Retail industry experts have been predicting an atypical 2020 Holiday shopping season since the early stages of the pandemic. We expect a heavy focus on the E-commerce channel (through home delivery and click-and-collect) as well as on increased money-saving measures as many shoppers are faced…
Today’s pandemic environment has retailers stepping up to implement solutions that make shopping safer, faster, and as touchless as possible. While some tactics may only be relevant in the short-term, the increased adoption of tech-driven solutions that broadly remove friction from the shopping process will…
It’s no secret that 2020 has brought unprecedented change and headwinds to the world of retail, and inventory management is one of the critical success factors facing the most ongoing uncertainty. From runs on toilet paper and household items in the spring to stocking back-to-school…
Much like the rest of 2020 conventions, this year’s Holiday season will be quite different than in years past. From a topline perspective, experts are forecasting tepid growth compared to last season due to recessionary pressures stemming from the novel coronavirus. According to RetailDive, about…
While we have been studying consumer trust for more than a decade at McMillanDoolittle, this year has challenged retail brands’ relationships with consumers in unprecedented ways. New proprietary research reveals that leading retail brands have fallen short of expectations when it comes to earning consumer…
This summer, McMillanDoolittle partnered with Retail Tomorrow on a four-part virtual series exploring the impact of COVID on the rapidly shifting retail landscape. Hosted by McMillanDoolittle’s Neil Stern, each episode of the Brave New Retail World series highlighted the impact of COVID on key areas…
In late May and early June of this year, we fielded a proprietary survey (n = 1,920) to analyze how consumers think and feel about values-based retailing, about retail involvement in political and humanitarian issues, and to analyze the explicit and implicit elements that create…
In late July, FreshDirect announced that it would be partnering with Fabric Robotics to build a micro-fulfillment center (MFC) in Washington D.C., providing same-day delivery to area customers. The online-only grocer has traditionally only done next-day fulfillment, but is planning to expand same-day throughout the…
In recent years, consumers have begun to expect more from retailers in regard to environmental and social support. They are keeping track of green initiatives, actions taken to uplift the community and employees, and are making more of an effort to shop at stores that…
It has been 130 days since California became the first state to order an official lockdown, causing non-essential businesses to shut their doors. As the months went on, cases continued to rise, and the murder of George Floyd led to the strengthening of the Black…
