April 2021
Apr 19
Lord & Taylor Back as Digital Collective
Lord & Taylor has been launched as a digital Collective Store. Learn what this means for the iconic retailer.
Apr 19
J.Crew’s Newest Sustainability Goals Tackle the Supply Chain
J.Crew has launched new initiatives that further its corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability goals by focusing on products, supply chain and third-party partnerships.
Apr 14
Lamps Plus Appoints President
The specialty lighting retailer has promoted an honored executive who has spent over 30 years with the company. Uncover who took the top spot.
Apr 13
Frank And Oak Unifying POS & Order Management
The sustainable fashion retailer and brand under the United Commerce Group (UCG) portfolio is investing in its omnichannel experiences.
Apr 12
Domino's Launches Autonomous Pizza Delivery Via On-Road Robot
Select Houston residents will be able to get pizza delivered via R2, an on-road robot, starting this week.
Apr 12
Foot Locker Delivers a New Retail Experience in Its U.S. Stores
A new touchless capable payment system enables Foot Locker customers to have complete control over their checkout experience.
Apr 12
Tops Markets Beefs Up Retail Media Capabilities
The new additions will enable suppliers to access ad placements on Topsmarkets.com, shopper-targeted off-site ad placements across programmatic media and paid social, and real-time sales reporting at the UPC level.
Apr 07
Kum & Go Expanding Merchandising Capabilities
Convenience chain Kum & Go is taking steps to unify its supply chain and merchandising optimization.
Apr 05
Destination Maternity Customer Data Exposed in Breach
Maternity apparel retailer Destination Maternity said a database containing personal customer information was breached in March.
Apr 05
New Mobile App in Missouri Allows Retail Cashiers to Verify IDs
The Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control has partnered with the MoDOT Highway Safety and Traffic Division to launch a free app to aid retail employees in verifying the authenticity of IDs.
Apr 05
Trader Joe’s Teams With Magnusmode App
Learn how Trader Joe’s has partnered with MagnusCards by Magnusmode, a free app dedicated to making the world a more accessible place for people with cognitive and intellectual disabilities.
March 2021
Mar 31
Kroger’s Fred Meyer Chain Reimagines How it Merchandizes Tech Products
Fred Meyer, a division of The Kroger Co., is updating its home electronics departments after a successful pilot. Learn why the grocer is experiencing roughly 92% sales lift in the new departments.
Mar 29
Bridgestone Retail Operations Opening 58 Stores This Year
Firestone Complete Auto Care’s parent company will open 58 new stores across the U.S. in 2021 as part of the company's continued growth strategy.
Mar 25
Gap to Sell Janie and Jack
After acquiring the retailer just two years ago, Gap Inc. will cut ties with premium children's fashion brand Janie and Jack. Learn how its new owner will invest in artificial intelligence and predictive analytics technologies to grow the brand.
Mar 24
Sweetwater Names Its First CIO
Online musical instrument and pro audio retailer Sweetwater has promoted Jason Johnson to chief information officer, adding the position to its c-suite. Johnson has been with the company since 2013, most recently as SVP of IT, leading the in-house software development, cloud, and network infrastructure teams.
Mar 22
Party City Getting Granular On Category Spend
Party City Holdings is investing to gain more visibility into category spending at its 800-plus company-owned and franchised stores in North America.
Mar 22
Not Absurd: Marine Layer Invests In Omnichannel Fulfillment
The apparel retailer and brand, which operates 46 retail locations in the U.S. selling its “absurdly soft” clothing, has added such important capabilities as mobile checkout, endless aisle and ship-from-store.
Mar 17
DICK’S Furthers E-Comm Partnership To Support Record-Breaking Digital Growth
DICK’S Sporting Goods has extended its relationship with CommerceHub to support its e-commerce growth.
Mar 16
C-Store Technology Insight Report Examines the True Cost of IT Downtime
98% of convenience store retailers have had to deal with the impact of store system failure, according to a new report.
Mar 15
Walgreens Hopes To Grow Locally Relevant Lines with Virtual Summit
Walgreens will participate in its first Localization Summit on May 13, a virtual showcase for diverse, local and regional businesses and entrepreneurs to share their retail offerings with the retailer’s merchants.
Mar 10
Grocer Consum Deepens Personalization Efforts
Spanish grocer Consum Cooperativa Valenciana has tapped Algonomy to drive its omnichannel personalization and real-time customer engagement efforts.
Mar 10
Amazon Music Launches New Shopping Experience
Amazon customers can discover new music, watch live streams, and browse a curated, Prime-eligible selection of an artist’s merch, vinyl, and more.
Mar 08
The New Safeway? Albertsons Pilots Remote-Controlled Delivery
Albertsons Companies is piloting a remote-controlled delivery cart in Northern California, joining the growing list of grocers exploring automated delivery options.
Mar 08
Bridgestone Retail Operations Names VP Store Ops
Find out who is the next vice president of store operations for BSRO's more than 2,200 tire and vehicle service centers, including Firestone Complete Auto Care, Tires Plus, Hibdon Tires Plus and Wheel Works.
Mar 08
Hy-Vee Boosting In-Store Services With Addition of The W Nail Bar
The grocer, which operates more than 275 stores in eight states, will open several in-store nail salons by the end of 2021 inside select locations. The first nail salon will open inside the Bettendorf, IA, store in early April.
Mar 05
HomeTown Pharmacy, Pyramid Foods & Carlie C’s IGA Dig Into AI To Better Serve Customers
A trio of independent retailers are taking steps to make their merchandising and marketing more data-driven through the use of artificial intelligence.
Mar 03
Michaels To Be Acquired In $3.3B Deal
The Michaels Companies will be acquired by global investment firm Apollo in a deal valued at $3.3 billion
Mar 02
Ahold Delhaize USA Announces Sustainability Goals
Ahold Delhaize USA, the parent company of Giant Food, The GIANT Company, Hannaford and Stop & Shop, has unveiled new health and sustainability goals as part of a detailed, purpose-driven strategy to enable customers to make healthier choices, create greater product transparency, eliminate waste and taking bold climate action, all in support of developing a more sustainable food supply chain.
Mar 02
Retailers Expect to Continue Leaning Into Virtual Meetings Post-Pandemic
While the pandemic has prompted a rapid increase in virtual meetings, some retailers expect the trend to stick after its conclusion.
Mar 01
Zumiez Taps Analytics and Enterprise Planning to Accelerate Finance Transformation
Apparel and footwear retailer Zumiez will use advanced analytics and enterprise planning to accelerate its digital finance transformation. Learn how.
Mar 01
Nordstrom Leans Into Smart Fitness with Latest Store Concept
Nordstrom is teaming with smart fitness brand Tonal for a series of concept customer experience areas.
Mar 01
Sephora Bringing BOPIS to All Freestanding Stores
In addition to launching more than 60 freestanding locations and 200 locations inside Kohl’s stores later this year — making the beauty retailer’s largest store expansion — Sephora is also launching buy-online-pickup-in-store at all freestanding stores by April.
February 2021
Feb 24
Urban Outfitters Increases Volume of Customer Transactions by 25% Through Virtual Customer Experiences
Urban Outfitters has successfully bolstered ongoing customer engagement and sales during COVID-19 through virtual customer experiences. Learn how.
Feb 23
enVista Unveils Subscription Management Capabilities
The new service will enable retailers to leverage subscription selling models and expand customer service opportunities.
Feb 22
Knot Standard Introduces Digital Stylist Store
Premium custom clothing retailer Knot Standard has introduced a fully-virtual showroom experience for new and existing customers. Learn how it's allowing the retailer to personalize the digital shopping experience.
Feb 22
Kroger Discloses Involvement in Data Breach
Grocery chain Kroger is the latest retailer to suffer a data breach. Learn how it is among the victims of a breach involving third-party vendor Accellion’s file-transfer service.
Feb 17
Crocs Automates Media Management To Boost Digital CX
Crocs is putting the kibosh on poorly cropped images in its new media management lifecycle initiative.
Feb 17
Tractor Supply Acquiring Orscheln Farm and Home for $297M
Tractor Supply Company will acquire Orscheln Farm and Home, a farm and ranch retailer with 167 stores in the Midwest, for approximately $297 million in cash.
Feb 16
Aptos Picks Up LS Retail
Aptos will acquire LS Retail, a provider of software tech solutions for retail, hospitality, food service, pharmacy and forecourt businesses.
Feb 16
SnapBlooms Launches Nationwide E-commerce Platform for Flower Delivery
Learn how the SnapBlooms website connects customers from all over the U.S. with local florists, allowing them to purchase from a wide range of high-quality flowers locally.
Feb 12
VTEX Acquires Workarea
The acquisition expands VTEX's U.S. and Canada customer base, adding $1 billion in annual GMV with new customers such as Reformation, Sleep Number and The Bouqs Co.
Feb 12
First Look: Nordstrom NYC Launches New Center Stage Pop-Up
Nordstrom has opened Black Founders, its latest Center Stage activation at Nordstrom NYC, in celebration of Black History Month. Learn more about the two month-long pop-up shop.
Feb 12
Sephora Relaunches Incubator Program
Sephora has announced the eight selected brands who will participate in the retailer’s 2021 Accelerate incubator program, which for the first time ever features a cohort comprised exclusively of founders of color.
Feb 10
ALDI Adding Curbside Grocery Pickup to 500 More Stores
The company is also opening 100 new stores this year, with a specific focus on Arizona, California, Florida and the Northeast.
Feb 10
Biometric Checkout Comes to Hotel Convenience Store
A hotel convenience store in Japan is implementing a checkout-free experience leveraging biometric authentication technology.
Feb 10
Lush Cosmetics Moves to Global Cloud Communications
Lush employees—who are increasingly working remotely—can now communicate with customers and peers across multiple channels, from any location, and on any device. Get the details.
Feb 08
GNC Powers Content-Driven Online Experiences
GNC is competing in today's crowded e-commerce market by creating a seamless, engaging customer experience across web, mobile and other channels to increase customer loyalty. Learn how.
Feb 05
KFC and Taco Bell Franchisee Taps AI During COVID-19
A top QSR operator has deployed a prescriptive, predictive artificial intelligence platform to gain competitive advantage in the face of the pandemic.
Feb 04
SageNet Acquires Digital Signage Provider Convergent
Managed network services and cybersecurity solutions provider SageNet has acquired Convergent, a digital signage products and services provider to Fortune 1000 companies.
Feb 03
Famous Dave’s Boosting Last-Mile Logistics
Barbeque chain Famous Dave’s is boosting its last-mile delivery capabilities in order to meet today's strong demand for takeout and delivery.
Feb 03
Uber Acquiring Drizly In $1.1B Deal
Drizly, which is in compliance with local regulations in more than 1,400 cities, works with local retailers to provide consumers with beer, wine and alcohol.
Feb 03
Ulta Beauty Investing in Associates As Part of $25 Million D&I Plans
In order to help foster an inclusive, bias-free and equitable workplace for its associates, Ulta will make investments to advance associate competencies and foster greater collaboration.