AI agents are quickly moving from experimental pilots to practical tools that can reshape customer experience, merchandising, operations, and commerce. The retailers and brands that win will be those that solve real business problems, build strong data foundations, govern AI responsibly, and prepare for a…
Our good friend and colleague, Scott Benedict, who produces the popular Digital Front Door podcast series for Doing Business in Bentonville, invited me to talk about our recent global DTC study from the Ebeltoft Group, Direct to Consumer: 10 Keys For Brands To Master Their…
Luxury grocery is emerging as one of the most attention-grabbing new frontiers in food retail. While Erewhon may have defined the modern luxury grocery playbook, the concept is no longer confined to Los Angeles and is increasingly taking shape as a coast-to-coast retail trend. Over…
Two seminal news organizations recently published their perspectives on retail pilots that utilize AI for either Merchandising (WSJ: Anthropic) and/or Store Operations (Bloomberg: Andon Labs). Both write-ups appropriately recorded the mixed business outcomes from these pilots: a money losing vendor machine that gave away product…
Amazon has been particularly busy over the last several months, and while the announcements span grocery, physical retail, delivery, and logistics, they point in a fairly consistent direction. The company is continuing to build around what it does best: fast delivery, supply-chain scale, and a…
Retail is changing faster than ever, and the latest Retail Innovations 2026 report from McMillanDoolittle and the Ebeltoft Group identifies where the industry is headed next. In a conversation with Scott Benedict on The Digital Front Door, McMillanDoolittle’s Mara Devitt explains that today’s most innovative…
Party City and Staples announced a partnership this week that will bring Party City balloons, décor, and party supplies into more than 700 Staples stores and onto Staples.com by year-end. The assortment includes balloons, décor, tableware, gift bags, costume accessories, and favors, while Staples adds…
Walmart has been rewriting the economics of its business. In Q4 FY2026, Walmart disclosed that advertising and membership income together accounted for roughly one‑third of operating profit, a striking figure for a company historically defined by low‑margin retail. Walmart’s global advertising business generated nearly $6.4…
Earlier this week, CVS opened a pharmacy-only store in Chicago at 2628 West Pershing Road, the first of nearly 20 such locations the company plans to roll out across the U.S. this year. The pharmacy-only stores average around 3,000 square feet, which is considerably smaller…
Retail and restaurant leaders spent the past several years navigating a brutal cost environment. Labor costs have risen. Food costs—particularly beef—have been volatile and elevated. Many operators have struggled to maintain margins while keeping traffic stable. Yet one brand has continued to outperform: Texas Roadhouse. The…
