Inside Retail

MARCH 3, 2024

The 2024 Australian Retail Outlook is out now. This must-read resource is packed with exclusive insights from Inside Retail’s survey of retailers about their performance, plans and predictions for the year ahead; trend analyses and advice from industry experts; and interviews with leading retailers, including Ikea, Lush, Outland Denim, Milligram, and many more, about their growth strategies in 2024 and beyond.

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Marketing Customer Retention Returns Promotions 290

Retail TouchPoints

MARCH 18, 2024

Retailers have been eager to jump on the generative AI bandwagon: according to a new survey conducted by Salesforce and the Retail AI Council , retail executives estimate that 36% of their employees already are using generative AI today, with that figure projected to rise to 45% by 2025. Additionally, 93% of these retailers say they’re already using generative AI to support personalization of customer-facing communications like emails and product recommendations.

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Store Operations Shopping Marketing Management 317

Retail Wire

MARCH 18, 2024

Walmart self-checkout lanes are possibly being reserved for select customers like Walmart+ subscribers and delivery drivers as part of an experimental phase where different methods are being tested.

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Checkout Shopping 279

Retail TouchPoints

MARCH 18, 2024

Google wants a bigger piece of the traffic driven by retail media advertising. To start getting it, the tech company has launched a new offsite retail media solution in closed beta. Lowe’s has signed on to be one of the first retailers to test the solution for what will be the first offsite retail media offering from Lowe’s One Roof retail media network on Google Search and Shopping inventory, according to a blog post that will be published today, which Retail TouchPoints reviewed in advance.

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Advertising Management Promotions Shopping 306

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Customer Experience

Retail Gazette

MARCH 4, 2024

Retailers are suffering from the longest dip in sales since the 2020 pandemic as consumers cut back for the fifth consecutive month. Like-for-like sales across fashion, homewares and lifestyle slipped 1.3% in February, according to new figures from accountancy firm BDO. Fashion was hit the hardest, with overall sales down 4.8% and instore sales plunging 8.2% last month.

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Wholesale Fashion Accounting Consumer 145

Retail Focus

MARCH 6, 2024

The dynamics of storytelling in the volatile retail landscape have fundamentally changed and will shape our perception of the future. In this report in partnership with Retail Focus, James Breaks, Associate Director of Design at rpa: group , takes a close look into the past, present and future of our relationship with brands, and how we engage with them.

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ATS 277

Retail TouchPoints

MARCH 14, 2024

Retailers that have recently launched their own retail media businesses should learn from what the established leaders already do. The biggest player, with 60% of the $45 billion market, is Amazon, followed by the likes of Walmart and Target, which, combined with a few other large players, are expected to take a combined 25% of the space, according to Boston Consulting Group.

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Advertising Consumer Marketing Management 311

Inside Retail

MARCH 11, 2024

While Australia has its own unique retail ecosystem, the ripples of what happens in the US often hit our shores. That typically includes the ‘Super Bowl of advertising’: the actual Super Bowl. Along with the usual celeb-studded ads, this year there was something else that made people take note. Chinese-based online marketplace Temu had not one, but two ads in the main game broadcast on CBS with a total of six ads during the game day.

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Advertising Marketing Consumer Returns 278

Retail TouchPoints

MARCH 18, 2024

A 2022 U.S. government study found an annual average of 1.3 million nonfatal workplace violence incidents between 2015 and 2019. This is a rate of eight nonfatal violent crimes per 1,000 workers aged 16 or older. In addition to the safety risk to employees and customers alike, workplace violence incidents are costly to retailers. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health estimates that workplace violence costs employers more than $120 billion annually in claims, litigation, added

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Planning Loss Prevention Management Location 279

Retail Wire

MARCH 18, 2024

Tyson Foods, the well-known food processing company, finds itself in hot water as calls for a boycott surge due to allegations of planning to employ migrants at its factories.

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Planning ATS 340

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Retail Focus

MARCH 21, 2024

A garden or outdoor space is somewhere to go to relax and unwind during the warmer months of the year, and during the colder months, we dream of all the improvements we can make once we’ve banished the frosts and snow. Anyone planning a garden overhaul in the next few weeks might want tips on how to add layers of extra privacy so that the space can be enjoyed fully.

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Outdoor Planning ATS 246

Retail TouchPoints

MARCH 12, 2024

For a long time, the American public has hit the “mute” button about the dangers of too much corporate consolidation. One bit of evidence: a decades-long decline in the frequency of the word “monopoly” in published books from a peak in 1949, according to data from Google. But those attitudes appear to be changing, in some cases dramatically.

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Marketing Consumer Promotions ATS 328

Retail TouchPoints

MARCH 25, 2024

The ecommerce industry has experienced rapid growth in recent years, with global sales reaching an estimated $5.8 trillion in 2023, according to research by Statista. The same study suggests this trend is only expected to continue: by 2027, the global retail ecommerce market is projected to grow by 39% and surpass the $8 trillion mark. As ecommerce sales continue to grow, so does the focus on logistics, enabling retailers to meet the rising demand for shipping.

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Shipping Supply Chain Management Fulfillment Returns 312

Inside Retail

MARCH 21, 2024

Piercing retailer SkinKandy is expanding into New Zealand, with Westfield Riccarton in Christchurch as its first location in the country. “Exciting growth continues at SkinKandy. Our international growth journey starts with hoardings up at our first store locations in New Zealand, getting ready to bring the piercing revolution to the amazing people of Aotearoa,” SkinKandy CEO Dain Friis said.

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Promotions Location ATS Accessories 312

Speaker: Duke Heninger, Partner and Fractional CFO at Ampleo & Creator of CFO System

Are you ready to elevate your accounting processes for 2025? 🚀 Join us for an exclusive webinar led by Duke Heninger, a seasoned fractional CFO and CPA passionate about transforming back-office operations for finance teams. This session will cover critical best practices and process improvements tailored specifically for accounting professionals.

Accounting

Retail TouchPoints

MARCH 20, 2024

Former Walmart exec and Jet.com founder Marc Lore and his newest company Wonder Group have raised $700 million from various investors to support its Vision, Capital and People (VCP) plan , which is designed to support the business’ execution and scale, Lore revealed in a LinkedIn post. The funding round was led by existing investors NEA, GV, Accel, Bain Capital Ventures, Forerunner, Alpine and Harmony — a who’s who in the venture capital world.

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Location Planning Promotions Customer Experience 312

Retail TouchPoints

MARCH 28, 2024

Recent reports show that traffic delays cost U.S. drivers an average of 51 hours of lost time in 2022, and that number is on the rise — in 2021, the average was 36 hours. For the typical commuter, those lost hours can be frustrating. They extend the workday and increase fuel expenses. In fact, some studies have even found that traffic takes a toll on drivers’ health by increasing stress levels.

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Location Planning Management Consumer 303

Retail TouchPoints

MARCH 11, 2024

Gen Z consumers are neither easy to define nor predictable in their shopping habits. The consumer cohort born between 1996 or 1997 and 2010 and 2020 (there is no complete agreement here) is hard to read and reach because they are a product of the world they have been born into, one where change is constant, frequent and often unexpected. Among the many influences on their behaviors has been technology, because they have grown up with fixed and mobile screens.

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Consumer Department Stores Merchandise Store Advertising 303

Retail TouchPoints

MARCH 27, 2024

Google has begun using the zero-party data of customers’ thumbs-up/thumbs-down style ratings and brand preferences to better personalize its shopping experience, helping consumers find the exact products they want among the 45 billion listed by the search engine. These tools join Google’s AI-powered image generation feature, which shows customers photorealistic images that illustrate text queries like “colorful quilted spring jacket.

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Shopping Apparel Accessories Consumer 299

Advertiser: Experience Retail Today

I’m getting in touch with the news that fashion retailer, Gina Trictot, has achieved 98% inventory accuracy thanks to its partnership with SML RFID. Please see the full press release below, including exclusive quotes.

Fashion

Retail TouchPoints

MARCH 25, 2024

To mark Earth Month in April, Staples is launching a battery recycling program that has already seen recycling rates soar from less than 50 batteries per week to thousands per location in test stores. Beginning in April, the retailer will offer a free battery recycling box (while supplies last), in which consumers can collect batteries at home and return them to Staples for free recycling.

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ATS Returns Consumer Location 298

Retail Wire

MARCH 27, 2024

U.S. Representative Earl Blumenauer, deeply embedded in health policy, has directed inquiries toward the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). His concern? Why the FDA didn't scrutinize Elon Musk's Neuralink before greenlighting human trials for its brain implants.

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Retail TouchPoints

MARCH 20, 2024

The innovative concept of “Medtail” seamlessly integrates healthcare services into retail environments. This blend of medical expertise and retail convenience is revolutionizing the landscape of patient care, changing both where healthcare is delivered and how patients experience it. Moving beyond the conventional boundaries of hospitals and clinics, this approach offers unprecedented convenience and accessibility by bringing healthcare closer to where people shop, eat, and engage in their

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Consumer Supermarket Shopping Location 298

Retail TouchPoints

MARCH 14, 2024

Matthew Whitman Lazenby and his family have never dreamed small. Back in the 1950’s his grandfather, Stanley Whitman, decided to open a luxury shopping mall in Florida that would rival Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue. Inspired by the Lincoln Road shopping district in nearby Miami Beach, Bal Harbour Shops and the Whitman family — who still own and operate the enterprise — have continuously flown in the face of convention — and found enormous success as a result.

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Shopping Consumer Drop-Shipping Shipping 299

Speaker: Jennifer Wright and Nick Barron

2025 is right around the corner, and with it comes a new wave of consumer expectations, competitive pressures, and operational challenges. Success lies in finding the balance between operational flexibility and creating experiences that keep customers coming back. The future of retail belongs to those who can stay ahead of shifting customer preferences and marketing trends. 🔮 In this session, we’ll dive deep into what it takes to keep customers engaged and your operations nimble, no matt

Customer Experience

Retail TouchPoints

MARCH 11, 2024

The associates at a Patagonia store in Reno, Nev. have voted to join the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 711 , marking the first successful unionization effort at a Patagonia store. Along with the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), the UFCW has been making inroads at other outdoor retailers recently, organizing nine REI locations across the U.S. with the RWDSU and five Vertical Endeavors climbing gyms in Minnesota.

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Outdoor Department Stores Wholesale Location 299

Retail TouchPoints

MARCH 27, 2024

China-based lifestyle retailer Miniso is continuing its rapid expansion across the U.S., with plans for stores in a dozen new markets through a partnership with mall operator CBL Properties. The first wave of store openings started in November 2023 at malls in Roanoke, Va. and Winston-Salem, N.C., followed by a January 2024 opening in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

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Planning Marketing Management Consumer 289

Retail TouchPoints

MARCH 29, 2024

E.l.f. Cosmetics will be the first brand featured in a TikTok Shop Super Brand Day, which will put the brand front and center on the social media platform from March 31 to April 3, 2024. The special TikTok activation will complement E.l.f.’s larger celebration of the brand’s 20th anniversary and also mark its one-year anniversary on TikTok Shop. E.l.f was an early adopter of the TikTok platform as well as its Shop functionality. “E.l.f. has thrived on TikTok Shop by creatively engaging wit

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Shopping Marketing Social Commerce 289

Retail Wire

MARCH 21, 2024

Starbucks has surged past Subway to claim the title of the world’s second-largest restaurant chain.

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With over 9 million sellers on Amazon, online marketplaces are more crowded than ever. Whether you’re looking to fine-tune prices in real-time or align strategies across channels, this guide provides the tools to understand how to maximize sales and secure a lasting competitive edge. Download now to transform your pricing strategy and drive holiday success.

Inside Retail

MARCH 19, 2024

Selling online in the US can be lucrative, as many Australian retailers and brands are discovering. But there is a fine line between success and failure. Tara Daly, senior director of product marketing at Loop Returns , shares with Inside Retail advice on getting started in the US market, some tips on cross-border shipping and logistics – including managing returns in a way that builds customer loyalty – and how to drive repeat business.

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Planning Shipping Returns Customer Retention 290

Inside Retail

MARCH 19, 2024

Godfreys will be closed down after its administrators failed to seal a favourable acquisition proposal for the collapsed vacuum retailer. PWC received 55 expressions of interest and six indicative offers during the sale process. However, some of the interested parties withdrew while the others did not provide a sufficient offer to secure the business in the long term.

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Returns 290

Retail TouchPoints

MARCH 15, 2024

Dick’s Sporting Goods posted strong results in fiscal 2023, which ended Feb. 3, 2024, with $13 billion in net sales, 5% higher than the previous year, and a 2.4% increase in comp store sales. For the coming fiscal year, the retailer is planning $800 million in CapEx expenditures to fund a major brick-and-mortar expansion that will enlarge its total store square footage by 2% — its largest physical expansion since 2017.

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Sporting Goods Returns Location Planning 290

Inside Retail

MARCH 13, 2024

Department store chain Myer has appointed non-executive director Olivia Wirth as CEO and executive chair, effective June 4. Wirth will succeed current CEO and MD John King, who will remain in his role until June 3 to facilitate the transition and handover. Previously, Wirth served as the CEO of Qantas Loyalty, where she worked for nearly 15 years. “Since joining the board last year, Olivia has demonstrated impressive commercial acumen and an acute understanding of the dynamics facing both Myer a

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Department Stores ATS 290

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Customer Experience