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Once heralded as an integral part of the store of the future, RFID tags have never gotten widespread adoption as the cost of deployment and tech hurdles have remain stubbornly high.
Starbucks is investing in new technology to make ordering and pickup faster. But, the company maintains that it's not trying to eliminate the need for human help. At a recent retail event, the coffee giant's president and CEO, Kevin Johnson, explained why.
A new type of restaurant is becoming popular, and you can't sit down in it. Called "ghost kitchens," these delivery only establishments are catching entrepreneurs' eyes and investors' capital.
Robotics has been considered a disruptor for years now. But we haven't quite seen how the automated technology will transform the retail industry. While a number of well-funded robotics startups crash and burn, a few others operating in the background have shown a growing demand for retail robotics.
Pier 1 is planning on shutting down nearly half of its stores. It's a drastic measure for a floundering retail brand. How did it get here? Due to years of ignoring the competitive landscape and being unable to rebuild a modern brand.
Forever 21, which was brought down by opening too many stores that were too big, now sees e-commerce as key to its turnaround. President Alex Ok said in a press release that e-commerce accounts for 25% of Forever 21's sales, and "forms a large chunk of the profitable core of our operations and as part of our new global strategy." When Forever 21 filed for bankruptcy in September, the company said it would close as many as 178 U.S. stores. While analysts and industry observers say that Forever 21's e-commerce operations could use a refresh, they maintain that the company's biggest problems remain the size of its stores, its cluttered layout, and a failure to respond to fashion trends as quickly as competitors.
As subscription startups look to boost their retention rates, they are doing away with the term subscription. Instead, they're pitching customers on joining a membership, where they'll get access to more than just product. The hope is that by giving subscribers access to more exclusive perks like events or special sales, they will stick with the service longer, and spend more money with the company
This year, a number of brick-and-mortar retailers announced that they were piloting clothing rental services. Now, the big question in 2020 is how many of them will survive. Most of these new rental services are structured as a monthly subscription, and the hope is that these services prove to be a profitable, recurring revenue stream for brick-and-mortar retailers. But that recurring revenue stream doesn't come easily.
Rite Aid posted a solid earnings report and its stock is skyrocketing. But it faces a long road ahead to turnaround its ailing business. Meanwhile, bigger competitors like Walgreens are facing similar headwinds, indicating that traditional pharmacies are in a bit of a rut.
While individual retail credit cards lose their luster, new programs providing no-interest loans are becoming much more popular. New data shows just how quick these services are growing, and how this past year helped these companies get some real traction.
As Bonobos founder Andy Dunn prepares to leave Walmart, it's the latest sign of trouble for the company's group of digitally native brands. When Dunn joined Walmart in 2017, he was supposed to help the company find other digitally-native brands that would be ripe for acquisition, and help Walmart to attract more high-income shoppers. Instead, the company has found other ways to target a more affluent consumer.
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?
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.
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.
A growing number of health and beauty brands are turning to cloud-based systems that can handle customer, financial and inventory data across all processes, from production to payment.
During the Holiday season, Amazon abruptly announced that it wouldn't let merchants use FedEx to fulfill Prime orders. Now, the e-commerce giant has made an about face and let the parcel service back in. What's behind these moves is a complicated ecosystem of logistics competition and customer expectations.
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