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Every year, failed payments cost merchants an estimated $118.5 billion globally. That’s not just a number – it’s abandoned shopping carts and frustrated customers who may never return. In some sectors, the damage is even worse. Ecommerce businesses, for example, experience false decline rates as high as 10%, meaning that legitimate transactions are mistakenly rejected, costing merchants $443 billion annually in lost sales.
From barcode comparisons to instant resale authentication and artificial intelligence (AI) models guiding purchasing behaviour, the next evolution of artificial intelligence in retail isn’t happening in the cloud but on the shop floor. As AI reshapes both digital and physical experiences, the store is emerging as a high-stakes frontier, where value, trust and speed must collide in real time.
Visual merchandising is an essential tool for retailers aiming to boost sales and improve customer experience. It involves strategically presenting products in a physical space to engage customers and encourage purchases. This blog post will explore how effective visual merchandising can positively impact sales and offer practical tips retailers can implement to enhance their display tactics.
When you make a high-consideration purchase: a luxury mattress, custom flooring, high-end appliances, you’re not just buying a product. You’re buying confidence. You’re trusting that someone, somewhere, will know what customer service is and have your back if something goes wrong.
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.
Key Takeaways Thorough Market Research: Conducting in-depth market research helps identify industry trends, competitor strategies, and customer preferences, providing a competitive advantage. Define Your Target Audience: Knowing your target demographic and their shopping behaviors allows for tailored product offerings and effective marketing strategies.
Retail audits are powerful. They give you a real-time snapshot of what’s happening at the shelf—what’s compliant, what’s missing, what’s broken. But too often, brands stop at the data collection stage or act on it as quick as they can—but often reactively. A broken display gets a photo sent to a rep. A missing tag leads to a call. An out-of-stock item triggers a scramble.
Learn how you can elevate customer engagement by blending physical and digital channels into seamless, memorable shopping experiences with strategies like virtual try-ons, personalized follow-ups, loyalty programs and in-store interactivity.
Learn how you can elevate customer engagement by blending physical and digital channels into seamless, memorable shopping experiences with strategies like virtual try-ons, personalized follow-ups, loyalty programs and in-store interactivity.
Tesco has begun introducing solar-powered refrigeration units to its delivery fleet as part of its efforts to cut carbon emissions across its operations. The UK’s largest grocer is incorporating five battery- and solar-powered endurance units from British engineering firm Sunswap to its Peterborough depot fleet. The new units replace traditional diesel-powered refrigeration systems, allowing the retailer to reduce emissions generated during food deliveries and even when the vehicles are station
There’s a growing gap in beauty retail that most brands don’t see coming. While retailers pour millions into the latest tech initiatives and digital innovations, their customers have quietly evolved into something entirely different. The result? A disconnect that’s costing brands significant market share and customer loyalty. Beauty retail isn’t broken, but it’s definitely out of sync.
In today’s fast-paced digital world, product manufacturers are seeking new ways to expand their reach and streamline operations. One approach gaining traction is drop-shipping. But what exactly is drop-shipping for manufacturers, and why should it matter to you? This guide breaks down the concept and explores how it can be a game-changer in your sales strategy.
The Athlete’s Foot has hit the ground running in the Melbourne seaside suburb of Brighton with the opening of a first-of-its-kind concept store. The Brighton concept store marks the retailer’s 145th store opening, but it is intentionally different from the rest of the network, with a two-storey floor plan that takes consumers on a journey to find their perfect fit.
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.
Indiana is the latest flash point in Kroger ’s spreading labor unrest. Members of United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 700 — representing roughly 8,000 clerks, meat-cutters, and pharmacy techs across central Indiana — rejected a tentative four-year agreement by a lopsided 74% “no” vote. The “no” vote automatically activated strike authorization, giving leaders the legal power to call a walkout at any moment.
Just six months ago, the idea of a business seriously incorporating Agentic AI into its operations would likely have been dismissed as premature. While generative tools, predictive analytics and conversational AI have all advanced rapidly, the notion of software agents autonomously breaking down and executing human workflows remained largely theoretical.
Key Takeaways Understand the Customer Journey: The customer experience encompasses all interactions throughout the buying journey, influencing perceptions and brand loyalty at each phase: awareness, consideration, and decision. Enhance Awareness and Consideration: Use targeted content and transparent product information to raise awareness and foster trust, helping potential customers move smoothly from recognizing their needs to evaluating their options.
In the competitive landscape of modern retail, success often hinges on elements that extend far beyond product selection and pricing. Two critical components that can make or break the customer experience are strategic signage systems and thoughtful seasonal programming. These elements work together to create environments that not only inform and guide customers but also create lasting emotional connections to build brand loyalty and return business.
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.
As global supply chains become increasingly complex, the demand for transparency has never been greater. Retailers face mounting pressure from consumers, regulators, and stakeholders to demonstrate ethical sourcing, sustainable practices, and operational accountability. Traditional supply chain systems, built on fragmented and often manual processes, struggle to offer real-time visibility.
In the social landscape shaped by Gen Z and millennials, platforms like TikTok and Instagram serve not just as promotional tools, but as powerful engines of cultural creation that foster lucrative online communities. Younger generations are driving brand narratives, from micro-trends to macro-movements, in real time. In turn, brands that resonate most are those participating in that dialogue, not just observing from the sidelines.
Craft retailer Michaels has confirmed, via a June 5 press release , that it has completed the acquisition of both the intellectual property and private label brands previously held by JOANN including the slated incorporation of the latter’s Big Twist brands into the broader Michaels product selection. As part of bringing JOANN’s loyal customers into the Michaels fold, the retailer has launched a dedicated landing page featuring updates and a curated selection of products.
This article first appeared in our sister publication Shop Eat Surf Outdoor (SESO). Journeys , one of the largest footwear retailers in the country with over 1,000 stores in North America, has been one of the most important large wholesale accounts for footwear brands for decade. However, leaders of several large industry footwear brands have expressed frustrations with the retailer over the years because they believed Journeys wasn’t evolving, even though good people and good merchants worke
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
Grocery inflation hit 4.7% in June — the highest level since March 2024 — as UK shoppers made 490 million trips to supermarkets in the four weeks to 15 June, according to the latest data from Kantar. Despite rising prices consumers shopped more frequently, averaging almost 17 grocery trips per household and marking the highest footfall since March 2020.
Key Takeaways Visual Appeal Matters: Eye-catching window displays create strong first impressions, attracting potential customers and increasing foot traffic to your store. Effective Strategies: Implementing seasonal themes, innovative layouts, and strategic lighting can significantly enhance the visual impact of your displays. Types of Displays: Utilize both static and dynamic window displays to convey your brand message effectively and maintain customer interest.
AI has taken the world by storm. On the one hand, there are concerns regarding its use of copyrighted material, without compensation given to professional creatives. On the other hand, it can be used to handle extensive, complicated tasks quickly and efficiently. It is especially effective when used in conjunction with reliable data. AI Integration Across Industries AI has found use in most industries.
If you are a Chinese family who’s been looking ruefully at that noisy old fridge in the kitchen, or the washing machine in the laundry, or even that old clunker in the garage, now is still a great time to replace them with something brand spanking new. The government’s US$40 billion 2025 trade-in subsidy program has been a great gift to both families and bulky goods retailers this year, and it is providing a welcome uplift to sales at a time when things otherwise might be looking a bit grim.
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.
Procter & Gamble is laying off about 7,000 employees over the next two years. With unpredictable tariff costs and erratic consumer demand, the household goods maker is undergoing some reorganization. With around 108,000 workers as of June 2024, the job cuts represent about 6.5% of the workforce. The layoffs will mainly affect non-manufacturing jobs.
Retail is evolving rapidly, and the integration of digital signage with the Internet of Things (IoT) is opening up new opportunities for engaging customers and optimizing store operations. By embedding digital signage within the IoT ecosystem, retailers can create dynamic, data-driven experiences that respond in real time to customer behavior, environmental factors and inventory levels.
Retailers can create memorable shopping experiences by blending digital and in-store touchpoints, focusing on emotional connection, interactivity, and personalization. Features like virtual try-ons, loyalty programs, and thoughtful follow-ups help deepen engagement.
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.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming industries at a rapid pace, from healthcare to finance and logistics. As sectors embrace automation, personalisation, and data-driven decision-making, it’s clear that AI is more than just a tech trend—it’s a business imperative. Retail, which thrives on customer insight and operational efficiency, stands to gain immensely by observing how other industries apply AI strategically to improve both internal processes and external experiences.
Indonesia, where 17,000 islands stretch across three time zones and 300 languages, the idea of national retail dominance can seem like a logistical fantasy. Yet Alfamart, a chain many outsiders might casually categorise as a convenience store, has not only conquered this fragmented landscape, but is now redefining the very notion of what a “store” can be.
Macy’s store closures were part of the reason for the recent round of retail layoffs, according to a new Challenger, Gray & Christmas analysis published by Fox Business. The report paints a grim picture for U.S. workers: Employers announced roughly 696,000 job cuts between January and May 2025—an 80% jump from the same stretch last year. Retail has borne a disproportionate share of that pain.
In today’s fast-paced world, retailers are generating more data than ever before. From customer transactions to inventory management, retailers need to be able to manage, integrate and govern their data to make informed decisions that drive growth and profitability. Many vendors are now launching retail-specific data management solutions in response to this demand.
Your financial statements hold powerful insights—but are you truly paying attention? Many finance professionals focus on the income statement while overlooking key signals hidden in the balance sheet and cash flow statement. Understanding these numbers can unlock smarter decision-making, uncover risks, and drive long-term success. Join David Worrell, accomplished CFO, finance expert, and author, for an engaging, nontraditional take on reading financial statements.
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