Today on Total Retail

Allbirds, known for its eco-friendly shoes before losing its valuation and closing all full-priced stores, announced this week it was pivoting to become an AI infrastructure business. The company announced Wednesday it had entered into an agreement with an unnamed institutional investor for $50 million and will change its name to NewBird AI, the Associated…

After attending NRF Big Show earlier this year and EuroShop more recently, it’s clear that retailers aren’t short of ideas. They’re focused on what actually works, consistently, across stores, day in and day out, and that shift points to a broader reality the industry has been circling for some time. Retail’s biggest challenge is execution…

“We centralized our data. Where are the insights?” I hear this from marketing leaders every week. They thought bringing all of their data  together would make their decision-making easier. Instead, they got a clean dashboard. The data’s there, but it’s not telling them what to do next. So, they start shopping for answers elsewhere. Maybe…

The retail industry spent the past decade building big. Scale was every CIO's mantra — massive systems designed to support millions of users and petabytes of data. And for a while, that strategy worked. E-commerce platforms handle holiday spikes. Cloud infrastructure powers businesses of every size. The engineering challenge of scale has largely been solved.…

The 2025 holiday season may be behind us, but the pressures that shaped it like persistent inflation, cautious consumer sentiment, and shifting expectations are carrying directly into the summer 2026 retail season. According to the National Retail Federation, consumers remain value-conscious, with spending growth expected to be modest as households continue to prioritize essentials and…

Retail sales rose again in March as consumers received higher-than-usual tax refunds that made up for increased gasoline prices, according to the CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor, powered by Affinity Solutions, released by the National Retail Federation (NRF). “Retail sales grew for a sixth consecutive month in March as the first wave of tax refunds offset higher…

If there's anything consistent when it comes to global trade at present, it is its constant inconsistencies. Global sourcing is entering a new phase defined less by cost optimization and more by resilience and flexibility. So far this year, retailers and brands are navigating a complex environment shaped by tariffs, geopolitical tensions, and shifting trade…

Privacy regulation in the U.S. has moved out of policy and into production. As new state laws emerge in Indiana, Kentucky, and Rhode Island, businesses are navigating a growing patchwork of rules that now shape how digital commerce actually runs. For years, privacy compliance lived with legal and security teams. Today, it shows up in…

Physical retail is fracturing into specialized formats. Some locations function as micro-distribution centers processing online orders. Others prioritize in-person engagement and product discovery. The shift isn't cosmetic. It reflects a fundamental change in why shoppers visit stores at all. Instant availability has become the baseline, and retailers are reconfiguring entire networks to match that expectation.…

Before signing on the dotted line, many last-mile carriers promise perfection. However, strong partnerships aren't built on flawless service guarantees. They're built on how quickly issues are resolved, how clearly teams communicate, and how both sides take accountability when something goes wrong. Because, inevitably, something will go wrong. A winter storm shuts down major hubs…