A Look Back: Our Favorite 2018 Retail Trends
2018 is over…finally! It was a long year – one that started with the Winter Olympics (yes, we had the Olympics this year) and high schoolers eating Tide Pods. In retail news, we said goodbye to Toys”R”Us, hello to oat
The Intersection of Media and Merchandise: The “As Seen on TV” Pop-Up Strategy
Media has always been intertwined with retail. Media and merchandise. From the full-page ads in print newspapers and magazines to the product placements on daily news shows, the consumer has always been shown advertisements in conjunction with media. But the
An All-Encompassing Trend: Why Health and Wellness Retail Is About More Than Vitamins
The start of the new year can only mean one thing: it’s time for resolutions. And for many consumers, that list of goals for the upcoming year starts with wellness through healthy choices. Health and wellness retail is their starting
E-Commerce Pop-Ups Deliver a Much-Needed Physical Presence to Online Retail
Once upon a time, pop-ups were simply opportunistic. A way for retailers to generate extra sales in empty storefronts, a low-cost solution for emerging businesses hoping to gain a toehold in a market, or a way for big-buck brands to
Retail Storytelling: Uniting Products Under a Theme
The Night Before Christmas, The Polar Express, The Gift of the Magi, Love & Latkes. Who doesn’t love a great story? During the holidays, everyone cuddles up with our favorite seasonal stories. Now, storytelling is extending to how you merchandise, not
The Importance of Transparent and Sustainable Fashion
Plastic has had a bad year. People are saying ‘no’ to plastic straws to save sea turtles. Government officials are passing laws to ban plastic shopping bags. And reusable water bottle sales are soaring. So what does this have to
Uncovering the Truth: Debunking Five Myths About Pop-Up Retail
Pop-up retail has gained a lot of attention – and garnered billions in sales – in recent years. For a retailer or retail brand, this may set the bar quite high. But don’t be held back by some of these
Retail Holiday Creep: Pros and Cons of (Too) Early Retailer and Retail Brand Displays
Today is the spookiest day of the year – and it’s also one of retail’s sweetest and tastiest. After the kids crash from sugar overload, the last cobweb is swept up and the witch’s hat is hung up until next
Rotating Pop-Up Retail — The Trick to Compelling Return Visits
Everyone loves good pop-up retail. With inventive cross-brand partnerships and creative merchandising, you entice customers into your store for an exciting purchasing experience. And there’s the rub. One pop-up. One experience. One visit. Why not turn one visit into two?
Rethinking Consumer Retail Tech to Target Younger Audiences
Over the past decade, consumer retail tech has advanced rapidly. Flat-screen televisions, gaming consoles and MP3 players used to dominate the market, sold primarily at big-name tech stores like Best Buy. Today, smartphones and other smart devices lead tech sales
The Incredible Power of Movie Retail Partnerships
Soon to be released on DVD, Incredibles 2 has already stirred up a world of marketing buzz for movie retail partnerships. For the cinematic release in June, Disney partnered with no fewer than 14 brands ranging from McDonald’s to Zillow. The
Pop-Up Retail Moments at NYFW: Feminism, Color and Eye-Catching Experiences
Around Manhattan, Labor Day signals two things: the end of the summer and the arrival of New York Fashion Week (NYFW). This year was no different, with designers, retailers, models and celebrities descending on the Big Apple for a week
The New Wellness Retail Opportunity: Beauty from Within
Wellness retail has gotten increasingly popular over the past few years. But this year, the category is on fire, becoming a trend that is fueling and influencing consumers’ lives and retailers’ behavior. Beyond just natural products and healthy foods, health
Retail Sales Staff Training: Your On-Site and Online Secret Weapon
A user-friendly site. Chat features. Strong images. E-commerce retailers have been using these UX tactics and more to humanize the online shopping experience. But all told, in the realm of personal warmth, human interaction, humor and caring, e-commerce can’t stand toe-to-toe with the in-store experience…and it probably never will. You may
Blending Work and Play Through Workplace Pop-Ups
Across the nation, millions of people are locked into work every day from 9 to 5 – and often even longer. For retailers, this time frame coincides almost exactly with their stores’ hours of operation. But there’s a new way
How Retail Technology Helps Mass Merch Make Human Connections
Technology is everywhere. We pay with our smartphones, ask a virtual assistant for a weather update and keep our lives on an invisible cloud. And that’s just as consumers. But what about retail technology? In the retail space, companies constantly
Retail Showrooms: Taking Retail Experiences to New Heights
Guide shops. Neighborhood hubs. Retail showrooms. Call them what you will, these show-and-tell centers are all leading shoppers to the same destination: an interactive and experiential in-store visit. The impact of retail showrooms is being felt across the retail spectrum.
Plants, Fizz and the Pursuit of Healthiness at the 2018 Fancy Food Show
Three days. Six football fields of walking, 2,600 exhibitor stands, 200,000 specialty products. Eating our way through the 2018 Fancy Food Show was an exhausting – yet delicious – task. The event was never more timely. The specialty food market is
Squeezed by Retail Returns: E-commerce’s Bane Is Brick & Mortar’s Advantage
Like so many bad habits, it started out innocently. First it was two, then it became four. Before you knew it, it was up to eight. At first, it felt like a dirty little secret. Now, it’s out in the
Grocery Trends That Are Stimulating In-Store Sales
Food and beverage grocery trends are very much a hot topic, even becoming a default cocktail party, nice-to-meet-you conversation starter. It’s interesting then, with all this focus, physical grocery store expansion slowed in 2017. But that doesn’t mean it was