Trends & External Forces

Articles on retail trends and external forces impacting retail (from weather to COVID to governmental regulations)

Reset Filters

  1. Trends & External Forces

6 Digital transformation trends in retail

In 2021, adopting new technologies is what separates a good business from a great one. When retail companies invest in upgrading their current technology, employees and customers benefit tremendously.  Whether it’s easy curbside pickup or advanced cameras that prevent theft, it’s difficult to find any downsides to improving existing retail processes. Shopper behavior changes on […]
< 1 min read
0
  1. Trends & External Forces

Rite Aid posts strong retail results in Q1

CAMP HILL, Pa. — Rite Aid Corp. posted results for the first quarter of fiscal 2022 that fell short of some analysts’ projections although the company’s retail pharmacy segment achieved robust sales and profit growth. Heyward Donigan The reported net loss from continuing operations for the 13 weeks ended May 29 fell to $13.1 million, […]
3 min read
0
  1. Trends & External Forces

Rite Aid Releases Third Annual Corporate Sustainability Report

Rite Aid today published its third annual corporate sustainability report, detailing the company’s enhanced Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) strategy. The report introduces four key pillars underpinning Rite Aid’s sustainability efforts: building a thriving planet, thriving business, thriving workplace, and thriving community. Trent Kruse, senior vice president, investor relations and treasury, Rite Aid. “As a […]
4 min read
0
  1. Trends & External Forces

Gap Home Debuts at Walmart

The very meta private brand collection Gap Home is now available to shop on Walmart.com. At launch, the collection features more than 400 items across home décor, tabletop, bedding and bath. From super-soft bedding to elevated tableware and more inspired finds, Gap Home offers quality designs and go-to essentials to instantly refresh your living space. […]
< 1 min read
0
  1. Trends & External Forces

Top Women in Grocery 2021: Julie Grant, Director, Applications Development

Retail Business Services – the services company of Ahold Delhaize USA – is proud to announce that Julie Grant, Director of Applications Development, has been named to Progressive Grocer’s 2021 Top Women in Grocery list, which recognizes leadership, achievement and community involvement. In her role, Julie oversees a team of 26 associates who provide IT […]
2 min read
0
  1. Trends & External Forces

Albertsons and DoorDash announce on-demand grocery delivery tie up

Albertsons Companies has teamed with DoorDash to offer on-demand grocery delivery from nearly 2,000 Albertsons banner stores across the US, including Safeway, Vons and Jewel-Osco, via the DoorDash marketplace app. Albertsons will offer more than 40,000 grocery items, including fresh and prepared foods and core grocery, floral and convenience items at select stores. Additionally, in some markets, […]
3 min read
0
  1. Trends & External Forces

Grocery market heading back to normality, data shows

Supermarket sales fell by 1.6% during the 12 weeks to 13 June 2021, new research reveals. The latest take-home grocery figures from Kantar show that while the number of grocery trips remains lower than in pre-Covid times, since last year there has been a 13.1% increase in the number of shopping visits made each month […]
< 1 min read
0
  1. Trends & External Forces

Retail Store Operations: A Guide to Running Multiple Locations

Do you have a solid retail store operations strategy? According to McKinsey’s Future of Retail Operations report, “Brick-and-mortar retail stores need to up their game. Technology could give them a significant boost.” 
< 1 min read
0
  1. Trends & External Forces

Target’s Goals For A “Circular Future”

Fast Company has a story about how “by 2040, Target aims for 100% of its own products to be designed for a circular future.” The goal, the article says, “is part of a larger sustainability strategy by the retailer called Target Forward, which has three main objectives: to design and elevate sustainable brands, to eliminate […]
< 1 min read
0
  1. Trends & External Forces

Worth Reading: Even As Pandemic Recedes, Grocery Sales Grow

Bloomberg writes that “grocery sales accelerated in late May and early June,” confounding analysts ” who expected robust grocery-store sales to diminish as the year progressed and as vaccinated Americans returned to offices, restaurants and travel. It can’t be explained by inflation, because grocers are also returning to their normal practice of discounting, which partially […]
< 1 min read
0
  1. Trends & External Forces

Health and Wellness Market Growth Drivers to Watch: Shoppers Prioritize Dietary Needs and Sustainability Concerns

Concerned Shoppers Are Taking Control During the lockdown months, many shoppers had limited options when it came to their health routines. Some gyms and fitness classes were closed, while plenty of people didn’t feel comfortable returning to in-person workouts anyway. Between those restrictions, a desire to stay healthy (and out of the doctor’s office), and […]
4 min read
0
  1. Trends & External Forces

Walmart’s AI is getting smarter about grocery delivery

It’s no surprise that the coronavirus pandemic has changed the way we shop, especially when it comes to groceries. Grocery delivery apps experienced a record number of downloads in March 2020, and by the following month, Walmart Grocery (which is now integrated into the Walmart app) surpassed Amazon as the No. 1 shopping app on […]
2 min read
0
  1. Trends & External Forces

What Is CRM?

If you’re a business owner or if you interface with customers, you’ve probably heard the term “CRM” bantered around. But what is CRM, and what does CRM do? And more importantly, what can a CRM do for your business to help it grow? What is CRM?  CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management, and it’s a […]
4 min read
0
  1. Trends & External Forces

Success Criteria of Marketing Measurement for the Modern Digital Marketer

Measurement has long been a critical aspect of efficient marketing practices. That said, marketing technology hasn’t always been as rich in its capabilities as it is today. But as martech has improved over the years, engagement with media has grown increasingly more fragmented, elevating the challenges marketers have in proving the returns on their investments […]
4 min read
0
  1. Trends & External Forces

Cannes LIONS Live 2021: Post COVID World: The Next Phase with Brands and Esports

Few industries were prepared for the massive disruption that the COVID-19 pandemic caused throughout 2020, and even fewer were able to find a way to grow. The video game industry, however, did just that, with 82% of global consumers reporting that they played video games and watched game content during the height of the COVID-19 […]
2 min read
0
  1. Trends & External Forces

How Convenience and Frictionless Commerce Drive Sales

We’ve long heard about the importance of providing consumers with a frictionless commerce experience. This means removing obstacles between someone discovering a new product and becoming a (hopefully repeating) customer such that the journey is organic, streamlined, and delightful. 
< 1 min read
0
  1. Trends & External Forces

Amazon, CVS, Macy’s, Target Add BNPL Option

Retailers including Amazon, CVS, Dell, Kroger, Macy’s, Nike, Nordstrom, Sephora, Target, Victoria’s Secret and Walgreens have added buy now, pay later capabilities from AfterPay via the payment provider’s app. Select customers can shop at these and other merchants by choosing a brand in the Afterpay Shop Directory and then paying for their purchase in installments. […]
< 1 min read
0
  1. Trends & External Forces

PVH Sells Off Heritage Brands as it Turns Focus to Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger

PVH Corp. is selling its Heritage Brands portfolio — which includes the Izod, Van Heusen, Arrow and Geoffrey Beene brands — to fellow brand management firm Authentic Brands Group for approximately $220 million. PVH had been working to optimize the Heritage Brands portfolio over the past few years amidst a shifting of resources to “higher-return businesses,” said […]
2 min read
0
  1. Trends & External Forces

Prime Day 2021: Luggage and Home Improvement Soar During an Overall Modest Event

Prime Day 2021 sales grew relatively modestly compared to last year’s Prime Day, up 6.1% to $11 billion across both days according to data from Adobe Analytics. Overall ecommerce spending fell 1% compared to Prime Day 2020, according to data from Salesforce. However, third-party Amazon sellers and certain retail categories achieved their own success stories, […]
3 min read
0
  1. Trends & External Forces

Rite Aid shares plummet; CEO cites Covid uncertainty for drug store chain’s cautious outlook

Shares of Rite Aid sank roughly 14% on Thursday, as Wall Street digested mixed quarterly results and weaker earnings guidance. KEY POINTS Rite Aid CEO Heyward Donigan told CNBC on Thursday she’s “cautiously optimistic” the U.S. would avoid another round of strict Covid restrictions. Despite the presence of the delta variant, she said, “We all hope that […]
2 min read
0
  1. Trends & External Forces

RBS Communications Earns Bell Ringer Award

You could say it was the sweet sound of success when the Retail Business Services communications team was recognized for outstanding communications during the COVID-19 pandemic at the 2021 Bell Ringer Awards. Hosted and organized by the New England Publicity Club – an organization that celebrates Public Relations (PR) professionals and helps them grow their […]
2 min read
0
  1. Trends & External Forces

Snackpass gobbles up $70M at a $400M+ valuation as its social food ordering platform crosses 500K users

While every food delivery company is trying to get an edge on its rivals with discount codes, faster service, and a turn into the realm of spooky with ghost kitchens and dark stores, a startup built on a lighter, social concept — letting people see what their friends are chomping on, making it possible to […]
4 min read
0
  1. Trends & External Forces

Salsify Introduces Pre-Built Templates to Help Create Customized Workflow Processes

Customer experience management platform Salsify is releasing an exclusive workflow library of pre-built templates designed to help brands improve the operational efficiency of publishing product content. The workflows come installed for every Salsify customer with a predefined series of tasks. Retailers can use these workflows as a blueprint for creating customized, automated processes for brands […]
< 1 min read
0
  1. Trends & External Forces

Amazon and Asmodee File Joint Lawsuit Against Counterfeiters

SEATTLE –(BUSINESS WIRE)–Jun. 24, 2021– Today, Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Asmodee Group SAS ( Asmodee ) jointly filed a lawsuit against two defendants for counterfeiting the popular and award-winning card game sets, Dixit: Daydreams Expansion and Dixit: Revelations Expansion.
< 1 min read
0
  1. Trends & External Forces

AWS Announces AWS BugBust—the World’s First Global Competition to Find and Fix 1 Million Software Bugs

Customers can now eliminate software errors and save millions of dollars using Amazon CodeGuru Let the bug busting begin! SEATTLE –(BUSINESS WIRE)–Jun. 24, 2021– Today, Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS), an Amazon.com, Inc. company (NASDAQ: AMZN), announced the AWS BugBust Challenge, the world’s
< 1 min read
0
  1. Trends & External Forces

What Retailers can Learn from Theme Parks in the Wake of COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the growth of ecommerce, with the U.S. Census Bureau reporting a 36.7% increase in online sales in Q3 2020 compared to the same time in 2019. This shift has naturally led to conversations among retailers, real estate developers and property landlords about where brick-and-mortar retail fits this “next normal” of […]
5 min read
0

Trending Topics

Editor’s Choice

  1. Trends & External Forces

Daily QuickWit (6.24) – Yesterday’s Top Stories

Mintel released their June 2021 trend observations A good read of what is going on right now and what is relevant to retailers and brands everywhere Walmart’s former e-commerce chief Marc Lore says brands like Warby Parker can’t be replicated by big-box retailers More and more DTC brands keep showing up, it will be fascinating […]
Written by
  1. Trends & External Forces

Forrester’s US Retail Recovery Heat Map, June 2021 — Expected Income Loss Still High In Some Metros

Retail recovery is proceeding at different rates in various parts of the US. In May 2021, we adjusted our retail recovery heat map model to include the following factors: Economic sentiment — based on household expected loss of income in the next four weeks Change in cases — 14-day percentage change in cases Saturation of […]
Written by

Trending