Today on Total Retail

Tempur Sealy International said on Monday it plans to sell more than 100 stores in a bid to get regulatory approval for its $4 billion deal with Mattress Firm. Tempur Sealy's merger with Mattress Firm, which would create a combined business of about 3,000 stores globally, raised concerns about price hikes and job losses and…

“Hot enough for you?” That was the common refrain during the summer of 2024. The excessive heat gave retail facilities managers and sustainability directors another stark reminder of the challenges they face to improve energy efficiency and meet sustainability requirements. It's all the more reason a robust energy management strategy is critical. Fortunately, there’s some…

Surveillance systems may help catch thieves in the act but they aren’t guaranteed to stop them, and criminals have grown bolder as a result. According to the National Retail Federation’s 2023 survey, losses from retail theft surged 19 percent to $112.1 billion in 2022, up from $93.9 billion the prior year. Jewelry theft alone recently…

In episode 465 of Total Retail Talks, Editor-in-Chief Joe Keenan interviews Ellen Webb, vice president of shopper analytics and insights at PepsiCo, a global leader in convenient foods and beverages with a portfolio of more than 500 brands. Listen in as Webb provides an overview of PepsiCo's pepviz data analytics initiative (0:55), what they're learning…

Remember the days when brands only needed to advertise on a handful of TV channels, in print newspapers and magazines, and that was enough? These were the primary media for brand building for generations. However, with the decline of print media and the explosion of streaming content providers for video entertainment, these channels are no…

Sam’s Club will raise pay to incentivize workers to stay with the company — and not jump ship to Costco. Sam’s Club, the membership club arm of Walmart, will increase its minimum wage to $16 starting in November from $15 an hour. It will also raise wages for its nearly 100,000 employees, ranging from 3…

Suresh Kumar, Walmart’s global chief technology officer and chief development officer, says, "We’re in a new era of retail defined by profoundly personal shopping experiences. Each shopper defines how, where and when they obtain goods, and context is key. The 'why' behind the purchase. Retailers must predict shoppers’ needs, reduce decision-making, and enable highly personal…

In the competitive world of social commerce, TikTok has emerged as a leader by perfecting the art of a seamless in-app purchasing experience. As platforms like YouTube and Pinterest race to replicate this success, their ability to enable users to discover, engage with, and purchase products directly within content will be the deciding factor in…

One critical factor to achieving success in retail is understanding consumer behavior. Every day, the average consumer makes tens of thousands of decisions, driven in part by habits, impulses and even laziness. When pushed beyond the threshold, decision paralysis is induced — the paradox of choice. In retail, a proliferation of products within categories is…

In a rapidly evolving digital landscape, search is essential for large enterprises. Early search engines worked as keyword retrieval engines but have since evolved into semantic search engines as customer searches have become broader and less focused on exact words. Retailers continuously personalize their search engines based on customer preferences and engagement patterns. Now, the…