Stay in Touch
Hotel rooms and lobbies are becoming and increasingly attractive area for retailers to acquire new customers. Last week, Rent the Runway announced that it was partnering with Marriott-owned W Hotels. Visitors at four W Hotels will have the option to rent four pieces of clothing from Rent the Runway when they book their rooms, which will be placed in the closets of their rooms when they arrive. And department stores including Nordstrom, Macy's and Bloomingdale's are currently hosting pop-ups in time for the holidays at a handful of New York City hotels, in order to draw more business from tourists.
Retailers are increasingly trying to utilize the assets they have to facilitate more omnichannel growth. To do this, they are employing 'dark spaces.' While the concept is not new, dark stores and spaces are becoming a more important part of retail strategy. Here's why.
Peloton has had a rough week. First, it aired a TV ad that was widely panned. Then, a short seller brought up some searing points about the competitive landscape. The question remains: Can the exercise company rely on its cult-like status to become the multi-billion dollar brand investors think it can be?
Lands' End is trying to redefine itself. Part of this is using its reams of data to inform future customer experience decisions. The retailer's chief customer officer Sarah Rasumsen talked with Modern Retail about how its overall digital strategy.
As Five Below expands, it is straying from the traditional playbook of a discount chain by carrying more expensive products and spending more on brand marketing. So far, it's working. The company reported during its third quarter earnings on Wednesday that net sales were up 20.7% to $377.4 million compared to a year ago.
Since Jill Soltau took over as CEO of JCPenney more than a year ago, there's been no slowdown in announcements touting new executive hires, or store concepts it is piloting, in order to reassure investors that she and her executive team can turn around the beleaguered department store chain. But it's not so much a question of if Soltau can cut losses at JCPenney, but whether she can do it quickly enough.
Black Friday sales hit new records, but in-store traffic saw a decline. This doesn't mean that physical stores are dying, but instead hints at the 24-hour Holiday sales bonanza becoming something new that's more convenient -- and less stressful.
Direct mail has become an important part of many digital brand's marketing budgets. Now catalogs are having a moment too -- and companies are increasingly melding the digital data they have about customers with the larger pieces of mail they send to their homes.
The holidays are here and retailers are expecting big sales and hoping their infrastructure remains intact. For bigger brands, the fear of online downtime looms. Meanwhile, smaller businesses fear they don't have the correct fulfillment and logistics in place for the increase in demand. As a result, most businesses are trying their best to prepare for the impending storm.
At an industry event, executives from J.Crew and Hatch discussed why the decided to work together. J.Crew is big and Hatch is small, so they both had different intentions in mind. Put together, they highlight a growing tension brands face when trying to expand.
Under Armour, like many other brands that have relied historically on wholesalers to sell its product, wants to generate more revenue from its own website and stores. But, its direct-to-consumer business has struggled for a couple of reasons. In order to right the ship, Under Armour is looking to open more full-price stores, continue to highlight the technical innovation in its apparel and performance wear, and build a new e-commerce platform.
As livestreaming shopping videos have become increasingly popular in China, they've also become critically important to brands' strategies for the biggest shopping holiday in the country, Alibaba's Singles Day. Overall, the number of merchants who incorporated livestreaming into their Singles Day campaign was up 200% compared to last year, according to Alibaba.
Walgreens is reportedly looking to go private, highlighting just how difficult it is for drug stores to remain relevant as a mix of big-box and online competitors encroach upon their retail business. Drug store chains like Walgreens and CVS generate a large portion of sales not only from medications, but also from sales of snacks, cleaning products, and other consumables -- often referred to as front store sales. But as customers are finding it more convenient and cheaper to buy these products from Amazon or other big-box chains like Target and Walmart, drug store chains have to give shoppers other reasons to buy more than just prescriptions from them.
The RealReal's latest earnings results showed the company still in the red, but growing revenue. Wall Street considered it an overall success. Most companies in the resale space are trying to grow quickly, and have yet to turn a profit. Despite that, investors continue to be interested in the space.
Retail leaders attended the Modern Retail Summit to discuss the biggest issues plaguing the industry. Topics included: customer acquisition, retaining talent, sale attribution and, of course, Amazon.
Great storytelling adds value to a brand. In a new video, hear from Triad's Garrett Albanese about why marketers should be investing in visual search, augmented reality and creative site experiences.
Hotel rooms and lobbies are becoming and increasingly attractive area for retailers to acquire new customers. Last week, Rent the Runway announced that it was partnering with Marriott-owned W Hotels. Visitors at four W Hotels will have the option to rent four pieces of clothing from Rent the Runway when they book their rooms, which will be placed in the closets of their rooms when they arrive. And department stores including Nordstrom, Macy's and Bloomingdale's are currently hosting pop-ups in time for the holidays at a handful of New York City hotels, in order to draw more business from tourists.
Read MoreJoin us at Amazon Strategies, where we’ll hear from brands successfully selling on Amazon, as well as leaders from agencies and consultancies that work with these retailers.
Register Now
