Total Retail Talks

In today's age of advanced cyber threats and what seems to be near-daily data breaches, retailers have been forced to develop strategies and defense systems to combat fraudsters. In episode 23 of Total Retail Talks, Vincent Damiano, vice president of information security and compliance at Modell's Sporting Goods, discusses the steps his company has taken…

Jay Baer is a celebrated digital marketing strategist, speaker and New York Times best-selling author, as well as the president of Convince & Convert, a digital marketing consulting firm. His advice on customer service has helped some of the world's leading brands, including Nike, Cisco, Oracle, Cabela's, and many others. In this episode of Total…

With the start of a new year, retailers are trumpeting the good deeds they've done the previous year, as well as putting their plans in place for the current year. For example, GameStop recently announced that with the help of its customers, the company was able to raise $2.8 million for St. Jude Children's Research…

Venus Fashion, a retailer of swimwear and fashion, was looking to grow its brand by taking it international. But in order to meet the needs of international customers, the retailer first needed to get a logistics plan in place to efficiently ship its products to foreign lands. In episode 20 of Total Retail Talks, Paula…

Unique Vintage, a retailer of vintage-inspired fashions for women, is successfully using social and visual commerce technology to acquire, retain and reward customers. In episode 19 of Total Retail Talks, Courtney Lear Wallace, director of digital marketing and e-commerce at Unique Vintage, discusses the retailer's visual commerce strategy and why it's paying big dividends.

With consumers engaging brands in a growing number of channels, retailers are challenged to deliver personalized shopping experiences. While they may have the data required to deliver on this need, using that data for said goal is an entirely different story. In episode 18 of Total Retail Talks, Jess Stephens, chief marketing officer at SmartFocus,…

2015 may well be remembered in the retail industry as the year of mobile. This year saw mobile account for more than 50 percent of online traffic and 20 percent of online sales. Wanting to get its piece of the mobile pie, Wine.com, a San Francisco-based online wine retailer, launched a new mobile site this…

On-demand customized shoe retailer Shoes of Prey made headlines last week when it announced that it had secured $15.5 million in a round of financing from various investors, most notably Nordstrom. In episode 16 of Total Retail Talks, Jodie Fox, co-founder and chief creative officer of Shoes of Prey, discusses the brand's partnership with Nordstrom.

For Pawstruck.com, on online retailer of natural dog treats and chews, selling via third-party marketplaces, most notably Amazon.com, is critical to its business. During the holidays, when Pawstruck's sales ramp up on both its own site and on Amazon, ensuring that its products are well stocked is a top priority. In episode 15 of Total…

In episode 14 of Total Retail Talks, we feature a conversation with Jennifer Farrelly, director of human resources at Lorna Jane, a women's activewear brand. With the holiday shopping season quickly approaching, retailers’ stores and websites will begin to see an uptick in traffic. To help accommodate this increase in demand, many companies hire extra…

Last month, overstockArt.com launched a new e-commerce site to replace the online retailer's 12-year old flagship online store. In episode 13 of Total Retail Talks, Amitai Sasson, vice president of marketing and development at overstockArt.com, discusses how the brand is leveraging its new site to better engage consumers and sell its products.

The fourth quarter is an especially busy time of the year for fine jewelry retailer Ritani. In episode 12 of Total Retail Talks, Brian Watkins, president of Ritani, discusses how the retailer is trying to better meet the needs of today's omnichannel shoppers, as well as what it's doing to prepare for the holiday rush.

In episode 11 of Total Retail Talks, Eric Kirkhofer, chief operating officer of BuySeasons, the parent company of leading online retail brands BuyCostumes, Costume Express, and Birthday Express, discusses how the brands are leveraging personalization to improve the online shopping experience and drive sales.

In episode 10 of Total Retail Talks, Total Retail's Executive Editor Joe Keenan interviews Rob Garf, vice president of industry insights and strategy at Demandware, an enterprise, cloud-based commerce platform provider, on the impact Twitter's "Buy" button will have on retailers’ operations, as well as consumers’ growing acceptance of social commerce.

Lionel, the iconic model train maker, recently launched two e-commerce websites — Lionel Trains, Lionel Racing — on NetSuite's SuiteCommerce platform. In episode nine of Total Retail Talks, Rick Gemereth, chief information officer and senior vice president of Lionel NASCAR Collectables, discusses the benefits of being on a cloud-based e-commerce platform and how it's impacted…

In episode eight of Total Retail Talks, Total Retail's Editor-in-Chief Melissa Campanelli interviews Andrew Spencer, director of technology for Stance Socks, about the company's recent partnership with Rihanna, its 2015 holiday marketing strategy and future collaborations.

In episode seven of Total Retail Talks, Total Retail's Editor-in-Chief Melissa Campanelli interviews Mark Wolverton, CEO of Lush Cosmetics, about how the company got its start, its holiday marketing strategy and plans for more retail storefronts.

By going direct to consumer, luxury bedding brand Boll & Branch has been able to keep its prices competitive without sacrificing the quality on which the brand has built its reputation (its products are made with certified organic cotton). In this episode of Total Retail Talks, Scott Tannen, co-founder and CEO of Boll & Branch,…

Grocery stores aren't usually known for their digital prowess. Traditionally, grocery has been a retail vertical slow to adopt technology and e-commerce. Lowes Foods, a 97-store supermarket chain in the Carolinas and Virgina, is trying to change that perception. Last month, Lowes Foods announced that it had partnered with Unata, a retail technology provider, to…

Episode 5 of Total Retail Talks features a conversation with Rob Mills, senior vice president and chief information officer at Tractor Supply Co. In the interview, Mills discusses why Tractor Supply Co. needed a website redesign, why a cloud-based platform made sense, and how the redesigned site has been integrated with the company's brick-and-mortar stores. The…

etailz, Inc. is a B-to-B startup that's leveraged data to improve supplier and consumer experiences in multiple channels, helping it to grow into a $100 million company. In this latest episode of Total Retail Talks, Keri Rhodes, marketing director at etailz, discusses how the company was able to scale and grow its business from humble…

CARiD, an online retailer of aftermarket auto parts, is using social media to establish its brand as a community for its niche target consumers. The retailer's strategic use of social media has earned it close to 2 million Facebook likes, more than 70,000 followers on Google+, 9,000 subscribers to its YouTube channel, and more than…

Holiday preparations are in full swing as retailers gear up for their busiest time of the year. In this debut issue of Total Retail Talks, Total Retail's new podcast channel, Joe Keenan, executive editor of Total Retail, chats with with Jim Davidson, Bronto Software's head of research, about the release of the cloud-based marketing automation…

In today's ultracompetitive retail environment, particularly online where your competition is one click away, consumers have shown that brand loyalty is quickly becoming a thing of the past. They're shopping primarily on price; having a seamless and hassle-free shopping experience is a given. With this dynamic in place, retailers are being forced to work harder…