Louis Vuitton joins luxury brand chatbot trend

Luxury retailers and brands without chatbots may soon find themselves in the minority, as many in the segment have embraced the tech.

By Dan O'Shea • Dec. 11, 2017

More users are outsourcing shopping to voice tech

An SAP survey finds the chances are growing that more holiday gifts this season will be purchased with the help of virtual assistants like Amazon's Alexa.

By Dan O'Shea • Dec. 10, 2017

Explore the Trendline➔

The state of small business

Disruptions from tariffs, e-commerce and broader economic trends continue to challenge small business operations. 

By Retail Dive staff

Ikea, Sonos bring speakers closer to home

The Swedish furniture retailer has partnered with the wireless speaker manufacturer to create a smart home sound experience.

By Dan O'Shea • Dec. 8, 2017

Retail Therapy: May the force be with Columbia's outerwear

The new "Empire Strikes Back" jacket collection lets fans sport the fashion of a Jedi without having to fight for the rebellion.

By Cara Salpini • Dec. 7, 2017

10 surprising retail predictions for 2018

The industry is hitting a tipping point, writes consultant Christopher Walton, and retailers should brace themselves.  

By Christopher Walton • Dec. 6, 2017

Amazon, Home Depot, Walmart boast top-notch digital experiences

Big-box retailers have come a long way on digital — now nearly 70% offer barcode scanning through their apps, a new survey found.

By Dan O'Shea • Dec. 6, 2017

How Cost Per Visit gives retailers the gift of innovation during the holiday rush

Increase store visits and deliver a more innovative shopping experience this holiday and beyond.

Dec. 6, 2017

The costs, and benefits, of the influencer economy

Influencers on social media have the power to control retail brand conversations and impact consumers' purchasing decisions. But what price are retailers paying to make these connections?

By Lara Ewen • Dec. 6, 2017

Target rolls out much-anticipated mobile wallet feature

The mass merchant is the latest to join the mobile wallet club, yet has a long way to go to catch up with the likes of Walmart.

By Dan O'Shea • Dec. 5, 2017

Gap lost 54% of its shoppers in one year

What's more, almost four out of every 10 (38%) of the retailer's lost customers shopped at Old Navy instead, according to research from 1010data.

By Daphne Howland • Dec. 5, 2017

Poor personalization cost businesses $756B last year

Retailers are facing a major conundrum — how to balance consumer frustration with bad recommendations and their fear of giving up personal info.

By Dan O'Shea • Dec. 4, 2017

Disruptor of the Year: Brandless

Brandless burst onto the retail scene earlier this year with 110 products, all with a good-for-you ethos and modern design. Brandless looked like a store brand, without the store — and that was pretty much the point. 

By Laura Heller • Dec. 4, 2017

The Retail Dive Awards for 2017

The 2017 Retail Dive Awards recognize the industry’s top disruptors and innovators. These executives, companies and trends are transforming the industry and shaping the future.

By Corinne Ruff , Ben Unglesbee , Laura Heller , Cara Salpini • Dec. 4, 2017

In-store experiences lag due to poor IT infrastructure

Only 27% of retail executives are confident their IT can keep up with customer experience improvement plans, according to a new survey.

By Dan O'Shea • Dec. 4, 2017

Study: 39% of marketers will increase influencer marketing budgets in 2018

Trends in the space are likely to include using a variety of types of influencers and leveraging the content to enhance other channels.

By Erica Sweeney • Dec. 4, 2017

Macy's boosts holiday hiring by 7K thanks to strong traffic

Chief Stores Officer John Harper said the department store retailer has seen "high customer volume across our business" so far this season.

By Ben Unglesbee • Dec. 1, 2017

Small Business Saturday sales shrink

Roughly 108 million shoppers spent $12.9 billion on Main Street, down from last year’s 112 million shoppers, who spent $15.4 billion.

By Daphne Howland • Dec. 1, 2017

Gen Z is late to holiday shopping

One third of consumers in the age group don’t start holiday shopping until after Black Friday and 15% don’t start until after Dec. 15, according to a new study. 

By David Kirkpatrick • Dec. 1, 2017

Retail Therapy: Nordstrom puts shoe fashion to the guillotine

A pair of Marie Antoinette-inspired shoes would have the lady herself rolling over in her grave — but at least she'd be able to afford the royal price tag.

By Cara Salpini • Nov. 30, 2017

Wayfair Black Friday weekend sales soar 53%

The online furniture retailer is in the right place at the right time as furniture buying and selling moves online.

By Dan O'Shea • Nov. 30, 2017

30 minutes with Sephora’s head of marketing

Deborah Yeh, SVP of marketing and brand at Sephora, gave Retail Dive a glimpse into three of the retailer's most dynamic marketing moves.

By Cara Salpini • Nov. 29, 2017

The store of the future won't be Amazon

But it will have elements of Amazon in a mash up that marries the best disruptive technologies to create in-store experiences worth visiting, writes Christopher Walton, former vice president of Target's Store of the Future.

By Christopher Walton • Nov. 29, 2017

What retailers need to do right now to survive

As retailers drop like flies, shuttering stores and filing for bankruptcy, Lee Peterson of WD Partners outlines three key survival strategies.

By Lee Peterson • Nov. 28, 2017

7 lessons from Cyber Monday

The online sales holiday raked in $6.6 billion — up 17% over last year — and showed the rising force of mobile in digital holiday sales. 

By Ben Unglesbee • Nov. 28, 2017

Amazon aggressively prices Echo in holiday power play

Heading into Cyber Monday, the company heavily promoted devices with its Alexa smart assistant, a segment where it already holds a 70% market share.

By Dan O'Shea • Nov. 28, 2017