Mon.Sep 27, 2021

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August retail figures show impact of prolonged lockdowns

Inside Retail

National retail sales fell 1.7 per cent in August compared to a month prior, and slowed 0.7 per cent compared to the same time last year. The data, care of the ABS, demonstrates the prolonged impact lockdowns around the country are having on the retail industry: clothing, footwear and personal accessories sales fell 17.4 per cent, department stores 15.9 per cent, household goods 5.9 per cent and cafes, restaurants and takeaway food 0.8 per cent.

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Nordstrom NYC Flagship Gives a Home to Home Products

Retail TouchPoints

Nordstrom has introduced a two-story Nordstrom Home retail space at its NYC flagship location in Midtown Manhattan with an emphasis on city living featuring products such as compact appliances, small furniture and suitcase-friendly items for tourists. The move coincides with the debut of Nordstrom Home, a newly expanded merchandise assortment concept that includes kitchen and tabletop, home textiles and home décor.

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Goop without Gwyneth: Ex-Hairhouse GM to launch online wellness platform

Inside Retail

Two years after stepping down from his role as executive general manager of national salon chain Hairhouse, Steve Terry is back with a new wellness venture that is part online retailer, part digital magazine and part events business. Set to launch in February 2022, Youtime will offer a highly curated range of products, content and services across six verticals – beauty, wellness, epicure, home, style and experience – with the goal of building a community based on purpose.

Planning 246
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Health Brand Jocko Fuel’s Amazon Success Formula: ‘Fight AI with AI’

Retail TouchPoints

Every day , 1,797 new sellers join the Amazon marketplace. With similar growth trends for the many other online marketplaces now available, one begins to wonder how any new brand could break through. DTC supplement and energy drink brand Jocko Fuel is one of those hopeful brands, and it faces the same challenge as many sellers — it has a small team trying to make a big splash in an increasingly crowded pool.

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From Data to Decisions: Maximizing Retail Potential with AI

Speaker: David Azoulay, Marc Stracuzza, Román Tejada, and guest speaker Sucharita Kodali

Imagine a retail landscape where every interaction is personalized, every decision informed, and every opportunity maximized 🤔✨ Join us for an exploratory journey into the heart of AI-driven retail innovation. We’ll unveil the transformative potential of AI and data analytics in shaping the future of omnichannel personalization and e-commerce.

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Why you can’t underestimate the value of hiring older workers

Inside Retail

Australia’s chronic skill shortage has been even more acute since the breakout of Covid-19, and the broken record from businesses across all industries is the lack of skilled workers. In the age of emerging technologies and the rapid rate of change, it is natural for employers to gravitate to the younger (‘techier’) generation. But younger workers are in short supply, shown by the decline in Australia’s birth rate over the last 30 years.

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Madewell and thredUP Educate Shoppers on Circular Retail With a Brooklyn Popup

Retail TouchPoints

Madewell and thredUP have launched a pop-up called “A Circular Store” that will feature secondhand Madewell pieces sourced from thredUP. The shop, which is set to operate in New York City’s Williamsburg neighborhood from late September through the end of October 2021, will emphasize educating shoppers about why clothes should be made to last. A Circular Store is an extension of the online Madewell Forever denim resale experience, marking the first time the initiative will be available in a physi

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Retro Neon Flexible LEDs from Perspex Distribution

Retail Focus

Perspex Distribution has added to its growing range of LED solutions with the launch of LED Neon 10 , a new flexible neon-effect LED, allowing sign makers to produce stunning neon-style signage with ease. LED Neon 10 is available in a sleek 4mm, rounded 8mm, and bold 12mm wide flexible profiles and can be used to create everything from flowing neon-style scripted letters and company logos, to accent lighting.

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Will soaring shipping costs make Australian manufacturing more attractive?

Inside Retail

The cost of shipping around the world has skyrocketed. Until now most retailers have absorbed the costs, but with no end in sight to the shipping crisis, it’s possible the price of goods for consumers is going to rise. Some retailers have already announced they’re passing on these costs to their customers. What caused shipping costs to surge? In summary, a supply and demand story unfolded.

Shipping 246
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Buy now, pay later programs replacing layaway

Retail Wire

Buy now and pay later options are growing in popularity among consumers for larger purchases. Retailers like the year-round boost they are getting from this purchasing option and are doing away with traditional layaway programs that mean holding merchandise in their inventory until customers fully pay up.

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Woolworths’ Everyday Market launches nationwide

Inside Retail

After a successful trial period Woolworths is opening its online marketplace offering, Everyday Market, nationwide starting today. The marketplace allows customers to access a variety of products in categories not traditionally held in Woolworths supermarkets, such as homewares and clothing, and includes products from Big W, PetCulture, Healthylife, Designer Bums and Joonya.

Marketing 246
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The Personalization Playbook: 2024 Strategies

Did you know—74% of IT leaders are looking to improve their tech stack to offer better personalization? It’s impossible to ignore the importance of personalization, but it comes with challenges. How do you do it with a tight budget? What about customer privacy and the use of data? The Personalization Playbook is packed with research and insights from Orium, Talon.One, and Bloomreach and gives IT leaders answers to these tough questions, helping them shape 2024 strategies for personalization.

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Companies want recruits to think about retail as a career

Retail Wire

Many, if not most, of those who have worked in retail have thought of it as a temporary job before moving onto something else where they will make their careers. Retailers are now trying to get workers to think of their businesses as a career by offering higher wages, educational benefits and other perks to reduce turnover and retain high-performing associates for the long-term.

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Aldi UK’s latest Special Buy: checkout-free shopping

Inside Retail

Discount retailer Aldi may be a novice when it comes to in-store technology in Australia, but it has plans afoot in the UK to launch an advanced system that will replace checkout entirely. Aldi, which only recently introduced self-serve checkout in Australia , announced last week that it would open its first checkout-free store on a trial basis, at a location in London that is yet to be confirmed.

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Misinformation makes working in stores harder than need be

Retail Wire

The rapid spread of the novel coronavirus in some parts of the country has made challenging retail jobs even more challenging, even for a fully vaccinated store associate concerned about bringing the COVID-19 virus home to his elderly parents. “A lot of people here still don’t believe the virus is real — even when the hospitals are full, even when they have family dying,” said Peter Naughton, a cashier at Walmart.

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Solomon Lew calls on government to step up on shopping centre safety

Inside Retail

Premier Investments is calling on each state government to mandate Covid-safe check points at shopping centres as the eastern states prepare to exit their respective lockdowns. According to Premier, with just weeks to go until shopping centres are filled back up in New South Wales, time is running out to ensure both workers and shoppers are kept safe with a more coordinated approach.

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Mapping Digital Transformation: Retail’s Strategic Shift

Speaker: Jennifer Wright, Michael Scholz, Jasmin Guthmann, and Scott Canney

Digital transformation in retail is so much more than new technology. You need to get your whole organization, from entry-level workers to executives, on board with the new tech, new skills, and culture changes that digital transformation brings. Leading this mindset shift can be a daunting task… but that’s where this webinar comes in! Join our panel of experts as they guide you through the challenges of digital transformation, preparing you to avoid common mistakes and make the most of incredib

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Supply chain organizations pay higher wages and put robots to work

Retail Wire

High demand, disrupted supply chains and a tight labor market have made this time one of the most challenging ever for logistics organizations. Companies are addressing the present reality by offering warehouse workers and drivers higher pay while using robotics to automate the process and move goods more quickly through the supply chain.

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Amazon preparing for Christmas rush with 1,000 seasonal hires

Inside Retail

Amazon Australia wants to onboard around 1,000 workers to man its logistics and fulfilment centres during the upcoming holiday season. While the bricks-and-mortar retail sector, at least in NSW, could be open as soon as 11 October, stores in other parts of the country are likely to remain shut until later in the month. And, given the changes in shopping behaviour seen in the last two years, retailers and logistics providers, including Amazon, are preparing for a greater emphasis on online shoppi

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New store and forecourt open for business on site of former coal mine

Talking Retail

The site of a former coal mine in Scotland has been transformed into a new Spar convenience store and forecourt. EG Group has opened its latest outlet just off the M8 at Heartlands Business Park in Whitburn, West Lothian, as part of a major regeneration project on land that once housed a mine. Mike Leonard, This story continues at New store and forecourt open for business on site of former coal mine.

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Why brands need to lead the charge on climate

Inside Retail

The release of the IPCC’s report on climate change showed us with shocking clarity that the Earth will continue on a path to catastrophe and that every action towards immediate and meaningful emissions reductions is going to be crucial in order to avoid said catastrophe. Disappointingly (though unfortunately not all that surprising), the Australian government’s response to this report is that no additional action will be taken.

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Planning the Architecture of Your Modular DXP

Are you considering moving away from a monolith platform and over to composable architecture? Join experts from Google Cloud, GroupBy, and Orium as they discuss the benefits of moving to a modular digital experience platform. In this masterclass, uncover key indicators that show your brand is ready for a modular DXP, and learn how to lay the foundation for composable commerce.

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Walmart seeks to reinvent its beauty business with small and multicultural brands

Retail Wire

Musab Balbale, merchandising vice president for Walmart U.S. Beauty, has been given the task of reinventing the retail giant’s beauty business. “It’s such a rapidly changing category between indie brands and heritage brands,’ Mr. Balbale said. “Definitely, the pandemic has changed things. Beauty certainly was one of the first categories we saw come back.

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Here are the 6 ways consumers look at sharing data

Inside Retail

Consumer data is undoubtedly a critical resource for retailers. Much has been written about the value of data for better understanding customers, tracking and forecasting trends, optimising front- and back-of-house operations, and a host of other business functions. Data even has monetary value, as we’ve seen from Woolworths’ deal with Quantium, and Wesfarmers holding on to Flybuys while demerging Coles.

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Credit card debt climbs as Americans up spending

Retail Wire

Fifty-nine percent of Americans say they are currently carrying more credit card debt than they were at the beginning of the pandemic. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s “Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit” found that the amount of purchases paid for with credit cards rose $17 billion in the second quarter. It marked the first time that figure went up after four straight quarter of declines.

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How to avoid the unintended consequences of shipping online from stores

Inside Retail

An increasing number of retailers today are using their physical store networks to fulfil online orders, be that through the use of Click and Collect or using the store as a fulfilment hub in its own right. In today’s omnichannel retail environment there are many reasons why this makes perfect sense. However, there is also a range of unintended consequences that need to be managed to ensure that the benefits of doing this aren’t outweighed by negative impacts. .

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How Personalized Customer Experiences Drive Retail Growth and Revenue

Speaker: Shaunna Bruton - Associate Director of Product Strategy at Orium | Sam Panzer - Director of Industry Strategy at Talon.One | Frank Passantino - Director of Product Management at Bloomreach

More and more, customers are expecting a better personalized CX. But can retailers actually deliver? Data from McKinsey shows that companies that excel in personalization increase their revenue by 40%, but despite these numbers, retailers struggle to implement customer personalization strategies. So what are the potential solutions? Join us to gain a better understanding of the current retail landscape and learn what you can do to translate personalization strategies into practical implementatio

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Biden’s ‘ports envoy’ gets trucks 24/7 access to ports

Retail Wire

John Porcari, a former transportation official in the Obama administration, was named as “ports envoy” last month by President Biden. Mr. Porcari met with officials at the Los Angeles and Long Beach, CA, ports last week and helped to get them to add night and weekend hours for trucks so they can collect containers seven days a week, 24 hours a day.

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JJ Whitley is feeling blue with latest vodka launch

Talking Retail

Vodka brand JJ Whitley has launched a Blue Raspberry Russian Vodka variant. The variant has both raspberry and blueberry flavours in a 700ml bottle, retailing at £16 with a 38% ABV. The brand said the new launch can be enjoyed straight, over ice, with a mixer or as part of a cocktail. Simon Jackman, senior. This story continues at JJ Whitley is feeling blue with latest vodka launch.

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COVID-19 surge, port delays threaten retailers' holiday plans

Retail Dive

As the pandemic continues, preparing for the upcoming season becomes more complex. Retailers are facing labor shortages and limited inventory capacity.

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Using INFRAM to Modernize Today’s Healthcare

Cisco Retail

Healthcare has been digitally transforming during the past several years, but it is now happening at such speed and scale, it is driving convergence of technology and business strategies like never before. From demands on clinicians to integrate technology into their workflows and leverage data insights in real-time, to patient expectations to use a myriad of digital tools throughout their care journey, the need to modernize healthcare is here.

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Retails Next Frontier: Exploring and Proving the Value of AI

AI is everywhere. It’s in customer service interactions, product recommendations, marketing outreach, and yes, even commerce experiences. But not every use of AI provides the same value to your brand. In this masterclass, experts from Constructor, commercetools, Contentstack, and Orium discuss how AI can complement your composable tech stack and help bring in immediate ROI.

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Toymakers worry congestion will lead to holiday inventory troubles

Retail Dive

The time it takes to ship products from China to the U.S. increased by 83% in September compared to before the pandemic, according to Freightos.

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Tyrrells gets festive makeover

Talking Retail

KP Snacks is set to launch limited edition Christmas packaging for its Tyrrells crisp brand. The design will be available from October across Tyrrells’ Hand Cooked Crisps and Veg Crisps sharing bags, including Mature Cheddar & Chive, Sea Salt & Cider Vinegar, Lightly Sea Salted, Sweet Chilli & Red Pepper, Sea Salt & Black Pepper. This story continues at Tyrrells gets festive makeover.

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Engineering a New Career in a Remote World

Cisco Retail

When I joined Cisco in November 2020, I was a recent graduate. I had also moved from Sweden to Norway. Excited and nervous about my new city and new career as a Software Engineer on the Webex Devices team , I wonder what this new adventure would be like. How would I collaborate with my colleagues and learn everything I needed to be successful in my new role while working entirely from home?

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Apothic kicks off Red October campaign in the UK

Talking Retail

Californian wine brand Apothic is rolling out its Red October campaign in the UK, following its “success” in the US. The campaign is running until November and aims to drive awareness of the brand’s Apothic Red variant whilst also encouraging new drinkers to try the wine throughout “the cooler months”. The campaign includes a 15-second. This story continues at Apothic kicks off Red October campaign in the UK.

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2024’s Retail Odyssey: Going Small, Artificial, and Augmented!

Speaker: Kelly Goetsch - Chief Strategy Officer at Commercetools | Jason Cottrel - CEO & Founder at Orium | and guest speaker Brendan Witcher - VP, Principal Analyst at Forrester

Significant modifications are on the horizon for digital commerce in retail and customer experience come 2024. The pace of tech shifts will intensify, businesses are set to defund legacy solutions, and attractive opportunities will surface as social and retail media players join forces. To stay ahead of the curve, digital leaders are experimenting with less risky initiatives and scaling back on outdated projects that no longer yield impactful results.