Stores Weekly - July 11, 2019

First Edition

Beyond big-name uses, robots are becoming more prevalent in retail

For decades, futurists have been talking about a time when robots would be widespread, doing everything from cleaning homes to serving food at restaurants. That vision hasn’t materialized at the pace originally thought, but artificial intelligence, mobility and connectivity have made robots more advanced than ever.

Visit https://stores.org/2019/07/08/retails-robot-revolution/?utm_medium=STORES%20Weekly&utm_source=Email&utm_campaign=STORES%20July%20&utm_content=Robots to view the full article online.

Macy’s precisely matches customer service agents with customers

Macy’s has a distinct purpose: To make life shine brighter via service — to customers, colleagues and communities. That credo is the undercurrent of the Macy’s approach to customer service and the customer experience.

Visit https://stores.org/2019/07/08/anticipating-expectations/?utm_medium=STORES%20Weekly&utm_source=Email&utm_campaign=STORES%20July%20&utm_content=Macys to view the full article online.

NRF is proud to provide our members with the online Retail Buying Guide to search for trusted vendors, products and services in the retail industry. Our guide is a user-friendly forum designed to bring suppliers and purchasers together. You can search by keyword, location, company name or category. Available whenever you need it, the Retail Buying Guide makes it easy to locate products and professional services geared to the retail industry. Click here to visit the online Retail Buying Guide! To advertise, please contact Sarah Allen for more information.

Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/nrf-nwl/articles/index.asp?aid=569854&issueID=64462 to view the full article online.

Texas supermarket chain teams up with specialized software providers to manage home delivery

Ecommerce, a major factor in most retail categories these days, is still very much a minority activity in groceries, but that doesn’t mean consumers don’t want it. United Supermarkets began offering a choice of delivery or buy online, pick up in store in November 2016, and is “seeing triple-digit, year-over-year increases,” says Chris Farr, ecommerce manager.

Visit https://stores.org/2019/07/08/going-the-last-mile/?utm_medium=STORES%20Weekly&utm_source=Email&utm_campaign=STORES%20July%20&utm_content=United%20Supermarkets to view the full article online.

Growth spurt

Green Growth Brands is swiftly opening a variety of retail brands selling cannabis and CBD products targeted to specific customer types, intending to give each brand mass appeal through different emotional positionings. CEO Peter Horvath says the company focuses on customers from the time they pull into a parking lot to the time they leave the store.

Visit https://stores.org/2019/07/09/growth-spurt/?utm_medium=STORES%20Weekly&utm_source=Email&utm_campaign=STORES%20July%20&utm_content=Green%20Growth%20Brands to view the full article online.

The digital edition of STORES includes must-read pieces, including the articles featured here. Read the current issue and browse the archives for issues you may have missed.

Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/nrf-nwl/articles/index.asp?aid=569853&issueID=64462 to view the full article online.

How retailers can guard against fake reviews

Remember the old adage “don’t believe everything you read”? Today the axiom remains true: Despite more effective policing, in many ways the internet still resembles the wild west. Products and services that are actually inferior are given false four- or five-star ratings to trick the trusting consumer. This digital sleight of hand can also be used to trash competitors with deceptively negative reviews, robbing a quality brand of hard-earned business.

Visit https://stores.org/2019/07/09/foiling-the-phonies/?utm_medium=STORES%20Weekly&utm_source=Email&utm_campaign=STORES%20July%20&utm_content=LP%20Fake%20reviews to view the full article online.

Trends

Out of step with reality

New research says consumers worry about using credit cards at gas pumps but still prefer plastic over cash when paying for a fill-up. A study of 1,270 adults by YouGov and ACI Worldwide found that 62 percent of adults are worried about financial data security when paying at the pump. Mobile apps aren’t the solution, with only 7 percent saying they prefer to pay that way.

Visit https://stores.org/2019/07/10/out-of-step-with-reality/ to view the full article online.

Fannies and feet

Crocs has teamed up with Japanese clothing brand Beams for the ultimate mash-up in comfort kitsch: The pairing puts fanny packs on the traditional Crocs. While we might make fun, Crocs is having a bit of a moment with younger shoppers. Post Malone, the genre-bending rapper and producer, teamed with Crocs for two collaborations in 2018, both selling out in minutes.

Visit https://stores.org/2019/07/10/fannies-and-feet/ to view the full article online.

Emoji = $

Learning the language of emojis may provide keen insight into business success. That’s what social media analytics firm Talkwalker found when it looked into Starbucks’ use of emojis.

Visit https://stores.org/2019/07/10/emoji/ to view the full article online.

NRF News

Cuyana’s winning retail formula: quality over quantity

“Fewer, Better Things” is the slogan for Cuyana, a San Francisco-based ecommerce retailer that has found a market niche by selling high-quality, handmade goods. On this episode of NRF’s Retail Gets Real podcast, co-founder and CEO Karla Gallardo discusses how the business was born, the journey to opening stores and how to grow a brand built on trust. Listen and subscribe.

Visit https://nrf.com/blog/cuyana-scaling-brand-built-fewer-better?utm_medium=STORES%20Weekly&utm_source=Email&utm_campaign=Retail%20Gets%20Real&utm_content=Ep%20126%20Cuyana to view the full article online.

NRF to name Kohl’s CEO Michelle Gass as The Visionary 2020

The National Retail Federation will name Kohl’s CEO Michelle Gass as “The Visionary,” an award given annually to an outstanding leader in the retail industry, during the sixth annual NRF Foundation Honors on January 12, 2020, in New York City. “Michelle has cultivated an environment at Kohl’s where risk-taking is encouraged, which has never been more important than in today’s dynamic retail environment,” said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay.

Visit https://nrf.com/media-center/press-releases/nrf-name-kohls-ceo-michelle-gass-visionary-2020?utm_medium=STORES%20Weekly&utm_source=Email&utm_campaign=The%20List&utm_content=The%20Visionary%20press%20release to view the full article online.

9 women making waves in retail

NRF regularly brings together powerful women — retail industry icons and thought leaders — to share their experiences. Retailers can meet some of the visionary women in the industry as they present real-world case studies and strategic insights at the NRF NXT conference in Las Vegas later this month. Read more.

Visit https://nrf.com/blog/9-women-making-waves-retail?utm_medium=STORES%20Weekly&utm_source=Email&utm_campaign=NRFNXT&utm_content=9%20women to view the full article online.