Today on Total Retail

The National Retail Federation (NRF) forecasts that retail sales in 2026 will grow by 4.4 percent over 2025 to $5.6 trillion, based on a newly enhanced forecasting approach developed in partnership with Oxford Economics, one of the world’s leading independent economic advisory firms. The announcement was made last week during NRF’s sixth annual State of…

At a recent activation, we had a diverse audience in the room — brand decision-makers, senior retail buyers, marketing leads, category managers, etc. But they weren't the only ones there. Their spouses showed up. Their kids. Close friends. Mentors from previous jobs. Nobody asked them to bring those people. They just did. Most brands would…

Analyze the structure of any retail organization and you’ll find multiple groups that influence the same outcome yet rarely operate as one system. Merchandising manages the margin at the point of purchase. Operations manages labor and daily execution. Facilities manages the environment that keeps products available and stores functioning. And supply chain is responsible for…

Ambient Internet of Things (IoT) has crossed an important threshold. What began as a series of promising pilots is now entering a phase of real deployment at enterprise scale. Major retailers and logistics operators have demonstrated that battery-free, wirelessly connected devices can deliver continuous visibility across physical environments that were previously opaque. The result is…

The most important moment in retail no longer happens in a store aisle or even on a single promotional day. It happens across screens, in notifications, in checkout flows, and in the quiet spaces between purchases. As e-commerce and digital-first journeys become the default, the traditional retail calendar has begun to lose its grip. There…

Lowe's announced this week it was launching HomeCare+, a $99 in-home maintenance services subscription program exclusively for MyLowe's Rewards loyalty members. HomeCare+ will include seven in-home services for regular home upkeep: electric dryer vent cleaning; HVAC air filter replacement; refrigerator water filter replacement; electric water heater flush; garage door lubrication; smoke and carbon monoxide detector…

When shopping online, customers expect everything to work seamlessly. There’s no room for friction like a pricing error, payment failure, or out-of-stock item masquerading as “in stock.” If anything goes wrong, online shoppers take their business elsewhere. That’s why e-commerce continuity is table stakes for retailers today, especially when high-profile events such as Cyber Monday…

Retail supply chains have become inheritors of upstream volatility. When manufacturers rank trade uncertainty as a top concern and project rising input costs, retailers absorb the impact through pricing instability, supply variability, and compressed margins. These pressures require response cycles measured in hours, not days. Yet many retailers remain constrained by fragmented systems and disconnected…

Retail leaders spent the last decade chasing Amazon.com's delivery speed. Billions went into same-day windows, next-day guarantees, and two-hour fulfillment. Here's what that investment bought: a trust problem. Only 9 percent of shoppers believe retailers consistently meet their fast delivery promises. Another 69 percent say those promises get kept "sometimes," according to a recent Locus…

Google’s introduction of the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) marks a structural shift in how digital commerce operates. Launched in January 2026 and already enabling in-app purchases from Etsy and Wayfair through Google’s AI Mode in Search and Gemini (with integrations from retailers and platforms like Shopify, Target, and Walmart on the horizon), UCP is designed…