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Long viewed as a necessary evil, the retail returns process is emerging as an unexpected avenue for growth and customer engagement. In the rapidly expanding ecommerce market, projected to reach $3 billion in 2023, a significant 20% to 30% of online purchases end up being returned. This substantial return rate highlights a vital opportunity for retail leaders: by revamping the often-overlooked returns process, retailers can unlock a new avenue for driving customer satisfaction and business growth
Companies continually grapple with the best approach to set prices that would not only cover costs but also attract and retain customers. One such approach to consider is economy pricing. Adopting certain pricing strategies could mean the difference between a thriving business and one that struggles to keep its doors open. The question that arises, however, is whether economy pricing is the right fit for every business.
As we approach the second month of the year, love is definitely in the air, and so is the frenzy for Target's limited-edition Valentine's Day Stanley Cups.
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.
Ghalia BOUSTANI. Senior Retail Consultant at Univers Retail | Published author | Visiting lecturer. Luxury retail has undergone a significant transformation driven by digital technology and changing consumer expectations. The term ‘phygitalisation’ is used to describe the fusion of physical and digital realms to create a seamless and enhanced customer experience.
Retail activity has been a defining facet of cities since antiquity. The Greek Agora and Roman Forum may be viewed as the original CBDs – central business districts, or what urban planners call activity centres. Retail spaces have evolved over time. Urbanisation, mass production and the rise of conspicuous consumption led to the high street and CBD dominating the retail landscape across the Western world from the late 19th century until the mid-20th century.
Retail activity has been a defining facet of cities since antiquity. The Greek Agora and Roman Forum may be viewed as the original CBDs – central business districts, or what urban planners call activity centres. Retail spaces have evolved over time. Urbanisation, mass production and the rise of conspicuous consumption led to the high street and CBD dominating the retail landscape across the Western world from the late 19th century until the mid-20th century.
Retail Times publishes international & UK retail news covering products, data, tech, packaging, people, research, comment and more besides! By Sascha Dobbelaere – founder and CEO at Tweave.tech [link] Sascha Dobbelaere, founder and CEO at Tweave, gives his insights into the role of robotics in the retail industry. Tweave is a specialist in optimising businesses results through digital means by becoming part of the team, developing intelligent software tools and supporting the change.
China's manufacturing scene experienced a significant pullback in December, marking its third consecutive month of contraction and underscoring the persisting lethargy in the world's second-biggest economy.
Another holiday season is behind us, and retailers will now begin reflecting on their performance. Some early results show U.S. retail sales during the 2023 holiday season grew by 3.1% year-over-year, falling short of predictions and the previous year's figures.
JD.com has won a lawsuit against rival Alibaba Group in the High People’s Court of Beijing, which fined Alibaba 1 billion yuan ( $140 million) for engaging in monopolistic practices. JD.com had sued Alibaba and its ecommerce divisions, Zhejiang Tmall Network and Zhejiang Tmall Technology, for practicing “choosing one of two” behaviors — essentially saying to suppliers that if they sold to JD.com, they would not be allowed to sell on Alibaba.
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
Starbucks Coffee Company has started accepting reusable cups for beverages pre-ordered online and at its drive-thrus at all company-operated and participating licensed stores across the US and Canada. Starbucks is a founding member of the NextGen Consortium, which aims to accelerate sustainable and circular solutions and reduce single-use plastics in food service packaging.
To drive customer retention and loyalty, most brands and retailers continue to rely on purchase discounts ( 77% ) and loyalty program points ( 61% ), according to Retail TouchPoints research. However, a Deloitte survey reveals that consumers’ loyalty program preferences and expectations are evolving. While financial benefits are still top of mind — largely thanks to inflation pressures and tightened household budgets — consumers are increasingly seeking services and experiences that truly reflec
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.
AI is a non-negotiable for retailers. As the driving force behind a new era of hyper-personalisation, efficiency and sustainable retail experiences, its impact on the way we shop cannot be understated. So as more and more retailers integrate the benefits of AI into their growth strategy, what will be next for this transformative technology? And how will it shape the way we shop?
On Tuesday, Apple fell by almost 3.6% to a low that has not been experienced in seven weeks after Barclays downgraded the shares due to concerns that demand for its devices will still be fragile in 2024.
Personalization is at something of a crossroads. The New Year saw a key step in the coming deprecation of third-party cookies, which have been one of marketers’ most powerful tools for tracking online activity for many years. A small group ( 1% ) of Google Chrome users are now eligible for Tracking Protection , which restricts the use of these cookies by default.
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.
Europe-based home furnishing chain Habitat has shut down all of its operations, just a month after collapsing into receivership. The company’s trustees have initiated a final liquidation due to the lack of cash flow and a recovery plan. As a result, all of the chain’s 25 stores in France will close and 383 employees will lose their jobs. The fate of five other shops in Barcelona, Geneva, Madrid, Milan and Zurich is unclear.
AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc.'s stock is plummeting. The company's shares marked a record low yet again this Thursday, closing at a meager $5.30, down by 5%. This makes it the fourth day in a row of losses for the movie theater chain.
East London hair salon Buller and Rice has opened a new venue with an interior design palette that includes seaweed, algae, cork and mushroom leather. Buller and Rice Wanstead is a salon that doubles as a lifestyle store, selling products ranging from homeware to wine. Company founders Anita Rice and Stephen Buller designed the interior themselves, filling it with bespoke creations from designers and makers including Natural Material Studio 's Bonnie Hvillum and Copenhagen-based Jonas Edvard.
Costco workers in Norfolk, Va. have voted to join the Teamsters Local 822, with the union calling this its first organizing victory at the wholesale retailer in two decades. The 238 -worker group will join more than 18,000 Teamsters at Costco nationwide. Successful unionization efforts in the retail industry have been relatively rare, but they may pick up steam this year following a strong year for labor in 2023, with successful strikes by the United Auto Workers against the Big Three carmakers
AI adoption is reshaping sales and marketing. But is it delivering real results? We surveyed 1,000+ GTM professionals to find out. The data is clear: AI users report 47% higher productivity and an average of 12 hours saved per week. But leaders say mainstream AI tools still fall short on accuracy and business impact. Download the full report today to see how AI is being used — and where go-to-market professionals think there are gaps and opportunities.
The Body Shop has earned the title of being the first global beauty brand offering 100 per cent vegan product formulations certified by The Vegan Society. Back in 2021, just 60 per cent of the cosmetic brand’s products already carried the Vegan Society trademark. The retailer has been campaigning against animal testing in the cosmetics industry since 1989. “We were the first beauty company to fight against animal testing in cosmetics.
Apple is settling a lawsuit that accused the tech giant of allowing fraudsters to exploit its iTunes gift cards and pocket a portion of the stolen funds.
TikTok and Peloton are teaming up to launch a new fitness hub on the social media platform — #TikTokFitness — marking the first time that Peloton will produce bespoke social content for a partner outside of Peloton-owned channels. Within the new space on TikTok, Peloton will have its own dedicated hub — #TikTokFitness Powered by Peloton — that will include select live Peloton classes (with and without equipment required), original Instructor series, ongoing creator partnerships, Peloton class cl
Late deliveries. Split shipments. Spiraling freight costs. For home, furniture, and DIY brands, fulfillment has never been more complex—or more critical. This report outlines how a smarter, AI-ready order management system (OMS) helps you reduce shipping costs, streamline project-based fulfillment, and ensure accurate inventory across every channel.
This year the Australian government is introducing a series of measures to restrict the availability of vapes, starting today. The new reforms address loopholes in the current laws that allow easy access to highly addictive, flavoured, cheap, and harmful vaping products that are marketed to kids. Vaping products will still be available through a prescription for anyone using them to quit smoking.
Sainsbury’s has been named as the big winner over Christmas as grocery sales surpassed the £13bn mark in December for the first time. The supermarket chain saw its sales jump 9.3% in the four weeks to 24 December, achieving its highest market share since December 2020 at 15.8%, according to analysts at Kantar. Consumers spent £13.7bn in the run-up to Christmas, the research noted, with average household spending up 6% to £477 across the month.
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