Mon.Jan 27, 2025

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What holiday sales mean for 2025

Retail Dive

Uncertainties persist, but, five years after the pandemic lockdown, this year may at last mark a return to normal.

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Ten AI trends retailers must embrace in 2025 to stay ahead

Inside Retail

We expect 2025 to be a pivotal year for the development of AI, with many GenAI projects seeing deployment, predicts advisory firm Coresight Research. At this point, any retail executive worth their salt is aware of the rising value, monetary and otherwise, of integrating artificial intelligence into their business operations. More specifically, generative AI (GenAI) enables machines to create original content, including text, images, music and computer code, and agentic AI, which enables softwar

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HMV owner in talks for WHSmith’s 500 high street stores

Retail Gazette

HMV owner Doug Putman is considering a bid to snap up WHSmiths unwanted high street stores. Putman, who rescued the record specialist from bankruptcy in 2019, is understood to be in discussions with WHSmiths advisors, The Sun reported. He joins a number a number of suitors eying the retailers 500 shops, including Bensons for Beds owner Alteri and Hobbycraft owner Modella Capital.

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Lunar New Year travel spending booms in China amid economic concerns

Inside Retail

Travellers thronged railway stations and airports on Friday, clutching large suitcases and gifts such as boxes of fruit as they joined millions of Chinese returning to their hometowns to celebrate the Lunar New Year festival with family. The holiday, China’s biggest, this year falls between January 28-February 4 and marks the arrival of the Year of the Snake.

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Smart Tools & Strong Teams: A People-First Approach to AI in Sales

Speaker: Matt Sunshine, CEO at The Center for Sales Strategy

AI isn’t replacing salespeople—it’s empowering them. The most forward-thinking sales organizations are using AI to enhance human performance rather than eliminate it. From coaching and messaging to prospecting and pipeline accountability, artificial intelligence is giving managers and SDRs the new tools they need to work smarter, sell better, and close more.

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Melinda’s Hot Sauce Takes Game Day Wings to the Next Level With Chef Tony Ramirez & Mike Starr

Retail Wire

Super Bowl fans can use Melinda's Hot Sauce to make special wings for the big game.

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Asics unveils sneakers made from steering wheels

Inside Retail

Sporting goods company Asics has teamed up with Toyoda Gosei an automotive component maker under Toyota to produce Skyhand OG, sneakers made with leather remnants from the manufacture of steering wheels. The Skyhand OG is Asics second project with Toyoda Gosei, following the launch of sneakers that used airbag fabric in 2023. According to the collaborative, they aim to use materials with as little waste as possible and incorporate original techniques such as combining small remnant pieces into

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ARA seeks to relax general retail industry award terms

Inside Retail

The Australian Retailers Association (ARA) is proposing several amendments to the general retail industry award, including the removal of penalty rates for higher-paid staff and smoko breaks. According to the Australian Financial Review , the ARA seeks to exempt senior staff from award entitlements like overtime and weekend rates if they are paid 25 per cent more than the base rate, as well as reduce the gap between shifts on different days from 12 to 10 hours.

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Krispy Kreme Delivers Love to Doughnut Lovers for Valentine’s Day With ‘Hearts in Bloom’ Collection

Retail Wire

Krispy Kreme has launched a delicious collection of four doughnuts for Valentine's Day.

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Toby’s Estate opens flagship cafe in Melbourne 

Inside Retail

Coffee roaster Tobys Estate has launched its Fitzroy flagship cafe in Melbourne, adding to the brands retail portfolio, which includes Sydney, Brisbane, and Singapore. The coffee store features a central bar with wood panelling and rich plum-red tones. It offers an array of coffees, including single-origin, flavour-focused blends (flavour savours) and frozen coffee options.

ATS
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Starbucks Returns to Its Old-School Roots, Bringing Back Condiment Bars, Personalized Cups, Free Refills

Retail Wire

Starbucks is bringing back some of its time-honored traditions to woo customers.

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AI In The Aisles: The Executives Guide To Better In-Store Experiences

Speaker: Steve Worthy, MBA

The rapid rise of AI-powered displays, touchless technology, and sensory marketing is reshaping the future of in-store engagement. Yet for many retail executives, the real challenge is not identifying new tools - it is knowing which signals to trust, which inputs to prioritize, and how to architect decisions that elevate in-store leadership rather than dilute it.

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Clothing The Gaps’ new flagship store is designed to do more than sell merch

Inside Retail

Since Clothing The Gaps launched in 2021, it has grown its platform, community, and product offering becoming one of Australias most impactful and influential social enterprises. Our growth has been in response to community conversations, with our messaging on tees reflecting these discussions and social movements, Laura Thompson, co-founder and CEO of Clothing The Gaps, told Inside Retail.

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Target ends some DEI initiatives, reiterates commitment to belonging and inclusion

Retail Dive

Chief Community Impact and Equity Officer Kiera Fernandez cited “the importance of staying in step with the evolving external landscape.

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The rise of side hustles in Australia: How dropshipping is leading the way

Inside Retail

Why settle for one income stream when you can have two or even more? The side hustle era is here, and dropshipping is its rising star. Australians are diving headfirst into the side hustle revolution, turning their spare hours into profitable ventures. Research from GoDaddy shows that 61 per cent of Australian entrepreneurs are juggling side hustles alongside full-time work.

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Retail Marketing for the customers of tomorrow

Tokinomo

Millennials are reaching middle age, and baby boomers are retiring. Enter Gen Z and Gen Alpha, the customers of tomorrow. These digitally native generations are reshaping the retail landscape with their unique preferences, values, and behaviors. How can brands effectively connect with them while maintaining their appeal across all generations?

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New Research-Backed Strategies to Empower Managers as Culture & Engagement Leaders

Speaker: Beth Sunshine, SVP, Up Your Culture

When culture isn’t consistently lived out across the organization, engagement suffers—and it often starts with a disconnect at the top. In this session, Beth Sunshine, SVP of Up Your Culture at The Center for Sales Strategy, will reveal how HR and executive leaders can close the gap between vision and execution by equipping frontline and mid-level managers to become culture carriers.

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Wingstop Supports California Wildfire Victims in Partnership With the American Red Cross

Retail Wire

Wingstop is allowing customers to round up their purchases as Red Cross donations.

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Learn to Troubleshoot Like a Pro on Cisco U.

Cisco Retail

The Troubleshooting Cisco Enterprise Networking Solutions (ENTSH) Learning Path is now available in Cisco U., born from the popular TSHOOT course of pre-2020.

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Select Starbucks Stores Have a Panic Button: Why Do They Need It?

Retail Wire

Will a panic button work to keep Starbucks employees and customers safe?

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Walmart’s market managers can now earn up to $620K annually

Retail Dive

The compensation changes reflect the key role these multistore supervisors play in the success of the business, the retailer said.

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Breaking The Commerce Bottleneck: Your SAP Exit Plan Starts Now

Speaker: Jason Cottrell and Gireesh Sahukar

Retailers know the clock is ticking–legacy SAP Commerce support ends in 2026. Legacy platforms are becoming a liability burdened by complexity, rigidity, and mounting operational costs. But modernization isn’t just about swapping out systems, it’s about preparing for a future shaped by real-time interactions, AI powered buying assistants, and flexible commerce architecture.

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Meta AI Personalizes Responses Using Your Facebook and Instagram Data

Retail Wire

Meta AI can store pertinent information about your life and recall it for later conversations.

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Gen Z still prefers in-person shopping

Retail Dive

The generation prioritizes buying beauty and luxury goods in person, placing a premium on the physical shopping experience, research from Adyen shows.

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DeepSeek AI Surpasses ChatGPT in App Store, Briefly Shuts Down New User Registrations

Retail Wire

DeepSeek's latest AI assistant is rapidly gaining popularity in the U.S., even beating ChatGPT.

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Sephora releases documentary highlighting diversity

Retail Dive

As others back away from DEI initiatives, the retailer said its film “reaffirms its commitment to fostering a world of inspiration and inclusion.

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Humans + Agents = Rethinking Enterprise Commerce with AI

AI agents already analyze trends, draft content, and trigger actions across leading commerce platforms. Yet most organizations still rely on workflows built for human‑only teams, losing speed, margin, and customer loyalty. Humans + Agents: Rethinking Enterprise Commerce in the Age of AI Collaboration shows how to close that gap. In one concise read you’ll see where agent gains surface first, how early adopters prove ROI, and which lean controls keep innovation moving without risking data or bran

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Applebee’s Invites Students To Nominate Their Favorite Teachers for 9th Annual Above and BEEyond Contest

Retail Wire

Applebee's is encouraging people to honor the special educators in their lives.

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Macy’s to close Sacramento fulfillment center

Retail Dive

The move furthers the company’s previously announced plan to streamline its supply chain, part of its Bold New Chapter turnaround.

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Baskin-Robbins Brings Back ‘Cult Classic’ Flavor for Valentine’s Day. Here Are the Details

Retail Wire

Baskin-Robbins is getting into the holiday season.

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Consumer spend on generative AI apps hit nearly $1.1B in 2024

Retail Dive

Higher spending growth rates propelled by apps like ChatGPT and Google Gemini could catapult the category into the top 10 within a year.

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5 Tips for a Winning Category Management Strategy in 2025

Category Management is a cornerstone of a successful retail strategy. While it promotes collaboration between manufacturers and retailers to optimize category performance, challenges persist in its effective implementation due to hurdles in communication and collaboration across teams and partners, and more. In this guide, we outline five essential strategies for success in 2025 that will touch on all the essential pieces of a successful strategy and implementation.

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Pets at Home holds guidance despite sales dip

Retail Gazette

Pets at Home has maintained its full-year guidance despite reporting softer third quarter trading in its retail arm following a more challenging UK consumer. Retail sales for the pet specialist fell 2.4% in the 12 weeks to 2 January, down 2.8% on a like-for-like basis, which it blamed on a more challenging UK consumer backdrop with particularly weak footfall from October.

ATS
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Next generation edge cloud: Revolutionizing modern retail - part 1

Retail Dive

This article is the first in a three-part series exploring how next-generation edge cloud technology is transforming the retail industry.

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Amazon to launch ‘Prime Air’ delivery drone service in the UK later this year

Retail Gazette

Amazon is planning to launch Britains first drone delivery service in Darlington as it looks for new ways to send customers their orders. The retail giant said it would seek permission to send drones from its warehouse on the outskirts of the town but did not specify when it hopes to start the trial. The etailer said customers will be able to opt into drone delivery, which could mean packages arrive in as little as 15 minutes, and those not interested will have their orders delivered as usual.

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7 signs your loyalty program needs a redesign

Retail Dive

Revamp your loyalty program: Spot the warning signs and learn how to boost customer engagement.

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Cut Costs & Complexity: Smarter Fulfillment for Home, Furniture & DIY Brands

Late deliveries. Split shipments. Spiraling freight costs. For home, furniture, and DIY brands, fulfillment has never been more complex—or more critical. This report outlines how a smarter, AI-ready order management system (OMS) helps you reduce shipping costs, streamline project-based fulfillment, and ensure accurate inventory across every channel.