole events, or other special occasions, for you? Airship, which helps brands optimize their mobile app experiences for customers, released research this month that shows the struggle is real for retailers trying to capture and sustain long-term value from app downloads during “peak” times of the year. Airship […]
The New $20/Hour Minimum Wage in CA (and How MULO Brands are Coping)
As if fast-casual restaurants didn’t have enough labor challenges lately, the latest sting for them is the boost to $20/hour as the minimum wage in California. These MULO (multi-location) brands have had to deal with the pandemic, supply chain and labor shortages, lack of brand loyalty, food safety and health, the impact of technology on […]
Did the Music Die or Just Take a Beat as Sam Ash Closes Stores?
Music stores used to be wildly popular. Although many still exist and vinyl records have made a comeback, the MULO (multi-location) music store category is struggling. Sam Ash recently announced that it’s closing 18 of its 45 stores throughout the U.S. The first music store opened in the U.S. in 1759. Sam Ash sells instruments […]
Eagle Eye’s AI Product Can Scale, Personalize Promotions at Retail
When Eagle Eye introduced its data-centric solution powered by AI earlier this year, its intended business targets were grocery and retail verticals. The offering uses retailers’ existing customer data to generate personalized promotions for consumers at scale. In this way mass promotions can be segmented and curated specifically for individuals, said Cédric Chéreau, Untie Nots Co-Founder […]
Retail Bankruptcies: Life in the ‘Express’ Lane
Business and retail media are filled with stories of companies that are in the express lane towards restructuring and holding huge sales on their way toward bankruptcy. It has become such a popular topic of speculation that one online source even gives odds of bankruptcy filing. Over the past week, the media was placing odds […]
The New Grocery Store
The General Store of the 1800s eventually became the supermarket (when the Astor Market in New York and Piggly Wiggly in Tennessee opened their doors in the early 1900s. From 1915 to 1975, A&P was the largest grocery store in the U.S. (and the biggest retailer of any kind). Fast-forward to our current omnichannel and […]
Report: Retail Is Robust Again
The fickle finger of fast fashion just got longer in the U.S. market. According to findings from the Consumer Edge Insight Center fast fashion, defined as the reproduction of high-end fashion designs cheaply and selling them at retail for the masses, is even holding its own against luxury fashion. Retailers such as Shein, Temu, The Gap, Zara, Uniqlo, Topshop, […]
Do You Have One of the Most Stressful Jobs?
You may think that managing marketing, business operations, or technology gives you daily headaches. But there are other more stressful jobs. This new “Top 10” report is one that MULO (multi-location) retailers would probably not want to hear about. According to new data from the U.S. Department of Labor, front-line retail management ranks high as […]
Retail 2024: What’s Hot?
It’s that time of year. The predictions for the next 365 days have started popping up throughout business and consumer media. But what about retail? We’ve seen some major retailers file for bankruptcy this year. Many of them have been covered in the BOOM & BUST series in Street Fight and we’ll continue to analyze these […]
How Retailers are Keeping the Grinch from Stealing This Holiday Season
Sadly, it’s not just the Grinch ruining the holidays for many retailers. It’s thievery. Last year, about $112B was lost to various types of retail crime, including shoplifting, flash mobs, and organized crime. Technologies, including AI-based video at point-of-sale, sensory heat maps, cash automation technology, and autonomous security robots, are helping retailers prevent, spot, and […]
Toys ‘R’ Us is Not Playing Around With its Retail Re-launch
Setting what might be an example of a future retail model, mega toy brand Toys ‘R’ Us is emerging from bankruptcy with a new retail strategy involving airports and cruise ships. Called the “air, land, and sea” initiative, the big box MULO (multi-location) brand is opening up to 24 flagship stores and locations in airports […]
6 Virtual Sizing Tools for Fashion Retailers
One of the last remaining hurdles for fashion brands to overcome in the e-commerce space has to do with sizing. For years, retailers have been attempting to replicate the in-store try-on experience online, with varying degrees of success. In 2023, something changed. Technology caught up with what shoppers and retailers were asking for, and a […]
Retailers Revolutionize Store Location Selection with Geospatial Intelligence
It’s a tale as old as time. A retailer picks a storefront, leases a building, and renovates a space — only to discover that the location itself is a dud. Maybe there isn’t enough foot traffic, or parking is too difficult. Or maybe shoppers in the neighborhood just aren’t interested in buying whatever products the […]
Back-to-School Shopping Data Is In — Are Retail Marketers Ready to Pivot?
As the summer days begin to wane, parents across the nation are gearing up for the annual back-to-school shopping frenzy. A recent data analysis conducted by Lotame, a global technology company that provides data enrichment solutions for enterprises, sheds light on the spending patterns of parents during this bustling season — offering valuable insights for […]
Forecasting Frenzy: Inside the Strategies Retailers Are Using to Predict Holiday Trends in 2023
Holiday forecasting is presenting a challenge for retailers in 2023, with multiple layers of economic uncertainty. After years of supply chain woes and logistics challenges, followed by a 2022 holiday season marked by the effects of inflation, retailers are looking at the 2023 holidays as an intricate puzzle. Behind the scenes, many retail executives say […]
How 3 Brands Have Modernized Their Loyalty Programs in 2023
Virtually every top retail brand today has a mobile app designed to build loyalty, but the majority of those apps aren’t delivering the kind of return on investment that their creators expect. With so many branded apps and loyalty programs vying for consumers’ attention, companies are learning that they have to lean into personalized experiences […]
Why One Version of the Truth Is Vital to a Retailer’s Success
When walking into a Walmart, customers know exactly what to expect, as the brand provides a consistent experience from merchandise to employee interactions, no matter the location. With over 10,500 stores, Walmart employs 2.1 million associates. From a managerial standpoint, that number can seem daunting. Providing a consistent experience across all store locations can be […]
Consumers Continue to Spend with Department Store Brands
When Commerce Signals, a TransUnion company that provides credit and debit card insights for retail, restaurants, and entertainment, discovered that department store brands TJ Maxx, Kohls, Nordstrom, and Bergdorf Goodman took market share from the likes of Macy’s, Neiman Marcus, and Saks, Nick Mangiapane was not surprised. “That’s exactly the kind of question that Commerce […]
Pop Goes the Pop-Up Shop — For Big Brands and Mom & Pops
The Pop-up shop has long been part of the retail and restaurant landscape. They are temporary locations. Multi-location brands may take their products into small footprints or new configurations and venues and small brands may start with a limited-run concept and then expand it. 5 Pop-Up Models Some are seasonal. For example, Bryant Park in […]
BOOM: Upcycled / Pre-Worn Clothes and the MULO Brands That Sell Them
Buying pre-worn clothes is nothing new. But it’s now in style for a variety of reasons. After all, places like Goodwill have been around since 1902 and have more than 4,000 locations. In the 1960s and 70s, hippies and their wannabe equivalents flocked to army-navy and other surplus stores to buy jackets, overalls, and other […]