Retail
Omnichannel strategy, e-commerce tech, and in-store innovation.
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Target’s New App Asks Customers For Help With Business Model
There’s a new app in town, and it’s got Target written all over it. The giant retailer has developed Studio Connect, an app used to connect Target innovators to the customers who will ultimately purchase their products. The app is an invitation-only initiative, allowing only a tiny fraction of its 30 million shoppers on board,…
Russian Hospitality Soars During World Cup, But At What Cost?
It’s probably not surprising that hotels, restaurants, and retail stores made out quite well during the FIFA World Cup in Russia this year. Among the three million who attended the World Cup, a third were from outside Russia. That’s a lot of hotels, and a lot of shopping and eating out. Perhaps not surprisingly, alcohol…
Watch: PLAYTIME as a Turnkey Provider
As a turnkey provider, PLAYTIME owns every aspect of a project from design through installation. In July, 2007 PLAYTIME designed, built, and installed an outdoor play area for the city of Bellflower, CA. 11 years later, PLAYTIME returned to the park to see its progress.
Retailers Learn Hard Lessons From Mismanaged Promotion Deals
Last week, children’s store Build-a-Bear Workshop made international headlines after a promotional deal offering a “pay your age” policy for a day which resulted in hours long wait times, disgruntled customers, and an emergency shutdown of the deal because of such an overwhelming response that stores were completely unprepared for. This promotional snafu is not…
Listen: Making the In-Store Experience Memorable with Trevor Sumner of Perch Interactive
Technology that can give shoppers a shot of dopamine– that’s the shopping experience that’s now possible with today’s technology, said Trevor Sumner on today’s podcast, CEO of New York-based Perch Interactive. In this episode of the Retail Podcast, Trevor shares how Perch’s technology is bringing digital concepts into physical stores and creating unique customer…
Watch: Sustainable PLAYTIME
Kids’ Park Aids in Redevelopment of Downtown Bellflower The city of Bellflower, California upholds the mission “to protect and enrich the quality of life, to make Bellflower an excellent place to live, work, and play.” The city values programs that nurture new businesses provide recreational and community services, preserve the environment and provide for the…
Subscription Retailers Are Carving More Than a Niche for Themselves, They May Be Taking Over
Completely web-based retailers have not raised eyebrows in years, but what about retailers that don’t even have a store on their site? While brick-and-mortar retailers struggle with making their shopping experience memorable and even luxurious, the latest startup trend is omitting the shopping experience from the equation entirely.[1] Subscription box services have officially taken over,…
Listen: Blending Digital and Physical Storefronts with Jeremy Bergstein of The Science Project
If you’re a business attempting to get the attention of today’s consumers, a billboard simply isn’t going to cut it. And a television commercial might not do the trick either. The modern customer sits at the intersection of digital and physical storefronts, and in today’s podcast, Jeremy Bergstein, CEO of The Science Project, shares…
Shipping Services Gear Up For Amazon Prime Day
It is a hot day at an ordinary local UPS store on North Miami Beach’s Collins Avenue, but it is about to get even hotter. Amazon Prime day, the global online superstore’s mega sale, is expected to be bigger than ever this year. With over a million deals going live for 36 hours on July…
Why a Potential Amazon Snapchat Partnership Could Change Social Media and Retail Forever
Retailers love social media. They spend a lot of time posting content, engaging with fans, and selling. After all, social media platforms allow users to shop with a click; it could not possibly be any easier. But does that engagement and interaction lead to sales? Does Social Media Drive Sales? Social media has definitely impacted…
Wal-Mart Moves to Automated Check-Out In Order to Collect Data, Become More Efficient
Check-out lines are inherently a flawed process. A first come, first serve lottery where there is no way of telling which lane will move fastest. Wal-Mart wants to improve the experience by implementing automated checkout systems. This new phenomenon allows guests to skip long lines and creates a faster, smoother check-out experience. Retailers are experimenting…
PROTECTING OUR FURRY FRIENDS BY KEEPING PET FOOD SAFE
Everyone wants their pets to remain happy and healthy. One important way to ensure their well-being is to make sure the food they eat every day is safe. That means paying attention to pet food recalls and ensuring pet food is stored properly. Let’s take a look at some ways to make sure the food…
June Jobs Report Shows Retail Losses, What Happened?
What’s Driving Trends in Retail Jobs? While the country is enjoying a growing, healthy economy with low unemployment, not all jobs are safe. After an addition of 28,800 retail jobs in May, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the industry lost 22,000 jobs in June, most of those in general merchandise stores.[1] This comes…
Best Buy Ends CD Sales, Will They Have A Recovery Similar to Vinyl Records?
Over the past few years, Millennials and other generations have mourned the loss of iconic brands that were such important parts of people’s childhoods. From the demise of video rental giant Blockbuster to the recent announcement of Toys R Us closing shop—brands and trends of years past are becoming obsolete. Now, as of July 1st,…
Listen: Recapping the Future Stores Conference with Adam Silverman of Theatro
Brick and mortar stores that start borrowing technology, agility and A/B testing from the digital space are the ones who’ll emerge winners in retail. “Stores can borrow from the digital space,” said Theatro Senior Vice President of Marketing Adam Silverman on today’s podcast episode. He shared the state of retail from Seattle’s recent Future…
Lakeside Shopping Center – Restoring the Magic
By some estimates, 25% of traditional malls will be closed by 2022—primarily due to a decline in traffic in major retail spaces. This decline has left many malls with empty in-line spaces that need to be filled with attractions to revitalize foot traffic. PLAYTIME offers a viable solution. By repurposing in-line spaces as play areas, PLAYTIME has…
Wednesday Date Means Independence Day Spending Decline on Food, Overall Turnout
Consumer spending on food over the Independence Days is expected to be around $6.9 billion for patriotic patrons nationwide, down from 2017, when consumers spent a record $7.1 billion, according to a National Retail Federation Study. Much of this decline in spending has to do with the unfortunate timing of the mid-week holiday. Although there…
Wearable Tech Frees Up Employees’ Hands, and Schedules
Smartwatches are the latest tech tools that the hospitality industry has embraced. You may notice these on the wrists of hotel workers from the front desk to the cleaning crew. Before hotels turned to these as ways to communicate better internally and serve guests, they focused on consumer-facing applications. In both these scenarios, hotels have…
Big Beer Brands Suffer at Hands of Craft Brewers on Independence Day
Courtesy: Instagram @grapevineontap Every year, the Fourth of July holiday brings the best in food, friends, and beer to residents across the country. While the fireworks rain down and the burgers smoke on the grill, beer has remained a staple of many people’s celebrations. The National Beer Wholesalers Association published a study in 2016 to…
An Inside Look at How Alibaba Uses Technology to Improve Customer Experience
While online sales penetration in China is the highest in the world, brick-and-mortar businesses still make up more than 80% of their total retail sales. This is due in part to Jack Ma’s “New Retail” concept which he unveiled two years ago, melding the best of both the in-shop and online experiences together. Ma is…
Employees Are Ghosting At Work: How Should Companies Handle No-Shows?
Today’s world is more connected than ever before. Never has it been so easy to get a hold of someone on a moment’s notice, anywhere around the world. Still, employers are finding that this generation can be hard to get in front of, due to ghosting. Ghosting refers to practices of disappearing, and this magic…
How the Cloud is the Hospitality Industry’s Best Hope Against Hackers
Hotels face similar cybersecurity issues as retail and restaurants in that each stores customer credit and debit card data, with one notable addition: hotels also store people’s home addresses. The combination of home addresses and credit/debit card data makes the latter even less secure, as that means hackers would have an important piece of information…
Watch: Levi’s Flagship Store – FLEXClear Installation
Levi’s is one of the most iconic and oldest brands in fashion. Founded in 1853 by a German immigrant, Levi’s founded it self as a dry goods store in the heart of San Fransisco. At their flagship retail location on Market and 4th Street in San Francisco, the Levi’s® brand managers wanted to heighten the…
Listen: Learning To Go Where The Customers Are
On today’s podcast, I have a chat with Megan Berry from byReveal. We discuss the fundamental ways which the new generation of consumer is driving the retail experience, how static thinking can be extremely detrimental to a company’s survival, and I finally use a good metaphor involving ships. For the latest news, videos, and…
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