Strategy

Articles on retail strategy and thought leadership.

  1. Operations & Supply Chain

Dollar General taps new operations, merchandising chiefs

​[[{“value”:” Dive Brief Emily Taylor continues her 25-year career at the retailer by taking on the COO position. The company also eliminated its executive vice president of strategy and development role. Published Nov. 17, 2025 A Dollar General store. The company’s Q2 net sales grew 5.1% year over year. Permission granted by Dollar General “}]] 
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  1. Merchandising

How Effective Retail Packaging Boosts Sales and Brand Visibility

Product retail packaging is one of the most important elements in the retail process, yet it is often overlooked by product startups. Good retail product packaging can be a key marketing tool, influence consumer behavior and affect the perceived value of a product. In today’s competitive retail environment, manufacturers need to make sure that their […]
6 min read
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  1. Channel: Mass

The End of Walmart’s McMillon Era

By Doug Stephens In 2015, I was invited to Bentonville, Arkansas to deliver a presentation to Walmart’s U.S. and global executive groups. The invitation came shortly after the release of my first book, The Retail Revival—a book that positioned Walmart and its founder, Sam Walton, as the fortunate beneficiaries of the post-war surge in middle-class […]
4 min read
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  1. Channel: Restaurants

Wendy’s: When “Fresh” Isn’t Enough — Why Yesterday’s Fast-Food Model Is Cracking

  Wendy’s was once the chain that made “fresh, never frozen” a national rallying cry. Today, the brand that gave us square burgers and sass is navigating one of the toughest stretches in its history — closing stores, trimming menus, and fighting to stay relevant in a quick-service world where convenience stores, not burger joints, […]
4 min read
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  1. Technology & Innovation

Can AI’s Sameness Problem Be Solved? This Founder Thinks So.

AI generated content tends to look, sound, and feel the same. OpenAI’s Sora videos blend into each other. ChatGPT writes with a characteristic style. Music generators like Suno generate what always feels like the same song, even across genres. This sameness problem for AI may be the single most significant issue holding the technology back […]
4 min read
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  1. Data & Insights

The Future of Autonomous Retail: Smart Stores Reshape the Intersection of Food and Convenience

  The future of retail is here, and it doesn’t have a cashier according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®. Autonomous retail stores, like VenHub’s new Smart Store at Los Angeles Union Station, are redefining convenience, efficiency, and the customer experience. What began as a futuristic idea born in the […]
4 min read
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  1. Data & Insights

From Waste to Win: Achieving true media spend optimization with advertising intelligence

Webinar From Waste to Win: Achieving true media spend optimization with advertising intelligence Tuesday, December 9, 2025 | 2:00 – 2:30 p.m. ET / 11:00 – 11:30 a.m. PT Register now Webinar From Waste to Win: Achieving true media spend optimization with advertising intelligence Tuesday, December 9, 2025 | 2:00 – 2:30 p.m. ET / […]
2 min read
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  1. Technology & Innovation

Top 10 Best Hair Transplant Clinics in Turkey for 2026

ISTANBUL, Türkiye — Around 42% of men worldwide are estimated to be bald or have significantly thinning hair with many of them resorting to the global epicenter of hair transplantation — Turkey. In 2024, over 1 million procedures were performed in the Eastern Mediterranean country, according to the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery. With […]
4 min read
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  1. Channel: Restaurants

Starbucks: From Partner-Powered Success to Wall Street-Driven Disconnect

  A Legacy Brewed on People First When Starbucks first rose from a single Seattle storefront to a global icon, its real innovation wasn’t just premium coffee — it was people. Starbucks built its brand on the belief that its employees were partners, not just workers. That distinction wasn’t a marketing gimmick; it was the […]
5 min read
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  1. Merchandising

What Are Retailer Compliance Chargebacks (and How to Avoid Them)

If you sell products to major retailers, you’ve likely come across the term retailer compliance chargeback — and possibly even received one. These penalties can quickly eat into your profit margins and cause major frustration for brands trying to scale in retail. In this article, we’ll break down what retailer compliance chargebacks are, common examples, […]
4 min read
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  1. Channel: Home Improvement

How to Get Your Product into Home Depot or Lowe’s: A Step-by-Step Guide for Product Manufacturers

Getting your product into major home improvement retailers like Home Depot or Lowe’s can be a game-changing opportunity for your business. These retail giants attract millions of customers every week, offering unmatched visibility and sales potential for hardware, home improvement, and building product brands. But breaking into these big-box retailers isn’t as simple as sending […]
3 min read
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  1. Technology & Innovation

Buy now pay later specialist Zilch raises $176.7 million as it ramps up agentic commerce focus

Zilch (a FinTech firm that launched in 2020) has raised $176.7 million in debt and equity. Led by KKCG, the round includes participation from BNF Capital, and several other investors. It also includes the expansion of its securitisation led by Deutsche Bank. This follows the recent launch of Intelligent Commerce, an AI powered platform that […]
3 min read
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  1. Data & Insights

Search is Changing Again: What Retailers Need to Know About GEO

When Google launched in the late 1990s, it didn’t just change the internet. It changed how people found businesses. The companies that cracked the early code of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) grew fast. Today, we are experiencing another major shift in how people discover and evaluate brands, this time powered by generative AI. Shoppers are […]
4 min read
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  1. Operations & Supply Chain

5 Essential Tips for a Successful Indiegogo Campaign Launch

Crowdfunding has become a game-changer for startups and product creators, offering a powerful way to validate ideas, raise funds, and build a global community of early adopters. Among the top crowdfunding platforms, Indiegogo stands out as a popular choice for entrepreneurs ready to bring their innovative products to life. But launching a successful campaign on […]
3 min read
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  1. Merchandising

How Retailers Choose Which New Products to Stock (and How to Improve Your Chances)

Getting your product onto retail shelves is one of the biggest milestones for any brand. But have you ever wondered how retailers decide which new products to stock — and which ones to pass on? The decision isn’t random. Retailers carefully evaluate each product against multiple criteria, from target market alignment to profitability and shelf […]
4 min read
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  1. Operations & Supply Chain

The Rise of E-Commerce and its Impact on Product Distribution

The rise of e-commerce has been a game changer for retail product businesses. No longer are brick-and-mortar stores the only option for selling products. Online marketplaces have opened a world of new opportunities – but they’ve also created some challenges. In this blog post, we’ll take a look at the impact of e-commerce on product […]
5 min read
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  1. Technology & Innovation

Wobbly Unicorns, Luxury Bifurcation, and Tecovas’ CEO David Lafitte on Growing Through ‘Radical Hospitality.’

Hosts Steve Dennis and Michael LeBlanc welcome David Lafitte, President and CEO of Tecovas, the fast-growing Austin-based brand bringing cowboy culture to modern consumers. Lafitte’s career journey—from corporate attorney to Chief Operating Officer at Deckers Brands (home of UGG and Hoka) and now to retail leadership at Tecovas—is a masterclass in reinvention and focus. Under […]
3 min read
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  1. Channel: Mass

How to Get Your Product Placed in Walmart: A Step-by-Step Guide for Consumer Brands

Getting your product placed at Walmart—the world’s largest retailer—is the ultimate goal for many product-based businesses. Every year, thousands of companies dream of seeing their products on Walmart shelves, yet only a select few succeed. So, what separates the companies that make it from those that don’t? Let’s explore the most common reasons brands get […]
4 min read
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  1. Operations & Supply Chain

Why Retailer Market Fit Is Critical for Product Startups

Many innovative product startups dream of seeing their products on the shelves of retail giants like Walmart, Best Buy, or Costco. While that dream is exciting, few founders stop to ask an important question — is that actually the right move right now? Getting your product into thousands of stores can be a major milestone, […]
3 min read
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  1. Shopper & Customer

How consumers will get through the holidays

​[[“value”:” Tariff and inflation jitters have colored U.S. consumers’ outlook for much of the year, and now the holiday shopping season is commencing with a sense of instability across income levels. This year, optimism about the economy took a turn for the worse, and recently even dipped among higher-income consumers, according to William Blair analysts […]
3 min read
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  1. Data & Insights

SAP’s Muhammad Alam: Here’s How You Can Actually Get ROI From AI

This article is presented in partnership with SAP In the early days of generative AI, some leading tech thinkers believed you’d one day simply dump all your data into LLMs and query it in natural language. Now, three years after ChatGPT’s debut, a more grounded view of the technology is taking shape. Rather than operating […]
19 min read
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  1. Shopper & Customer

How to Transition from E-Commerce to Brick-and-Mortar Sales

Making the transition from digital retail to offline channels like stores, catalog companies, TV shopping networks, and more can be daunting and prevent many successful online consumer product companies from growing. Making the transition from e-commerce to brick-and-mortar sales is easier than it has ever been but being prepared can make all the difference. Here […]
6 min read
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  1. Media & Marketing

The Biggest Lessons I’ve Learned from Running a Successful Agency for Nearly 20 Years

When I launched Retailbound back in the mid 2000s, I had one clear goal — to help both product startups and established manufacturers scale successfully in retail. Nearly two decades later, the picture of me at the 2024 Consumer Electronics Shows reminds me how far we’ve come — and how much I’ve learned along the […]
5 min read
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  1. Shopper & Customer

Quick 5-Step Guide in Finding The Right Price For Retail Products

Wholesale product entrepreneurs face critical decision-making scenarios when it comes to retail product pricing. It’s essential to know just how much you can raise your margin to end up with a reasonable profit without compromising your shot at the market, especially with active competitors on the sideline. Luckily, you only need to follow a few […]
6 min read
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  1. Data & Insights

Upgrading Our Mental Operating System.

Image by Midjourney to prompt: Upgrading our mental operating system. In our pockets we all carry a device that has upgraded its mind 16 (Android OS) or 18 times (Apple iOS) in the past 18 years. These same mobile devices contain applications from Open AI, or Google, or Anthropic, or xAI or some other frontier […]
3 min read
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  1. Merchandising

The New Product Cycle: How New Products Make It to Store Shelves

New products are the lifeblood of retail. They drive sales, create excitement, and keep customers coming back. But getting your product from concept to retail shelves is no simple task. It takes strategy, timing, and flawless execution. In this guide, we’ll break down the new product cycle—from idea generation to retail placement—and highlight what it […]
4 min read
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  1. Technology & Innovation

How To Develop An Invention In 8 Steps

A great idea can change an industry if you let it. But it’s on you, the inventor, to take action steps. There are eight steps to making your invention a real product. They are: 1. Conceptualize Your Invention And Prepare Yourself The first step in how to make your invention real is to conceptualize your invention. In […]
6 min read
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  1. Data & Insights

Hubs, AI, and the New Era of Revenue Protection in Patient Access

Today’s guest post comes from Steve Randall, Chief Technology Architect at ConnectiveRx. Steve examines how artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping the role of patient support hubs in the specialty drug ecosystem. As policy, payer, and gross-to-net pressures mount, he argues that the hub model must evolve from a service function into a revenue-protection strategy—one that […]
2 min read
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  1. Merchandising

How to Get Your Product Brand into Retail Stores: A Practical Guide for eCommerce Brands

Launching a product brand—whether it’s a consumer gadget, home improvement tool, or trending eCommerce item—is exciting. But getting your products onto retail shelves is a different game altogether. With so many emerging brands competing for space, you need a strong retail strategy to stand out and scale. This guide walks you through how to get […]
4 min read
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  1. Channel: Mass
  2. Department & Category
  3. Department: Food
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  5. Media & Marketing
  6. Technology & Innovation
  7. Associates & Employees
  8. Operations & Supply Chain

Walmart adding RFID tech to fresh categories

​Dive Brief The retailer worked with Avery Dennison on developing the solution in an effort to minimize food waste and improve inventory management. Published Oct. 23, 2025 Workers can better track inventory and determine when to rotate or mark down products with RFID technology, according to Walmart. Courtesy of Walmart
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  1. Technology & Innovation
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  10. Operations & Supply Chain
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‘A cultural shift’: Dollar Tree’s CEO on tech, AI adoption

At Dollar Tree’s investor day this month, the discount retailer gave a peek into how it’s catching up with the times — and AI is playing a key role. If one thing is certain, CEO Mike Creedon told investors, it’s that Dollar Tree must evolve. “And we are, from a single price point model to […]
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  1. Technology & Innovation
  2. Channel: Mass
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  9. Operations & Supply Chain

New Amazon smart delivery glasses help drivers navigate routes and complete deliveries

Amazon has unveiled new smart glasses designed to assist drivers in navigating their routes and completing deliveries. The AI powered technology provides hands free navigation, package scanning, and hazard detection directly in drivers’ field of view, eliminating the need to look down at their smartphones while making deliveries. The glasses feature computer vision technology that […]
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