Walmart Newsroom | September 21, 2021 Today, ‘live better’ means more. Living better for consumers is shopping brands and products that align with what matters to them, whether it be healthy foods, clean living or sustainability. Walmart launches Built for Better – an online shopping destination for customers to identify and shop for products that are built better – for them and for the planet. "Built for Better - For You" Icons highlight items from grocery to beauty, recogni

WWD | September 20, 2021 Lululemon Athletica, athletic apparel and accessories-maker revealed the results of a new survey today on evolving attitudes toward workplace apparel. We know people want to be comfortable, 96% of consumers in fact. Now, 81% of consumers hope for casual styles as a greater part of professional office attire post-pandemic. Most participants in the survey (86%) said they want their employer to judge them based on the quality of their work, rather than o

New York Times | September 16, 2021 August retail sales increased slightly highlighting an uneven pace for economic recovery. The 0.7% climb in sales, reported by the Commerce Department came after a 1.8% decline in July and gains earlier this summer. Increased spending on clothing, electronics, furniture and home goods helped the upward tick last month. In preparation of back to school, sales of sporting goods and musical instruments and sales at book stores rose. Spending f

WWD | September 13, 2021 Nordstrom Inc. is shifting with consumer trends and maximizing on authentic consumer/brand connections. The retailer's "Closer to You" agenda for internal goals, has also been positioned as an ongoing marketing campaign. Integrating the "Closer to You" theme into external marketing brings the Nordstrom brand story to life. Nordstrom's Fanya Chandler, senior vice president and Scott Meden, Nordstrom’s chief marketing officer discuss opportunities "Clos

A Bullseye View | September 10, 2021 Latino Heritage Month is almost here, and this year, Target brings guest stories and resources that support economic inclusivity and entrepreneurship on the Más Que Hub and first-ever Latino Heritage Month product collection. Target's focus: to pause, reflect and celebrate the cultural influence, contributions and multidimensionality of the Latino community at Target and within its communities. The Más Que Hub on Target.com has inspiration

Best Buy Corporate | September 8, 2021 Starting this month, Best Buy's outer box packaging of some TVs within its own Insignia brand is being made with sustainably sourced paper that is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). This ensures that packaging comes from responsibly managed forests that provide environmental, social and economic benefits to help protect the planet — today and tomorrow. “Our sustainability journey has pushed us to continually find new ways

Walmart Newsroom | September 8, 2021 Walmart announced a cross-platform partnership with Meredith Corporation reaching nearly 95% of women in the U.S., to help millions of families plan and prepare meals faster through AI-powered meal planning, shoppable recipes, visual search, chatbots, and more! The partnership pairs Meredith’s expertise in food content, hyper-local consumer insights and proprietary technology platform with Walmart’s wide customer reach, omnichannel presenc

WWD | September 2, 2021 Big-box retailers such as Target, Walmart and even Costco are setting the pace for retailers in fashion when it comes to best practices and corporate responsibility measures. “The map of retailing has changed dramatically in the last few decades,” Gerald Storch, chief executive officer of Storch Advisors, a retail advisory firm and the former vice chairman of Target, told WWD. “The bulk of business is done through a very small number of retailers. And

A Bullseye View | September 1, 2021 From back-to-school essentials to holiday gifting, Target continues to navigate unprecedented supply chain challenges to provide the safe, joyful shopping experience during the busiest season of the year. Each product on Target shelves has a story that started months before. This year, that includes ordering larger upfront quantities of items of the fall and holiday seasons and in some cases, working with vendors to fast-track orders. Over

Walmart Newsroom | September 1, 2021 Walmart had another strong quarter and to continue meeting customer needs, Walmart's team is growing. Earlier this year, Walmart shared plans to roll out high-tech automation systems to our facilities in addition to high-tech grocery distribution centers. In order to support that growth, Walmart is planning to hire 20,000 new associates across more than 250 Walmart and Sam’s Club distribution centers, fulfillment centers and transportation

Best Buy Corporate | August 31, 2021 Best Buy announces a new lineup of electric transportation products now available on BestBuy.com and coming to select Best Buy stores this October. The selection includes e-bikes, scooters, mopeds and accessories from some of the best names in the industry, including Unagi, Bird, Segway-Ninebot, SUPER73 and SWFT. “There’s been incredible innovation in the e-transportation space, and we know more customers are looking for ways to efficientl

Fast Company | August 26, 2021 Online shopping is one of the best conveniences that the digital age has brought about But, buying clothing online can be more inconvenient than in-store shopping. Often leading to customer dissatisfaction, clothes ordered online maybe just don't fit right or don't meet expectations from product images. Searching for a solution, Gap Inc. acquired Drapr, a 3D avatar and e-commerce startup. Drapr technology allows customers to quickly create accur

Bloomberg | August 25, 2021 A "temporary" supply chain crunch now looks like it will last well into next year. With shortages and higher raw material and energy costs, manufacturers are being forced into bidding wars to get space on vessels, pushing freight rates to records and prompting some exporters to raise prices or cancel shipments. “Port congestion and a shortage of container shipping capacity may last into the fourth quarter or even mid-2022,” said Hsieh Huey-chuan, p

Walmart Newsroom | August 24, 2021 Walmart is the first major retailer to introduce a multicultural category to address the gap in the market for inclusive baby care. Baby Dove’s new inclusive line of products are designed to meet the specific needs of babies with melanin-rich skin and textured hair, available exclusively at Walmart in-stores and online. "As a parent of multiracial children, I understand the frustration with the lack of baby care products formulated for littl

Walmart Newsroom | August 23, 2021 As students head back to class with a fresh start, Walmart is helping families and communities celebrate. A TikTok Challenge, a series of music experiences and a livestream event, Walmart honors teachers, schools and all of the students kicking off the new school year. Walmart's kicking off a challenge, in partnership with some of the most popular TikTokers, to honor the teachers who’ve made an impact on students’ and families’ lives over th

A Bullseye View | August 23, 2021 The holidays will be here before you know it and Target's welcoming the joy for all. With popular characters like PAW Patrol and Barbie, top brands like LEGO, FAO Schwarz and L.O.L. Surprise! and the Zoe Doll by Black-owned business Healthy Roots (which inspires girls to love their curls through hair play), you’ll find something for every kid on your list starting at $19.99. Plus, get ready for even more Disney magic as Target triples Disney

WWD | August 20, 2021 ASMR videos, which are meant to cause a tingly body sensation or feeling of satisfaction related to specific sounds, have been around for years in different styles: eating, whispering and role plays, traditionally causing a mixture of highly negative and positive feedback. Comments often range from “this is so satisfying” to “this makes me so uncomfortable.” Makeup and skin care-related ASMR videos have now become popular. TikTok creator Layal Assi (1.1

Retail Dive | August 19, 2021 The Toys R Us brand is teaming up with Macy's to open more than 400 shop-in-shops inside the retailer's department stores, announced in a press release. Macy's has also launched a co-branded page with Toys R Us, which is owned by WHP Global, on its website to sell toys online. The physical shops are set to roll out in 2022 with dedicated sections by age, interest and category and interactive experiences. The current team-up allows Macy's to expan

A Bullseye View | August 19, 2021 Target stores may just be the secret to fast, affordable delivery. On top of providing the only-at-Target shopping experience, stores also fulfill more than 95% of Target’s online orders. Looking ahead to strengthen delivery capabilities, Target expands its first-of-its-kind sortation center concept. Starting this fall, four new sortation centers will open in major markets across the country — including Houston, Dallas, the Philadelphia area

WWD | August 18, 2021 Pinterest revealed a new computer vision-enabled hair pattern search tool on Tuesday that was created with people of color in mind. The filter for beauty searches distinguishes and sorts results according to six different hair patterns: protective, coily, curly, wavy, straight and shaved/bald. Pinterest said it has detected hair patterns in more than 500 million images in its platform. The tool is a progression from Pinterest’s skin tone ranges, a beauty