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Almost 40 stores closed their doors for the final time each day this year in the latest blow to the high street, according to new data. The latest research from PwC shows that 6,945 outlets have shut so far in 2024, equating to 38 store closures per day – an increase on last year’s 36 per day. This figure outnumbers the rate of new store openings, which rose modestly to 4,661 this year – averaging 25 openings each day.
Still-potent economic uncertainty is encouraging consumers to be savvier as they browse and buy. But while there may be more price comparing and deal hunting this holiday season, consumers will still expect stellar experiences as they browse and buy across channels. Retail TouchPoints interviewed 12 experts who shared their predictions for the 2024 holiday season.
Decathlon has launched free exercise classes and picnic kit rentals exclusively from its new flagship store at 570 George Street in Sydney CBD. The company’s in-house fitness experts will lead the high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and pilates classes in the park and guided run club sessions. Decathlon also offers 10 free picnic kit rentals from 10 am to 6 pm daily.
Lego stores around the world are creating interactive experiences showcasing the power of play — from a playable library in China to a restaurant-themed pop-up in Japan — as part of the brand’s “Play is Your Superpower” campaign. The goal is to encourage families to play together, with Lego citing a consumer survey it commissioned showing that 83% of parents see play as a platform for celebrating differences in a fun and positive way.
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.
Metcash has booked a sales increase of 6.1 per cent in the early part of the new fiscal year – with food leading the growth. The group’s food sales, excluding tobacco, surged 17.9 per cent, reflecting volume growth and inflation moderation, the company said in an investor update covering the period to September 8. Supermarket and convenience store sales grew 3.5 per cent, while its Superior Foods division jumped 8.7 per cent.
Alcohol ecommerce solution Drinks has launched the “Drinks-as-a-service” (DaaS) platform, a subscription software solution that will allow any brand, merchant or ecommerce operator to navigate the various tax and compliance impediments to selling alcohol online. The DaaS platform can be used by retailers that want to add wine or spirits to their assortment to alcohol producers looking to build out their direct-to-consumer business.
Paramount debuted a new technology last night at the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) that allowed viewers to shop the entire broadcast, from the red carpet to the stage. The Shopsense AI Lens is an image recognition tool that lets viewers snap a photo of what their favorite artists are wearing and then shop the looks they love in an AI-curated digital store.
After unveiling its renovated Melbourne Central store earlier this month, French beauty giant Sephora is now gearing up to open the doors to its new store in Sydney’s Westfield Miranda shopping centre. With the reopening of Sephora’s Melbourne Central store came the launch of its first beauty classroom, a space dedicated to hosting masterclasses with its exclusive brands – as well as the launch of Skincredible, its innovative app developed in collaboration with dermatologists to offer personalis
Associated Food Stores (AFS), a wholesaler and cooperative serving nearly 450 supermarkets in the Intermountain West region, has adopted customer engagement, personalization and analytics solutions from Birdzi. AFS will roll out the Birdzi shopper analytics platform, personalized ad, coupon flyers and audience engagement tools first before deploying the VISPER personalization engine, with the entire process forecasted to be complete in time for the holiday season.
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.
As the retail media boom continues , the relationship between the retailer and the brands they carry is going through a significant transformation. While brands have always had to strategize, plan, negotiate and spend with retailers to get their products distributed across stores to reach new and existing customers, their commitments are evolving once again.
Over the past 11 years, Grove Collaborative has built a name for itself as conscious consumers’ go-to supplier for everyday essentials. And that hard-won name has been built on top of a homegrown tech stack that supported the brand’s robust ecommerce and subscription ecosystem. But recently the brand realized it had outgrown its in-house tech and began a process that many today are undertaking — shifting from custom-built digital commerce systems to best-in-breed third-party technology, a.k.a.
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.
Walmart has approved embedded finance provider Parafin to offer financing to Walmart Marketplace sellers to help them grow their businesses Parafin offers full-scale financial services programs to marketplaces, employing machine learning to analyze sales data to determine offer eligibility and terms. Since Parafin’s launch in 2021, it has served tens of thousands of businesses and extended more than $8 billion in offers via platforms including Worldpay and Mindbody.
Bunnings was once again crowned the most trusted brand in the June quarter, followed by Aldi in second place and Kmart in third place, according to a survey from Roy Morgan. This marks the hardware chain’s third straight quarterly victory. The second and third rankings also remained unchanged compared to the March quarter. The biggest loser in the latest quarterly rankings was Woolworths, which fell a massive 194 places to be the fifth most distrusted brand.
Zara’s parent, Inditex, booked higher net income and sales across all of its brands during the fiscal first half year. The fashion group’s net income surged 10.1 per cent to €5.0 billion (A$8.24 billion) as net sales rose 7.2 per cent to €18.1 billion, thanks to the spring and summer collections being well received by customers. Zara’s net sales increased 5.4 per cent to €13.0 billion while Pull&Bear climbed 7.9 per cent to €1.1 billion.
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.
Understanding how to authentically engage younger consumer groups, especially Gen Z, is key to success in retail today, but it’s easier said than done. That was the topic at the 2024 Retail Influencer CEO Forum in New York City this week, which brought together industry experts to understand how leading brands, such as American Eagle, are getting this right.
BurgerFi International Inc., the parent company of BurgerFi and Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza & Wings, has officially filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Uniqlo is aggressively expanding its reach by opening more than 20 flagship stores in Asia, Europe, and North America from this month, taking its worldwide store count to more than 2500. In Asia, the Fast Retailing-owned brand will open its largest store in South Korea at the Lotte World Mall and its first overseas roadside store featuring a new design concept in Bangkok, Thailand.
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
Sales results coming out of Japan in the past few weeks indicate that a high base-year comparison and a narrowing of the tourism effect are starting to have an adverse impact on growth. The evidence is showing up most clearly in the reports coming out of the big department store chains, where the strength is increasingly concentrated in a few flagship stores rather than being distributed across their entire store fleets.
Imagine walking into a store where the staff are not only knowledgeable but genuinely enthusiastic about helping you. Or calling customer service, and having someone instantly locate the exact product, size and colour you need and suggest the best delivery option. This is the reality for companies that invest in their employees’ experience. In an era where customer expectations are high and customer experience (CX) is a top priority, retail employees have never been more important.
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.
Tesco has lost its Supreme Court ‘hire and fire appeal’ as the judge ruled it cannot terminate staff employment contracts and offer to rehire them on less favourable terms. Shopworkers’ union Usdaw took legal action against the supermarket giant after it tried to strip some warehouse workers of their higher pay by ending their contracts and offering to rehire them, in a long-running legal battle between the pair.
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.
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