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9 Case Studies That Prove Experiential Retail Is The Future

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What is a pop-up shop? Everything you need to know to try short-term retail  > 23 Smart Pop-Up Shop Ideas to Steal From These Successful Brands > 9 Case Studies That Prove Experiential Retail Is The Future

What is experiential retail, and how can experiential retail benefit your business?

Experiential retail is a term used to define a type of retailing that aims to provide customers with a unique and memorable experience. Experiential retail is typically characterized by one or more of the following features: the use of unique and interesting spaces, objects, or experiences; high levels of customer engagement; and the use of technology to enhance customer interactions.

One key aspect of experiential retail is the ability to create an attractive and welcoming environment for staff and customers alike. This can be achieved through a combination of factors, including good design, cleanliness, and lighting . Another important factor is how well the store reflects its brand identity.

Although there are many different types of experiential retail outlets, they all share certain common elements: they are designed to provide a memorable experience for their customers; they are focused on creating an enjoyable atmosphere for staff members as well as the public; they offer an appealing mix of products and services, and they use technology to enhance customer interactions.

Finally, experiential retail is not just about selling products or services. It is also about building strong relationships with customers that go beyond transactions.

Experiential retail is the future. For years we’ve heard about the decline of physical retail and the rise of the internet. However, the desire for retail experiences is on the rise with 52% millennials saying of their spending goes on experience-related purchases. This introduces the concept of ‘retailtainment’.

Enter: retailtainment

Because of this, retailers have evolved their offerings. By focusing on so-called ‘ retailtainment’ and immersive retail experiences, brands are able to provide customers with fun, unique and in-person experiences that elevate shopping to new heights.

With retailtainment, the retail industry is shifting attention from a features-and-benefits approach to a focus on immersive shopping and customer experience . To be successful, retailers must offer consumers a desirable retail experience that in turn drives sales.

What is meant by Retailtainment?

The term “retailtainment” is used to describe the trend of retailers using entertainment to attract customers and encourage them to spend more time – and money – in their stores. This can take the form of in-store events, interactive displays, and even simply providing a comfortable and enjoyable environment for customers to shop in. The goal of retailtainment is to create a unique and memorable shopping experience that will keep customers coming back.

With the rise of online shopping and brick-and-mortar retailers have to work harder than ever to compete. By offering an enjoyable and entertaining shopping experience, retailers can attract customers who are looking for more than just a transaction. Retailtainment can be a powerful tool to build customer loyalty and drive sales.

How does retailtainment fit in today’s retail experiential strategy?

As shoppers’ expectations become more demanding, retailers are turning to retailtainment to create a more engaging and memorable shopping experience. By incorporating elements of entertainment into the retail environment, retailers can create a unique and differentiated customer experience that will help them stand out from the competition.

There are a number of ways that retailtainment can be used to improve the customer experience. For example, retailers can use interactive technology to create an immersive shopping experience that engages shoppers on a personal level. Additionally, retailers can use entertainment to add excitement and energy to their store environment, making it more inviting and enjoyable for shoppers.

Ultimately, retailtainment can play a key role in helping retailers create a customer experience that is unique, differentiated, and memorable.

What is the difference between retailtainment and experiential retail?

Both retailtainment and experiential retail are designed to make the shopping experience more enjoyable and engaging. However, experiential retail goes a step further by creating an emotional connection with customers. This emotional connection can lead to brand loyalty and repeat business.

Thus, while both retailtainment and experiential retail are important trends in the retail industry, experiential retail is more focused on creating a lasting impression and emotional connection with customers.

Here are our 8 favorite examples of Experiential Retail and retailtainment in action:

Marvel: Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N provides fans with interactive brand building experience

The Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. is an immersive exhibit that has toured the world since the first Avengers film. It has appeared in key retail areas such as New York Seoul Paris , Beijing, London and Las Vegas, and always pulls in huge crowds. Based on the global box-office film franchise, Marvel’s The Avengers, the store features real life movie props and interactive displays.

There are Marvel-branded items for sale but the goal of the project is not to shift T-shirts and mugs. It is about delivering an in-person experience to fans and bringing the brand to life.

The Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. is a great example of retailtainment and experiential retail in action. Visitors are fully immersed in the fictional world they adore, further cementing their affiliation and love for the Marvel brand.

For a brand as strong and iconic as Marvel, it would be easy to sit back and take popularity for granted. However, through the use of retailtainment they are continuing to delight their customers beyond the screen.

Farfetch: Creating a retail experience of the future

Image via Bloomberg

Farfetch is as an e-commerce portal for luxury boutiques. It’s successfully positioned itself as a technology provider for brands; combining technology and fashion to provide unique in-store experiences.

José Neves, CEO of Farfetch, has spoken about his concern that physical retail is diminishing; it accounts for 93 per cent of sales today, but by 2025 is predicted to account for just 80 per cent.

Enter: Farfetch’s Augmented Retail Solution

Neves’ vision for retailtainment includes advancements in technology to make the consumer experience more human. He produced Farfetch’s Store of the Future, an augmented retail solution that “links the online and offline worlds, using data to enhance the retail experience.” In its retail store in London, Farfetch provided connected clothing racks, touch-screen-enhanced mirrors and sign-in stations that pulled data collected online to use in-store.

Farfetch provided customers with a sign-in screen to search their purchase history and wish list, which provided valuable customer insight for the sales assistants. There was also a smart mirror to request different sizes, alternative products or pay without leaving the dressing room.

This innovation led them to be labeled as “ The Retailer of the Future ”, allowing customers to enjoy an effortless in-person experience that harmonizes the best parts of boutique shopping with the speed and convenience of online shopping.

Read More: Excess Inventory Post-Holiday? Open a Pop-Up Shop

Huda Beauty: Cosmic experience in Covent Garden

Huda Beauty , one of the world’s fastest-growing beauty brands, ran an immersive retail experience pop-up store right in the centre of Covent Garden, London, to launch a new product range and reach new customers.

Huda used the location ( sourced by Storefront pop up space rental ) to deliver a sci-fi themed experience in support of their new eye-shadow palette Mercury Retrograde.

The entire exterior of the pop-up resembled a multi-faceted, metallic mass of geometrical shapes. This was echoed inside with various ‘galactic’ elements, all manner of mirrored surfaces and shimmering fixtures and elements.

As part of the event, visitors could sit on the throne Huda used in her launch material, all set up to encourage as much social media activity and engagement as possible.

Huda Beauty caught the eye and wowed its visitors. Introducing a whole swathe of new customers to the Huda Beauty brand.

Read More: 4 Beauty Brands Who Successfully Launched A Pop-Up Store

Vans: A shopping experience to remember

Image via Skateparks

The House of Vans in London lives up to the company motto of being “off the wall”. A location where art, music, BMX, street culture and fashion converge, you can find almost everything you can imagine across the 30,000 square feet building. Amongst a cinema, café, live music venue and art gallery, the bottom floor holds the most unique feature of the building: the concrete ramp, mini ramp and street course.

Nothing better epitomizes the Vans brand than a space where young people can not only shop but spontaneously socialize. The House of Vans is the perfect example of how experiential retail can be used to empower a shopping experience.

Read More: How The Music Industry Is Making The Most of Pop-Up Stores

Ikea: Using social media to power a unique retail experience

Ikea brought 100 Facebook competition winners to one of its warehouses and let them stay the night. They were able to select the mattress, sheets and pillows to fully give them a fully tailored experience. A sleep expert was on hand with tips for getting a good night’s rest, including how to find the perfect mattress for any sleeping style.

This was a clever and unique way to obtain visibility and get fans to focus on what Ikea has to offer and try it out for themselves.

This idea came from understanding their consumer insights on social media. Lois Blenkinsop, Ikea’s U.K. PR and internal communications manager, said: “Social media has opened up a unique platform for us to interact directly with our customers. Listening to what they want is what we do best, and the Big Sleepover is just one example of how we’re using such instant and open feedback to better inform our marketing activity.”

From using social media they were able to apply experiential marketing to their retail strategy and provide their customers with a memorable event that brought the brand a ton of visibility and engagement.

Space Ninety 8: showcasing the art of retailtainment

Image via @Space90

As a spin-off from Urban Outfitters, Space Ninety 8 is a shared retail space that spans 5 floors, hosting retailers, galleries and even a rooftop restaurant and bar.

Scanning their Instagram, you can see the variety of what Space Ninety 8 offers beyond solely retail. Advertised next to yoga classes is an album signing by Big Boi, alongside pictures of art classes and Lady GaGa merchandise. By reflecting the flexible nature of modern life, the brand created a versatile store that emphasizes experience, perfecting the art of retailtainment.

TOMS: creating an immersive experience through VR

Experiences don’t have to be a permanent feature of a store in order to make an impact on customers. In 2015 TOMS’ placed VR headsets into 100 stores, enabling them to virtually transport players to Peru to see the impact of their One for One giving campaign on local people.

As you walk through the village stores with locals smiling and waving at you, it is impossible not to feel warmed by the friendly atmosphere. Not only did this retail experience improve awareness of their social corporate responsibility and promote their giving campaign, it also gave customers an unforgettable and immersive experience they were unlikely to forget.

[Check out Toms’ continued focus on immersive retail experiences here]

How to Provide Retailtainment that Drives Traffic and Sales

These case studies all stress the importance of providing an in-store experience. By exceeding expectations you drive emotional reactions. There are five consistent elements each use in their stores to ensure a remarkable customer shopping experience:

• Interactiveness: All of these retailers ensure that the senses are connected – memories of what we feel, hear, see, smell, and touch, may last a lifetime.
• Originality: These ideas were all authentic and natural, making the customer feel as if they entered a different world.
• Connectedness: Customers must feel that the experience has been created for them.
• Unexpectedness: These unique experiences are critical to ensure your brand is remembered.
• Reliability: The experience is executed through tested methods to achieve consistency and excellence.

The future of experiential retail

As the world of retail continues to evolve, so too must the way brands create memorable experiences for their customers. With the rise of digital and mobile technologies, consumers now have more choices than ever before when it comes to how they shop and what they buy. To stay ahead of the curve, brands must find new and innovative ways to engage with their customers and create unforgettable shopping experiences.

One way to do this is through experiential retail – using physical spaces to create immersive, one-of-a-kind experiences that cannot be replicated online. This could involve anything from in-store events and workshops to augmented reality and virtual reality experiences.

Experiential marketing isn’t about spending millions on fancy gadgets for your retail store. Sure it can help, but it’s mostly about a personalized shopping experience and providing an unparalleled retail experience for your guests and customers. The brands that delight their customers are the brands that drive loyalty and advocacy. Couple this with excellent customer service and you’re on to a winner. These case studies all demonstrate how it is possible to follow similar steps to overcome the challenges eCommerce has brought.

The brands that use their physical stores to focus on the customer experience are the brands that will do the best. The dynamic between physical and online retail has shifted and the impact of the Covid 19 pandemic has only accentuated this.

Planning your own experiential retail project and need some help? Drop us a note and we’ll help you out.

For more on launching temporary retail stores and one-off events, download our Ultimate Pop-Up Guide and make your ideas happen.

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9 Experiential Retail Trends (and Case Studies)

Kevan has an aggressive love of writing, coffee, and bagels. He's a member of the marketing team.

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Experiential retail is a series of practices that aim to improve the in-store experience for shoppers. Emerging trends, like the use of immersive realities, and other customer-centric shopping experience strategies can help brands further optimize the purchasing experience for their customers.

Physical retail as we know it is dying. Last year alone, more than 3,800 physical stores across the country closed, including some physical retail spaces from major brands like Macy’s and Best Buy. These traditional brick-and-mortar powerhouses seem to be getting edged out by eCommerce. 

Read: eCommerce & Experience Shopping Trends (Report)

In response, many brands (like Unilever and CoverGirl) have turned to experiential retail strategies to revitalize the customer experience in physical stores. These strategies focus less on sales, and more on creating engaging and unique experiences for the shopper - a key to brand loyalty and customer retention. 

Such initiatives can include:

• Exclusive in-store services and events
• Pop-up stores and experiences
• Showcasing local culture and design

Experiential Retail Examples and Trends

Beyond increasing customer purchases, experiential retail strategies can also bring about other benefits to a company and its brand. And, experiential retail is not exclusive to the luxury retail industry. Check out a few examples of our favorite brand experiences below.

Read: The Best & Worst of Social Corporate Responsibility Campaigns

Creating in-store maps (target).

Fashion and apparel brands usually come to mind when we think about experiential retail. But, even big-box (large chain stores) and grocery stores are investing in ways to enhance the shopper experience. 

Brands with large and complex storefronts are turning to wayfinding technologies like indoor mapping and tracking to make store navigation easier. This technology also creates the option for retailers to offer new products and promotional information directly to shoppers.

An example of this is Target’s in-store beacon systems, which use Bluetooth to help customers find items they want to purchase. Target also uses its app to provide information about in-store inventory levels and any existing store promotions.

Meet Your Customers Face-to-Face (CoverGirl)

Forget flagship stores. Most makeup suppliers have never had a single brick-and-mortar storefront. Instead, this type of consumer packaged goods (CPG) company traditionally relied on department stores to sell products.

Recently, CoverGirl joined the growing number of companies who have optioned a direct-to-consumer strategy. By opening up a single physical store, CoverGirl was able to re-introduce their brand to the public. At the store, customers can use augmented reality stations that create videos and GIFs for social-sharing. Customers can also create personalized makeup bags or lipstick packaging at special booths.

Exclusive Events for Customers (Unilever)

When St. Ives (Unilever’s up-scale lotion and bath product division) wanted to attract more traffic to the physical store, the company decided to put on a concert series called “Mixing Bar.” The series was so successful during its original 2017 launch, that St. Ives has continued to put it on each year.

Unilver gave the first 60 shoppers in line an exclusive meet-and-greet with the featured performer, which added a sense of urgency and exclusivity to the event - and to the consumer decision-making process .

Interactive Entertainment (Kraft)

And sometimes, everyone just wants to have a little fun. 

Interactive in-store activities incentivize customers to spend more time in stores. Through novel applications of technologies like motion tracking and virtual reality, retailers are able to create fun activities for shoppers.

Kraft, for example, created a unique store experience by installing an interactive floor in grocery stores equipped with motion tracking. This allowed customers (and their kids) to kick and jump on floating pieces of macaroni and cheese noodles. 

For Kraft, this meant customers would linger for a longer period of time in the pasta aisle - or even in front of their own product offering on the shelf.

Reinforcing Brand Identity (Vans)

The type of experiences and environment that companies create through their physical stores can help influence how customers perceive that brand. One great example of this is the House of Vans in London. 

Vans converted several underground tunnels in London into 30,000 square feet of skateparks and art galleries. They even included a ramp and street course for customers to use. The store drew a huge amount of publicity. The initiative also helped reinforce Vans as the premium retail store for the skating community.

User-Generated Social Media Presence (L’Occitane)

Experiential retail initiatives can also be an effective way for brands to build their social media presence. Creating experiences that customers feel excited about sharing can help brands quickly accumulate user-generated social content.

L’Occitane is an expert in this strategy. The company provides iconic art installations and Instagrammable photo spots within the store. Then, customers can use the displays to create social media content that trends - all while taking pressure off of the corporate social media team.

Integrating Digital and Physical Experiences (Nike)

Customers often use multiple channels while shopping and have increasingly come to expect seamless omnichannel shopping experiences . These help them easily transition between different brand platforms. 

Within the world of experiential retail, the omnichannel transition occurs when customers use mobile tech to enhance their physical shopping experience - from trying on clothes in the dressing room to scanning the aisles of a physical retail store.

Augmented and virtual reality are no longer far-off dreams, or technologies exclusive to the rich and powerful. Now, this technology is used to enhance the every-day consumer retail experience. 

Mixed reality technology enables customers to better visualize products and participate in an immersive shopping experience.

An exciting example of this is in action is Zara’s augmented reality retail app . The app allows shoppers to project their preferred outfits on empty mannequins around the store, or even at home. This helps customers better visualize the products they’re interested in. And, it provides them with a kind of budget-friendly personal shopper. Similarly, augmented reality can also be used in product demos, especially when attending such events in-person is difficult.

Intelligent Personalization

A key component of exceeding customer experience is the ability to deliver a high degree of personalization. Within the world of retail, brands use various sources of shopper data, such as in-store purchasing habits, to build uniquely tailored experiences.

Farfetch takes data-driven shopper personalization to the next level with its Store Of The Future. This experiential retail outlet uses radio-frequency identification-enabled (RFID) clothing racks to understand shopper preferences. Then, it auto-populates a customer’s online wishlist. 

This investment in physical retail contradicted what analysts predicted for the future of retail. Rather than a stark landscape of abandoned malls, Farfetch re-envisioned the fundamental purpose of brick-and-mortar stores. A move that could save other retailers that follow in Farfetch’s path.

The Future of Experiential Retail

As customers continue to engage with eCommerce for speed and convenience, experiential retail will become an essential strategy for brands to create memorable, unique experiences in-stores.

By finding innovative applications of new and emerging technology, retailers can continue to use brick-and-mortar locations. And, continue to see ROI that makes sense. 

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What experiential retail means for the future of shopping

Aaron Baker

Marketing Manager with 8x8

Care to share?

McKinsey says that 71% of consumers expect personalized interactions. If that doesn't happen, 76% of shoppers will become frustrated. This shouldn’t come as a surprise because the modern consumer is increasingly demanding, and personalization is the fastest way to meet their expectations.

So, retailers who want to remain relevant and get the increasingly elusive attention of consumers must aim to stand out. Personalization transcends product recommendations; it's now about consistently offering unique experiences.

That's where experiential retail, or "retailtainment," comes in. This term describes any experience a shopper has in-store or online that stretches beyond the traditional transactional relationship, and it's quickly becoming a differentiator for brands.

This article explains the concept, its benefits for brands and shoppers, and the future of experiential retail as we foresee it.

What is experiential retail?

Experiential retail is a strategy that’s focused on creating memorable and engaging customer experiences rather than just selling products. The idea is to provide a unique, immersive, and interactive shopping environment that encourages consumers to connect with the brand on a deeper level.

For example, the Samsung 837 store in New York City creates an immersive experience for customers by allowing them to try out Samsung's latest products. The store's setting is unlike traditional stores where you find rows of products on shelves waiting to be purchased.

Instead, you encounter interactive displays, virtual reality stations, and an area to try out Samsung's latest gadgets. Visitors can experience a virtual reality roller coaster, create a personalized augmented reality (AR) emoji, and even attend workshops and live events hosted in the store. The aim is to create a memorable experience for visitors, encouraging them to build a deeper connection with the Samsung brand.

NIKE BY YOU is another perfect example of experiential retail, but this time, in digital commerce. With NIKE BY YOU, Nike allows customers to co-create their shoes. As a result, it leverages user-generated content to help customers connect with the brand on a deeper level.

The shift from traditional to experiential retail

Changing customer expectations and preferences have led to a demand for more personalized and immersive experiences. Consumers are seeking unique and engaging online and offline interactions with brands.

Social media and an online presence have become increasingly critical as customers look to share their experiences and rely on recommendations from their networks. Consequently, it’s important to ensure consistency and authenticity across channels.

Technology is also playing a significant role in shaping experiential retail. AR and virtual reality (VR) can create immersive experiences while artificial intelligence (AI) and data-driven personalization help tailor shopping experiences to individual preferences.

For example, Nike offers VR and AR in its physical stores. Customers can scan items, such as shoes or clothing, to view information or enter a VR experience to see how Nike's products are made.

Brick-and-mortar stores are increasingly evolving to incorporate experiential retail elements. Store designs and layouts are now more focused on creating interactive and engaging environments along with integrating technology to enhance the customer experience.

Experiential retail in eCommerce

When online shopping became a thing, businesses had to make sure their different websites were easy to find and products were simple to order. However, with brick-and-mortar stores now stepping up and customers becoming more savvy, online stores have had to adapt again.

Adapting experiential retail strategies for online shopping involves:

• Creating virtual showrooms and 3D environments.
• Personalizing customer experiences through artificial AI-powered recommendations.
• Offering interactive content and live shopping events.
• Including credit-type payment options such as Klarna and buy now pay later catalogs .

In May 2016, Alibaba's Taobao Live began a new era in sales. By coupling a live stream broadcast with an online store, the Chinese retailer pioneered a powerful new approach that allows users to shop while watching.

Live commerce quickly became integral to Singles' Day sales campaigns in China. It also proved an effective tool for increasing customer engagement. Taobao Live's Singles' Day presales campaign generated $7.5 billion in total transaction value during the first 30 minutes of 2020.

Experiential eCommerce also benefits from user-generated content because it provides social proof and makes the experience feel more authentic. Strategies include:

• Integrating social media.
• Showcasing product reviews and testimonials.
• Building interactive galleries and communities.

Integrating omnichannel strategies for a seamless shopping experience

Omnichannel strategies aim to create a consistent and seamless shopping experience across channels. This is the case whether a customer engages with a brand in-store, online, or through social media. It ensures that customers can easily transition between various touchpoints while maintaining context and personalized experiences.

The importance of a consistent brand experience across channels

A consistent brand experience helps build trust and loyalty among customers. It ensures they receive the same high-quality service no matter where they interact, reinforcing the brand’s identity and making it more memorable. 

For instance, if you have a Shopify and Etsy store, an Etsy Shopify integration will ensure a seamless shopping experience whether customers find your products on Etsy, Shopify, or your social media platforms. A unified omnichannel presence can enhance your brand's image and create a more immersive experience for customers.

Combining physical and digital touchpoints

Integrating physical and digital touchpoints, also called phygital , allows brands to provide customers with a seamless shopping experience no matter which platform they prefer. This approach can help brands reach a wider audience and cater to different customer preferences.

Leveraging data and analytics for personalized experiences

Data and analytics are crucial for understanding customer preferences and behaviors and allowing brands to tailor their offerings and create personalized experiences. Customer loyalty , engagement, and satisfaction can be increased in this way.

Challenges and opportunities in experiential retail

Balancing customer privacy and personalization

One significant challenge in experiential retail is finding the right balance between providing personalized experiences and respecting customer privacy. To deliver tailored experiences that customers appreciate, brands need to handle customer data responsibly and transparently while also complying with regulations such as GDPR and CCPA.

Adapting to changing consumer behaviors and expectations

Consumer preferences and behaviors constantly evolve and are driven by technological advancements, generational shifts, and economic conditions. Brands must stay agile and adapt to these changes to remain relevant and competitive in the experiential retail landscape.

Staying ahead of technological advancements and innovations

Innovative technologies are continually emerging. While challenging, they offer new opportunities for creating immersive and personalized shopping experiences.

Brands must stay informed about the latest technological advancements and be willing to invest in and adopt new solutions to enhance their experiential retail strategies. One example is using a unified communication system to bridge communications between employees and customers.

Case studies: successful experiential retail examples

Several brands have now successfully implemented experiential retail strategies to enhance their customer experiences. They include:

Apple Stores are designed to create immersive, educational, and interactive environments where customers can test out and explore products in a hands-on way. Each store has knowledgeable "geniuses" who provide personalized assistance and technical support to enhance the customer experience.

Apple Stores also host workshops, classes, and live events, turning these retail spaces into a hub for learning, creativity, and community-building. This approach to experiential retail has helped Apple create a loyal customer base and establish itself as a leader in technology and retail innovation.

LUSH Cosmetics is another brand that has successfully embraced experiential retail to create a distinctive shopping experience. Its stores engage the senses with bright colors, enticing fragrances, and hands-on product demonstrations. Customers are encouraged to touch, smell, and try out products, making shopping interactive and enjoyable. 

The cosmetic brand's employees are also knowledgeable and passionate about its values, such as ethical sourcing, cruelty-free testing, and environmental sustainability. This enables them to educate customers and create a deeper connection between the brand and its audience.

LUSH's experiential retail approach has led to a loyal customer base. It’s also helped create a strong brand identity centered around ethical consumption and sensory experiences.

What does experiential retail mean for the future of shopping?

Experiential retail is revolutionizing the shopping landscape by focusing on engaging, immersive experiences. The future of digital communication will play a vital role in shaping this as technology integration becomes more prevalent in both online and in-store environments.

Advancements in AR, VR, AI, and natural language processing (NLP) will enable more interactive and personalized shopping experiences. Internet of things (IoT) devices and wearable technology will facilitate targeted marketing campaigns. This will ultimately result in increased customer satisfaction, loyalty, and trust.

As the retail industry evolves, businesses must stay agile and adapt to the ever-changing landscape. Embracing digital communication advancements and integrating them into experiential retail strategies will be crucial for brands to remain competitive and provide the immersive experiences consumers demand.

Published June 1, 2023

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BoF Insights | The Evolving Art of Luxury Experiential Retail

Key insights

• Stores are pivotal in customer journeys, according to BoF Insights’ survey of North American shoppers, due to the potential for community-building, brand awareness and customer service.
• More than three-fourths of surveyed luxury customers expect to visit a store as often or even more frequently in the year ahead versus 2022.
• Customer expectations around digital integration, environmental standards and experiential retail have increased in recent times, leading to the need to excel in connectivity, sustainability and inclusive luxury.

This report was created in partnership with Royalmount, the forthcoming luxury shopping district in the heart of Montreal by real estate developer Carbonleo.

Luxury shopping is at an inflection point. Today, luxury fashion shoppers not only want superior customer service and access to the highest-quality brands in-store as they always have, they now expect brands and retailers to deliver in engaging ways while embracing the latest advances in sustainability and technology, according to a new BoF Insights report.

A tall order perhaps, but best-in-class luxury players have strategies in play to meet these higher expectations as the report, titled “The Evolving Art of Luxury Experiential Retail,” demonstrates. BoF Insights, in partnership with Royalmount, conducted a survey of approximately 1,500 shoppers in the US and Canada for the report along with interviews of senior executives from across the retail industry to understand best practices and what lies ahead for luxury experiential shopping.

To meet — and exceed — customer expectations, brands and retailers must raise the bar by innovating around three key pillars: “supercharged connectivity,” or innovative technology that facilitates deeper human relationships; “sustainable retail” both inside and outside stores; and “inclusive luxury,” which creates engaging retail spaces that can offer something to all visitors. For example, nearly half of frequent luxury consumers in North America surveyed for the report agree that luxury stores should be more than a place to purchase products, while nearly two-thirds expect sustainability to be an important feature in their shopping experience.

Even as e-commerce plays an important role in consumer behaviour, another key finding is that stores are still paramount. About 77 percent of frequent luxury customers from the survey say they expect to visit a store as often or even more frequently in the year ahead than in 2022. Stores are thus pivotal for brand communities, customer service and storytelling.

Luxury retail must be redefined by embedding immersive and emotional experiences. The report’s seven case studies illustrate how varied companies at the forefront are moving the needle on experiential retail: Harrods, Le Bon Marché, Nike, Reformation, RH and Sephora, along with a study of Royalmount, a mixed-use luxury shopping destination from Carbonleo, with the first phase set to open in 2024.

To learn more about the Royalmount project, please click here .

This is a sponsored report paid for by Royalmount as part of a BoF partnership.

From Sustainability to Hyper-Connectivity: Discovering What the Future Holds for Physical Luxury Retail

Royalmount is a forthcoming mixed-use shopping district in Montreal oriented around sustainability, inclusivity and connectivity; in a new partnership with Royalmount, BoF Insights will explore how such developments could set the standard for physical retail of the future.

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The 24 Best eCommerce Retail Case Studies Worth Reading

In the fast-paced world of retail and eCommerce, staying ahead of the game is not just a goal; it’s the lifeline of our industry. For seasoned retail executives, inspiration often comes from the experiences and successes of industry giants who paved the way with their innovative thinking and managed to thrive through thick and thin. That’s why we’re excited to bring you an exclusive collection of the 30 best eCommerce case studies meticulously curated to provide you with a wealth of insights and ideas to fuel your strategies. These case studies are more than just success stories; they are beacons of guidance for retail professionals navigating the ever-changing landscape of our industry.

In this article, we delve deep into the journeys of retail giants who have not only weathered the storms of disruption but have emerged as trailblazers in eCommerce. From adapting to shifting consumer behaviors to mastering the art of online engagement, this compilation offers a treasure trove of wisdom for the modern retail executive. 

Table of Contents

• > Case studies for grocery/wholesale eCommerce retailers
• > Case studies for fashion eCommerce retailers
• > Case Studies for home & furniture eCommerce retailers
• > Case Studies for health & beauty eCommerce retailers
• > Case studies for electronics and tools eCommerce retailers
• > Case Studies for toys and leisure eCommerce retailers

Case studies for grocery/wholesale eCommerce retailers

Retail case study #1: tesco .

Industry : Grocery stores

Why worth reading: 

• Historical evolution: Understanding Tesco’s rise from a group of market stalls to a retail giant provides valuable lessons on growth and adaptation to market changes​.
• Customer service focus: Tesco’s long-term emphasis on customer service, which is consistent across their physical and online platforms, showcases the importance of customer-centric strategies.
• Innovation in eCommerce: The case study covers Tesco’s pioneering of the world’s first virtual grocery store in South Korea, a testament to its innovative approach to digital retailing.
• Crisis management: Insights into how Tesco handled the Horse Meat Scandal, including efforts to tighten its supply chain, contributing to its logistical success​.
• Financial integrity: The study discusses the Accounting Scandal, offering a sobering look at financial transparency and the repercussions of financial misreporting.

Read the full Tesco case study here .

Retail case study #2: Walmart 

Industry : Discount department and grocery stores

• Data-driven success: The case study provides a wealth of data, showcasing Walmart’s remarkable achievements. With an annual revenue of almost $570 billion, a global presence in 24 countries, and a customer base exceeding 230 million weekly, it’s a testament to the effectiveness of their strategies.
• Marketing strategies: The case study delves deep into Walmart’s marketing strategies. It highlights their focus on catering to low to middle-class demographics, the introduction of the Walmart Rewards loyalty program, and their commitment to environmental sustainability, all of which have contributed to their success.
• eCommerce transformation: As eCommerce continues to reshape the retail landscape, this case study details how Walmart shifted significantly towards omnichannel retail. Readers can learn about their innovative technologies and approaches, such as personalized shopping experiences and augmented reality, that have helped them adapt to changing consumer behavior.
• Supply chain innovation: Walmart’s proficiency in supply chain management is a crucial takeaway for retail executives. Their decentralized distribution center model , in-house deliveries, and data-driven optimization exemplify the importance of efficient logistics in maintaining a competitive edge.

Read the full Walmart case study here .

Retail case study #3: Sainsbury’s 

Industry : Grocery stores

• Omnichannel success amidst pandemic challenges: With the fastest growth in online shopping among major retailers, the study illustrates how Sainsbury’s adapted and thrived during unprecedented times.
• Dynamic brand positioning: The analysis delves into Sainsbury’s strategic shift in brand positioning, demonstrating a keen responsiveness to changing consumer preferences. This shift showcases the brand’s agility in aligning with contemporary health-conscious consumer trends, supported by relevant data and market insights.
• Supply chain and quality assurance: The study highlights Sainsbury’s commitment to a stellar supply chain, emphasizing the correlation between high product quality, ethical sourcing, and customer loyalty. With data-backed insights into the extensive distribution network and sourcing standards, retail executives can glean valuable lessons in maintaining a competitive edge through a robust supply chain.
• Innovative technological integration: Sainsbury’s implementation of cutting-edge technologies, such as Amazon’s “Just Walk Out” and Pay@Browse, demonstrates a commitment to providing customers with a seamless and convenient shopping experience. 
• Diversification beyond grocery: The case study unveils Sainsbury’s strategic partnerships with companies like Amazon, Carluccio’s, Itsu, Leon, and Wasabi, showcasing the brand’s versatility beyond traditional grocery retail. 

Read the full Sainsbury’s case study here .

Retail case study #4: Ocado 

• From startup to industry leader: The Ocado case study presents a remarkable journey from a three-employee startup in 2000 to becoming the UK’s largest online grocery platform.  
• Omnichannel excellence: The study emphasizes Ocado’s success in implementing an omnichannel approach, particularly its early adoption of smartphone technology for customer engagement. 
• Operational efficiency: From automated warehouses with machine learning-driven robots to digital twins for simulating order selection and delivery processes, the data-rich content sheds light on how technology can be leveraged for operational efficiency. 
• Navigating challenges through innovation: Ocado’s strategic response to challenges, particularly its shift from primarily a grocery delivery service to a technology-driven company, showcases the power of innovative thinking. The case study details how Ocado tackled complexities associated with grocery deliveries and embraced technology partnerships to stay ahead.  
• Strategic partnerships: The study sheds light on Ocado’s strategic partnerships with grocery chains and companies like CitrusAd for advertising opportunities on its platform. 

Read the full Ocado case study here .

Retail case study #5: Lidl

Industry : Discount supermarkets

• Longevity and evolution: The article provides a detailed overview of Lidl’s origins and evolution, offering insights into how the brand transformed from a local fruit wholesaler to a global retail powerhouse. Understanding this journey can inspire retail executives to explore innovative strategies in their own companies.
• Global success: Retail executives can draw lessons from Lidl’s international expansion strategy, identifying key factors that contributed to its success and applying similar principles to their global ventures.
• Awards and recognitions: The numerous awards and accomplishments earned by Lidl underscore the effectiveness of its marketing strategy. Marketers and eCommerce professionals can learn from Lidl’s approach to quality, innovation, and customer satisfaction. 
• Comprehensive marketing components: The article breaks down Lidl’s marketing strategy into key components, such as pricing strategy, product diversification, and target audience focus. Readers can analyze these components and consider incorporating similar holistic approaches in their businesses to achieve well-rounded success.
• Omnichannel transformation: The discussion on Lidl’s transformation to an omnichannel strategy is particularly relevant in the current digital age. This information can guide executives in adopting and optimizing similar omnichannel strategies to enhance customer experiences and drive sales.

Read the full Lidl case study here .

Retail case study #6: ALDI

Industry : FMCG

• Omnichannel approach: Aldi’s growth is attributed to a robust omnichannel strategy that seamlessly integrates online and offline channels. The case study delves into how Aldi effectively implemented services that can overcome the intricacies of a successful omnichannel approach in today’s dynamic retail landscape.
• Target market positioning: Aldi’s strategic positioning as the most cost-effective retail store for the middle-income group is explored in detail. The case study elucidates how Aldi’s pricing strategy, emphasizing the lowest possible prices and no-frills discounts, resonates with a wide audience. 
• Transparency: Aldi’s commitment to transparency in its supply chain is a distinctive feature discussed in the case study. For retail executives, understanding the importance of transparent supply chain practices and their impact on brand perception is crucial in building consumer trust.
• Differentiation: Aldi’s successful “Good Different” brand positioning, which communicates that low prices result from conscientious business practices, is a key focus of the case study. Effective differentiation through brand messaging contributes to customer trust and loyalty, especially when combined with ethical business practices.
• CSR Initiatives: The case study highlights Aldi’s emphasis on social responsibility to meet the expectations of millennial and Gen-Z shoppers. By consistently communicating its CSR efforts, such as sustainable sourcing of products, Aldi creates a positive brand image that resonates with socially conscious consumers and builds brand reputation.

Read the full Aldi case study here .

Retail case study #7: ASDA

Industry : Supermarket chain

• Omnichannel implementation: The case study details how ASDA seamlessly integrates physical and virtual channels, offering customers a diverse shopping experience through in-store, digital checkouts, Click & Collect services, and a dedicated mobile app. 
• Market segmentation strategies: The incorporation of partnerships with young British designers and influencer collaborations, coupled with socially progressive messaging, reflects a strategic shift that can inspire marketers looking to revitalize product lines.
• Crisis management and ethical branding: The study highlights ASDA’s strong response to the COVID-19 crisis, with ASDA’s actions showcasing a combination of crisis management and ethical business practices. This section provides valuable insights for executives seeking to align their brand with social responsibility during challenging times.
• Product and format diversification: ASDA’s product categories extend beyond groceries, including clothing, home goods, mobile products, and even insurance. The case study explores how ASDA continues to explore opportunities for cross-promotion and integration.
• Website analysis and improvement recommendations: The detailed analysis of ASDA’s eCommerce website provides actionable insights for professionals in the online retail space. This section is particularly beneficial for eCommerce professionals aiming to enhance user experience and design.

Read the full ASDA case study here .

Case studies for fashion eCommerce retailers

Retail case study #8: Farfetch

Industry : Fashion retail

• Effective SEO strategies: The Farfetch case study offers a detailed analysis of the company’s search engine optimization (SEO) strategies, revealing how it attracted over 4 million monthly visitors. The data presented underscores the importance of patient and dedicated SEO efforts, emphasizing the significance of detailed page structuring, optimized content, and strategic backlinking.
• Paid search advertising wisdom and cost considerations: The study delves into Farfetch’s paid search advertising approach, shedding light on its intelligent optimization tools and the nuances of running localized advertisements. Moreover, it discusses the higher cost of visitor acquisition through paid search compared to organic methods, providing valuable insights for marketers navigating the paid advertising landscape.
• Innovative LinkedIn advertising for talent acquisition: Farfetch’s unique use of LinkedIn advertising to attract talent is a standout feature of the case study and highlights the significance of proactive recruitment efforts and employer branding through social media channels. 
• Strategic use of social media platforms: Exploring the brand’s highly consistent organic marketing across various social media channels, with a focus on visual content, highlights Farfetch’s innovative use of Instagram’s IGTV to promote luxury brands. The emphasis on social media engagement numbers serves as a testament to the effectiveness of visual content in the eCommerce and fashion sectors.
• Website design and conversion optimization insights:   A significant portion of the case study is dedicated to analyzing Farfetch’s eCommerce website, providing valuable insights for professionals aiming to enhance their online platforms. By identifying strengths and areas for improvement in the website’s design, marketers, and eCommerce professionals can draw actionable insights for their platforms.

Read the full Farfetch case study here .

Retail case study #9: ASOS

Industry : Fashion eCommerce retail

• Mobile shopping success: eCommerce executives can draw inspiration from ASOS’s commitment to enhancing the mobile shopping experience, including features such as notifications for sale items and easy payment methods using smartphone cameras.
• Customer-centric mentality: ASOS emphasizes the importance of engaging customers on a personal level, gathering feedback through surveys, and using data for continuous improvement. This approach has contributed to the brand’s strong base of loyal customers.
• Inclusive marketing: ASOS’s adoption of an ‘all-inclusive approach’ by embracing genderless fashion and featuring ‘real’ people as models reflects an understanding of evolving consumer preferences. Marketers can learn from ASOS’s bold approach to inclusivity, adapting their strategies to align with the latest trends and values embraced by their target audience.
• Investment in technology and innovation: The case study provides data on ASOS’s substantial investment in technology, including visual search, voice search, and artificial intelligence (AI). eCommerce professionals can gain insights into staying at the forefront of innovation by partnering with technology startups.
• Efficient global presence: ASOS’s success in offering a wide range of brands with same and next-day shipping globally is attributed to its strategic investment in technology for warehouse automation. This highlights the importance of operational efficiency through technology, ensuring a seamless customer experience and reduced warehouse costs.

Read the full ASOS case study here .

Retail case study #10: Tommy Hilfiger 

Industry : High-end fashion retail

• Worldwide brand awareness: The data presented highlights Tommy Hilfiger’s remarkable journey from a men’s clothing line in 1985 to a global lifestyle brand with 2,000 stores in 100 countries, generating $4.7 billion in revenue in 2021. This strategic evolution, exemplified by awards and recognitions, showcases the brand’s adaptability and enduring relevance in the ever-changing fashion landscape.
• Adaptation and flexibility to changing market trends: The discussion on how the brand navigates changing trends and overcame market saturation, particularly in the US, provides practical insights for professionals seeking to navigate the challenges of evolving consumer preferences.
• Successful omnichannel marketing: Tommy Hilfiger’s success is attributed to a brand-focused, digitally-led approach. The analysis of the brand’s omnichannel marketing strategy serves as a map for effective promotion and engagement across various channels. 
• Decision-making and customer engagement: The case study emphasizes the brand’s commitment to data-driven decision-making with insights into customer behavior, leveraging data for effective customer engagement.

Read the full Tommy Hilfiger case study here .

Retail case study #11: Gap

• Overcoming challenges: The case study provides a comprehensive look at Gap Inc.’s financial performance, and growth despite the challenges. These insights can offer valuable takeaways into effective financial management and strategies for sustained success.
• Strong branding: Gap’s journey from a single store to a global fashion retailer reveals the importance of strategic brand positioning. Understanding how Gap targeted different market segments with unique brand identities, can inspire retail executives looking to diversify and expand their brand portfolios.
• Omnichannel adaptation: The case study delves into Gap’s omnichannel strategy, illustrating how the company seamlessly integrates online and offline experiences.
• Unique use of technology: By exploring the technologies Gap employs, such as Optimizely and New Relic, retail executives can learn about cutting-edge tools for A/B testing, personalization, and real-time user experience monitoring. This insight is crucial for staying competitive in the digital retail landscape.
• Inspiring solutions: The case study highlights challenges faced by Gap, including logistical, technological, financial, and human resource challenges. 

Read the full Gap case study here .

Retail case study #12: Superdry

• Success story: The case study emphasizes SUPERDRY’s successful transition to an omnichannel retail strategy, with in-depth insights into their adaptation to online platforms and the integration of technologies like the Fynd app. 
• Mobile-first and social-first strategies: As mobile internet usage continues to rise, understanding how SUPERDRY leverages videos and social media to engage customers can offer valuable takeaways for optimizing digital strategies.
• Sustainable fashion focus: Executives looking to appeal to environmentally conscious consumers can gain insights into how SUPERDRY navigated the shift towards sustainable practices and became a leader in eco-friendly fashion. 
• Data-driven marketing strategies: The case study delves into SUPERDRY’s social media marketing strategies, showcasing how the company uses targeted campaigns, influencers, and seasonal keywords. 
• Global market understanding: By exploring SUPERDRY’s experience in the Chinese market and its decision to exit when faced with challenges, the case study offers valuable insights into global market dynamics. 

Read the full SUPERDRY case study here .

Retail case study #13: New Look 

Industry : Fast-fashion retail

• Strategic pivots for profitability: A decade of revenue contraction led New Look to adopt transformative measures, from restructuring credits to withdrawing from non-profitable markets.
• Omnichannel strategy: Marketers and eCommerce professionals can study New Look’s journey, understanding how the integration of physical stores and online platforms enhances customer experience, reduces costs, and improves profitability.
• Social media mastery: The case study underscores the pivotal role of social media in engaging audiences, showcasing how New Look leverages user-generated content to build brand loyalty and maintain a positive brand perception. 
• Effective partnerships for growth: New Look strategically partners with major eCommerce platforms like eBay & Next to expand its brand presence, and tap into new audiences and markets.

Read the full New Look case study here .

Retail case study #14: Zara

• Rapid international expansion through innovative strategies: Zara’s unique approach to continuous innovation and quick adaptation to fashion trends fueled its global success. Marketers can learn how to build brand narratives that resonate across diverse markets, and eCommerce professionals can glean strategies for seamless international expansion.
• Revolutionary eCommerce tactics: The case study provides a deep dive into Zara’s eCommerce strategy, emphasizing the importance of agility and responsiveness. The brand can be a bright example of implementing supply chain strategies for a swift market adapting to rapid fashion cycles. 
• Visionary leadership: Amancio Ortega’s low-profile persona and visionary leadership style are explored in the case study, aiding retail executives to learn about leadership strategies that prioritize customer-centric business models. 
• Omnichannel marketing and integrated stock management: Zara’s successful integration of automated marketing and stock management systems is a focal point in the case study. With insights into implementing integrated stock management systems to meet the demands of both online and offline channels, Zara can inspire professionals to improve their operations.
• Co-creation with the masses: Zara’s innovative use of customer feedback as a driving force for fashion trends is a key takeaway. Marketers can learn about the power of customer co-creation in shaping brand identity, and eCommerce professionals can implement similar models for product launches and updates.

Read the full Zara case study here .

Case Studies for home & furniture eCommerce retailers

Retail case study #15: john lewis.

Industry : Homeware and clothing retail

• Omnichannel perspective: The data-driven approach, especially in tracking orders and customer behavior, serves as a blueprint for any retail business aiming to enhance its omnichannel experience.
• Strategic growth factors: This case study offers concrete data on the strategies that contributed to the company’s sustained success, inspiring similar endeavors. 
• Innovative customer engagement: John Lewis’s take on customer engagement showcases the brand’s agility and responsiveness to evolving consumer needs, supported by data on the effectiveness of these initiatives.
• eCommerce best practices and pitfalls: The analysis of John Lewis’s eCommerce website provides a data-backed evaluation of what works and what could be improved. The critique is grounded in data, making it a valuable resource for those looking to optimize their online platforms.

Read the full John Lewis case study here .

Retail case study #16: Argos 

Industry : Homeware catalog retail

• Adaptation to the changing retail landscape: Argos’s journey from a catalog retailer to a retail giant demonstrates its ability to successfully adapt to the evolving retail landscape. 
• Omnichannel success story: The case study provides a detailed analysis of Argos’s omnichannel strategy, showcasing how the company effectively integrated online and offline channels to achieve a seamless shopping experience across multiple touchpoints.
• Market share and financial performance: The inclusion of data on Argos’s market share and financial performance offers retail executives concrete metrics to evaluate the success of the marketing strategy. Understanding how Argos maintained a robust market share despite challenges provides actionable insights.
• Technological advancements: The case study delves into the technologies employed by Argos, such as Adobe Marketing Cloud, New Relic, and ForeSee. 
• Overcoming obstacles: By examining the challenges faced by Argos, including logistical, technological, financial, and human resources challenges, retail executives can gain a realistic understanding of potential obstacles in implementing omnichannel strategies. 

Read the full Argos case study here .

Retail case study #17: IKEA

Industry : Home & furniture retail

• Data-driven evolution: This detailed case study offers a data-rich narrative, illuminating the brand’s evolution into a leader in omnichannel retail.
• Pandemic response: This exploration delves into the integration of eCommerce strategies, online expansions, and the balance between physical and digital customer experiences.
• Advanced mobile apps and AR integration: A deep dive into IKEA’s innovative applications, notably the AR app “IKEA Place,” showcases how the brand leverages technology for a seamless customer experience.
• Democratic design approach: The study meticulously breaks down IKEA’s success factors, emphasizing the brand’s holistic approach through the lens of “Democratic Design.” 
• DIY mentality and demographic targeting: A detailed analysis of how IKEA’s affordability is intertwined with a Do-It-Yourself (DIY) mentality. The case study explores how IKEA strategically tapped into a shift in consumer behavior, particularly among younger demographics, influencing not only purchasing patterns but also reshaping industry norms.

Read the full IKEA case study here .

Retail case study #18: Marks & Spencer

Industry : Clothing and home products retail

• Valuable lessons in eCommerce: The Marks & Spencer eCommerce case study offers a profound exploration of the brand’s journey from a latecomer to the online scene to a digital-first retailer.
• Real-world application of effective solutions: By diving into the history of Marks & Spencer, the case study provides tangible examples of how a retail giant faced setbacks and strategically pivoted to revitalize its eCommerce platform. 
• Data-driven analysis of eCommerce failures: The case study meticulously analyzes the pitfalls Marks & Spencer encountered during its eCommerce journey, offering a data-driven examination of the repercussions of a poorly executed website relaunch. 
• Multichannel customer experience: Marks & Spencer’s shift towards a multichannel customer experience is dissected in the case study, emphasizing the significance of a seamless user journey for increased customer satisfaction and loyalty.
• Embracing technology: Exploring Marks & Spencer’s technological innovations, such as the introduction of an intelligent virtual assistant can enhance the customer shopping journey, foster engagement, and contribute to revenue growth.

Read the full Marks & Spencer case study here .

Retail case study #19: Macy’s 

Industry : Clothing and homeware retail

• Resilience and adaptability: The case study showcases Macy’s ability to navigate and triumph over obstacles, especially evident during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite hardships, Macy’s not only survived but thrived, achieving $24.4 billion in net sales for 2022.
• Omnichannel innovation: Macy’s successful transition to omnichannel retailing is a standout feature. The case study delves into Macy’s implementation of a seamless omnichannel strategy, emphasizing the integration of physical and digital retail channels. 
• Private label strategy: The introduction of new private brands and the emphasis on increasing the contribution of private brands to sales by 2025 provides a strategic lesson. Retailers can learn from Macy’s approach to enhancing control over production and distribution by investing in private brands, ultimately aiming for a more significant share of profits.
• Groundbreaking retail media strategy: Macy’s innovative approach to retail media and digital marketing is another compelling aspect. For marketers, this presents a case study on how to leverage proprietary shopper data for effective advertising, including entry into connected TV (CTV).
• Community engagement and social responsibility: The case study explores Macy’s “Mission Every One” initiative, highlighting its commitment to corporate citizenship and societal impact, integrating values into business strategies.

Read the full Macy’s case study here .

Case Studies for health & beauty eCommerce retailers

Retail case study #20: the body shop .

Industry : Beauty, health, and cosmetics

• Activism and ethical values: The Body Shop has pioneered promoting eco-friendly, sustainable, and cruelty-free products. The brand’s mission is to empower women and girls worldwide to be their best, natural selves. This strong ethical foundation has been integral to its identity.
• Recycling, community fair trade, and sustainability: The Body Shop initiated a recycling program early on, which turned into a pioneering strategy. It collaborates with organizations to create sustainable solutions for recycling, such as the Community Trade recycled plastic initiative in partnership with Plastics for Change.
• Product diversity: The Body Shop’s target demographic primarily focuses on women, but it has expanded some product lines to include men. Its products include skincare, hair and body treatments, makeup, and fragrances for both men and women.
• Omnichannel strategy, technology, and eCommerce best practices: The Body Shop has embraced an omnichannel approach that incorporates personalization, customer data and analytics, and loyalty programs. The Body Shop utilizes technology, including ContactPigeon, for omnichannel customer engagement, personalization, and data-driven decision-making.

Read the full The Body Shop case study here .

Retail case study #21: Boots

Industry : Pharmacy retail

• Long-term success: Boots’ rich history serves as a testament to the effectiveness of the brand’s strategies over time, offering valuable insights into building a brand that withstands the test of time.
• Strategic omnichannel approach: The Boots case study provides a deep dive into the marketing strategy that propelled the brand to success, with valuable insights into crafting effective omnichannel growth. 
• Impactful loyalty program: Marketers can glean insights into designing loyalty programs that resonate with customers, fostering brand allegiance. 
• Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as a pillar: The case study sheds light on how Boots addresses critical issues like youth unemployment and climate change, showcasing how a socially responsible approach can positively impact brand perception.
• Adaptive strategies during crises: Boots’ proactive role during the COVID-19 pandemic, offering vaccination services and supporting the National Health Service (NHS), demonstrates the brand’s agility during crises. 

Read the full Boots case study here .

Retail case study #22: Sephora

Industry : Cosmetics

• Authentic customer experience-focused mentality: Backed by an impressive array of data, the case study meticulously outlines how Sephora transforms its in-store spaces into digital playgrounds, leveraging mobile technologies, screens, and augmented reality to enhance the customer shopping experience. 
• Exceptional omnichannel business plan: The early adoption of an omnichannel strategy has been pivotal to Sephora’s ascendancy. The case study delves into the mobile app’s central role, acting as a comprehensive beauty hub with data-driven insights that drive the success of groundbreaking technologies. 
• Omnichannel company culture: The case study illuminates this by detailing how this amalgamation allows a holistic view of the customer journey, blurring the lines between online and in-store interactions. This unique approach positions Sephora as a global leader in turning omnichannel thinking into a robust business strategy.
• Turning data into growth: Sephora’s adept utilization of mobile technologies to harness customer insights is a beacon for retailers in an era where data reigns supreme. The case study dissects how a surge in digital ad-driven sales, showcases the power of data-driven decision-making.

Read the full Sephora case study here .

Case studies for electronics and tools eCommerce retailers

Retail case study #23: screwfix.

Industry : Tools and hardware retail

• Innovative omnichannel approach: The case study highlights how the company strategically implemented online ordering with in-store pickup, creating a seamless shopping experience that contributed to a significant sales growth of 27.9% in just one year.
• Customer-centric strategies: Marketers can gain insights from Screwfix’s emphasis on customer experience. By studying customer feedback and incorporating personalized shopping experiences, Screwfix achieved success in the competitive home improvement sector. 
• Supply chain management for rapid growth: The company strategically opened distribution centers to keep up with demand, ensuring efficient inventory management for both online and in-store orders.
• Mobile-first approach for trade professionals: With a customer base primarily consisting of trade professionals, the company’s mobile app allows for easy inventory search, order placement, and quick pickups, catering to the needs of time-sensitive projects.
• Commitment to employee well-being and community: Retail executives and marketers can draw inspiration from Screwfix’s commitment to building a positive workplace culture.

Read the full Screwfix case study here .

Case Studies for toys and leisure eCommerce retailers

Retail case study #24: lego.

Industry : Toys and leisure retail

• Global reach strategies: LEGO’s case study meticulously outlines LEGO’s focused approach, investing in flagship stores and understanding the local market nuances.
• Diversification and licensing brilliance: LEGO’s commitment to diversification through licensing and merchandising emerges as a beacon for marketers. The collaboration with well-established brands, the creation of movie franchises, and themed playsets not only elevate brand visibility but also contribute significantly to sales. 
• Social media takeover: The case study unveils LEGO’s unparalleled success on social media platforms, boasting over 13 million Facebook followers and 10.04 billion views on YouTube. LEGO’s adept utilization of Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube showcases the power of social media in engaging customers. 
• User-generated content (UGC) as a cornerstone: LEGO’s innovative use of digital platforms to foster a community around user-generated content is a masterclass in customer engagement. This abundance of UGC not only strengthens brand loyalty but also serves as an authentic testament to LEGO’s positive impact on users’ lives.
• Education as a marketing pillar: LEGO’s unwavering commitment to education, exemplified by its partnerships and $24 million commitment to educational aid, positions the brand as more than just a toy. Aligning brand values with social causes and leveraging educational initiatives, builds trust and credibility.
• Cutting-edge mobile strategy: Sephora’s foresight into the mobile revolution is dissected in the case study, presenting a playbook for retailers aiming to capitalize on the mobile landscape.

Read the full LEGO case study here .

Tons of eCommerce retail inspiration, in one place

In the realm of business, success stories are not just tales of triumph but blueprints for aspiring executives to carve their paths to growth. The case studies explored here underscore a common theme: a mindset poised for evolution, a commitment to experimentation, and an embrace of emerging trends and technologies are the catalysts for unparalleled growth.

For any executive eager to script their growth story, these narratives serve as beacons illuminating the way forward. The dynamic world of retail beckons those ready to challenge the status quo, adopting the strategies and technologies that promise scalability. The key lies in constant optimization, mirroring the agility demonstrated by industry leaders.

As you embark on your growth journey, consider the invaluable lessons embedded in these success stories. Now is the time to experiment boldly, adopting new trends and technologies that align with your brand’s ethos. If you seek personalized guidance on navigating the intricate landscape of growth, our omnichannel retail experts at ContactPigeon are here to assist. Book a free consultation call to explore how our customer engagement platform can be the linchpin of your growth strategy. Remember, the path to scaling growth begins with a willingness to innovate, and your unwritten success story awaits its chapter of transformation.

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How to Improve Your Brand: Retail Store Case Study

I remember the first time I stepped into a Vans store. I was on vacation with my family in California and we happened to stumble upon one of their stores in San Francisco. I had never seen anything like it before. The store was so cool and hip, and the staff was so friendly and helpful. It felt like a completely different world from the stuffy, boring retail stores back home. Ever since then, I’ve been fascinated by Vans’ unique approach to retailing – which is why I decided to write about retail store case study!

Retail store case study Explained

A retail store case study is a customer research method used to investigate a retail store in order to understand its operation and performance.

A case study of retail outlets can provide insights into the stores’ customer service, product selection, and marketing techniques.

It can also reveal problems and challenges that the store faces, which can be used to improve its operations.

Case Studies Prove Experiential Retail Is The Future

Physical shops are in decline, but experiential retail stores are on the rise.

Millennials are the biggest spenders on experiential shopping, with 52% of their total expenditures going towards these types of products. This has introduced the term ‘Retailtainment’.

Experiential Retail in Action

Brands have to stay creative in order to keep up with their competitors. By providing unique, fun, and immersive experiences, retailers are able to provide their customers with memorable shopping experiences that set them apart from the pack.

Stores are moving away from the features-and-benefits approach to retail sales , and focusing more on creating a memorable customer experience.

To be a successful retailer, you must provide your customers with a pleasant, convenient, and enjoyable experience.

Here are 3 great examples of how experiential retail is being implemented.

Marvel: Avengers STATI-O-N

The Marvel’s Avenger: The Science Behind The Super Heroes is an interactive exhibition that tours around the world.

It’s appeared all over the world, including in New York, Las Vegas, and South Korea.

Based on Disney’s blockbuster Avengers movies, this store has actual costumes and props that were used in the films, as well as interactive exhibits.

The (Marvel): (Avengers) (STATI-O) (project) is not about (selling) (T-shirts) and (mugs). (The goal) of the project is (to deliver) (an in-person) (experience) to fans and (bring) (the brand) (to life).

The Marvel Avengers: S.T. A. T. I. O. N. exhibit at Discovery Times Square is an excellent example of interactive and immersive entertainment.

Fans of the MCU can immerse themselves even further into the fictional world that they enjoy, further cementing their allegiance to the Marvel brand and their love of the franchise.

For a brand as successful as Marvel, it would be easy for them to rest on its laurels. But, they continue to impress fans through creative marketing strategies, such as turning their stores into entertainment centers.

Farfetch: Creating a Retail Experience of the Future

The e-commerce site, farfetch.com, is for high-end boutiques that are looking to create a unique shopping experience for their customers.

The founder of online fashion retailer, FarFetch, believes that the future of shopping lies in using technology to enhance the shopping experience. He predicts that by 2025, 80% of retail sales will still take place in a physical store, but that this percentage will decline as online shopping becomes more popular.

Farfetch’s Store of the Future

The CEO of RetailNext, Robert Neves, envisions a future where consumers can have more human interaction with retailers.

He developed an augmented reality solution called “Store of the Future” that linked offline and online shopping experiences. The “store of the future” featured interactive, touch screen-enhanced mirrors that allow shoppers to virtually try on clothes, as well as digitalized, sensor-enabled, smart-racks that allowed customers to digitally browse items.

The sign-in page at FarFetch gives retail sales reps access to a customer’s order history, wishlist, and profile information.

The mirrors in the changing room allow customers to instantly request different items, sizes or payment methods without having to leave the fitting rooms.

This revolutionary approach to retail allows customers to enjoy the best of both worlds: the personalized experience of shopping in boutiques with the speed and convenience of online shopping.

Huda Beauty: Cosmic Experience in Covent Garden

The luxury cosmetics company, Huda Beauty, created one of a kind immersive shopping experience in London’s Covent Garden. The pop-up gave customers a chance to try on products, learn about the company, and shop the newly launched line.

To launch their new product, the cosmetics company, Huda Beauty, created a futuristic pop-up shop in London. This allowed them to reach a new audience and showcase their products in a unique and memorable way.

The outside of the building featured various geometric and mirror-like shapes and designs. Inside, there were even more reflective surfaces, as well as more ‘spacey’ and ‘cosmic’ features.

At the London launch of her makeup line, the cosmetics queen herself, @hudabeauty, sat on the throne that she used in her marketing materials. This was all part of the effort to get as many likes and shares on social media as she could.

The introduction of the pop-up store was hugely successful. It introduced a whole new set of customers to the brand.

If you’re looking for a retail store case study that will make you think, look no further than Vans. This post dives into the company’s unique shopping experience and how it can be used to improve your own business. From their cool and hip stores to their friendly and helpful staff, there’s a lot we can learn from Vans about creating a great customer experience. So next time you’re thinking about ways to improve your retail business, take some inspiration from this iconic brand!

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Retail consumers seek a different grocery experience

4-minute read.

• Accenture’s new grocery consumer research shows that more than 50% of consumers plan to shop both in stores and online in the future.
• Consumers now value convenience, community, inspiration and sustainability, and 85% want grocers to help them change how they live, shop or eat.
• Consumers’ interest in and love of food has never been greater, and they want and expect something different from grocery retail.
• Retailers need to reset grocery shopping for the next decade—and have a limited time to get it right before new consumer habits settle.

So much has changed in grocery retail

The experience of living through the pandemic forced consumers to rethink how they shop and eat, and what and where they buy. Grocers rose heroically to the challenge—adapting their businesses quickly as consumers switched their preferences and behaviors .

Now, as we emerge, the question turns to what happens next. Which of the new consumer priorities are here to stay? Which traditional behaviors might be set for a return? And how can grocers deliver the products, services and experiences consumers value most?

Retail consumers are hungry for something new

Our latest consumer research explores what grocery shoppers value most, and how retailers can differentiate their offering for the next decade.

Grocery shoppers embrace both old and new habits

Findings from our research showed that the pandemic-fueled increase in online shopping shows little sign of being reversed. However, store shopping appears to be set for a strong return too, and consumers are recognizing the value of a mixed channel approach.

We also found that despite a greater affinity for local shopping and a focus on sustainability and responsibility that we have seen in the last year, many of the traditional consumer priorities (such as convenience and price) are as important as they ever were.

More than 50% of grocery consumers say they’re planning to use both stores and online shopping in the future.

Four ways grocers can turn up the dial on retail experience

To respond, retailers need to understand what their consumers value most and decide which of these priorities to focus on. Here are four ways retailers can stake out a clearer competitive differentiation in the post-pandemic grocery market.

01 Convenience

Convenience leaders make their shopping experiences as simple, speedy, and painless as possible. They’re also operationally agile and technologically mature—adapting their offering as customer needs change and using digital technology to differentiate their shopping experiences.

Helpful and convenient technology may encourage consumers to choose one grocer over another:

of consumers say pop-up mobile notifications on product offers in store could entice them to shop with a retailer.

say interactive store technology could make them choose one retailer over another.

say they’d like to share online shopping lists with family and friends so they can all add items to the weekly shop.

Where should convenience leaders focus?

Carefully plan store networks, simplify online and offline shopping, and use AI and data analytics to personalize shopping experiences.

02 Inspiration

Inspiration leaders take on a more active role in connecting consumers with the kind of food they love—even if it’s something they haven’t tried before. They also look to freshen up both store and digital experiences to excite and inspire food lovers and make them want to spend their time with the brand.

Where should inspiration leaders focus?

Educate consumers on cooking methods and new products, work with small specialist brands, and introduce experiences to take products beyond the shelf.

03 Community

One outcome of the pandemic was reconnecting people with their local communities. Community leaders understand their stores can serve a higher purpose beyond the retail transaction. They embed the idea of “local” deeply into the business, showcasing local producers and products, while building new kinds of communities among their customers.

Shoppers want to shop local and grocers have the opportunity to build their own communities:

of in-store shoppers now want to know that their grocery store supports and contributes to the local community.

of consumers say they’d participate in a grocer’s loyalty scheme if there was a greater focus on local products and offerings.

Where should community leaders focus?

Expand stores to become hubs for the community, give store managers autonomy to source local products, include local consumers in decision making.

04 Responsibility & sustainability

More and more of today’s grocery shoppers are focused on sustainability —three-quarters said they’d switch their spending to a retailer who better understood how important sustainability is to them. Responsible leaders know that the vast majority of consumers want their help in making a difference to the health and wellbeing of the planet and the people who live on it.

Where should responsible leaders focus?

Offer sustainable ranges and product refills, shift stores to green energy sources, find creative ways for consumers to make more sustainable choices.

Time for grocers to serve up something different

As consumers emerge from the pandemic with revised priorities, there is a need for clear differentiation. This is vital in an industry which has products, stores and experiences that are almost indistinguishable.

But there’s a limited window of opportunity to get it right. As the dust from the pandemic disruption settles, consumer habits will coalesce around new norms.

The imperative for grocers is to move quickly to understand and guide this process, stake out a clearly differentiated position, and use it to lead in their markets over the next decade. Read our new report .

Let’s stay together—customer retention in retail

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Airport Biometrics: A Primer (2021)

Chapter: appendix a - case study: amazon go cashierless retail experience.

Below is the uncorrected machine-read text of this chapter, intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text of each book. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.

135   Summary Initiated by Amazon, the Amazon Go retail experience (see Figure A-1 and Figure A-2) uses a combination of cameras, sensors, computer vision techniques, machine learning, and artificial intelligence to create a cashierless retail experience; the first airport location will be at Newark Liberty Inter national Airport (EWR) (Amazon Go 2020). This technology, called “Just Walk Out,” requires customers to identify themselves when they enter the store (Amazon 2020). The customer’s identity is verified either by scanning the Amazon Go mobile app (in the case of an Amazon Go store) or their credit card (for other retailers equipped with the Just Walk Out technology). A biometric variant also exists, where instead of a QR code or credit card, customers enroll at the storefront enrollment kiosk by scanning their 3D hand palm biometric and linking that to their account. The Just Walk Out technology leverages computer vision and machine learning to distinguish between customers and the items picked out and added to their virtual cart. The system does not rely on facial recognition but relies on movement tracking. Each customer is associated with a name, an account, and a consumer profile that reflects all interactions with items on the shelves (which items are stared at, picked up, or bought). Future use of the customer’s data is still undefined. However, the initial patent application included some examples where the customer’s purchase history could be used to confirm which items were picked by the user. The main benefits are significant time savings for customers and financial savings for retailers (reduced to no cashiering cost) (Bishop 2020b). The system architecture relies on Amazon’s A P P E N D I X A Case Study: Amazon Go Cashierless Retail Experience Source: Adapted from Amazon Go 2020. Figure A-1. Amazon Go shopping experience.

136 Airport Biometrics: A Primer What? ● Cashierless retail technology ● Project implemented by Amazon Where? ● 26 Amazon Go stores across the United States (e.g., Chicago, New York, Seattle, San Francisco) ● Deployment at a few airports across the United States in stores of retail chain OTG (On-the-Go), including at EWR (OTG Management 2020) Customer process steps ● To access Amazon Go stores: – Create an Amazon account – Download Amazon Go app – The Amazon Go mobile app interface will generate a QR code, or the user may add a hand palm scan to the account at an enrollment kiosk. – Customer enters the store by scanning the QR or hand palm (or credit card for other retail stores with Just Walk Out technology) – Just Walk Out technology tracks the customer and the interaction with store items. – Virtual cart validation – Exit Who? ● Amazon patented the Just Walk Out technology. It provides the hardware (camera and sensors) along with the software. Why? ● Amazon’s goal is to create a seamless shopping experience where customers do not have to wait in line. How? ● The concept relies on the combined use of cameras, sensor fusion, computer vision, and deep-learning algorithms to track customers during their time in the store, noting each item picked up, put back, or added to their virtual carts. For the biometric hand palm variant, 3D hand palm scanners and a palm recognition software are used. Enrollment/digital identity creation and verification ● An Amazon account can be made online, and enrollment is done in the storefront at the enrollment kiosk. The online Amazon account can be linked to the hand palm biometric by scanning one's hand at the kiosk. Verification of identity how? ● Customers are identified by either a QR code generated by the Amazon Go app in Amazon Go stores or their credit card in third-party retail stores where the Just Walk Out environment is available. For? ● Amazon account holders Table A-1. Key facts for the Amazon Go case study. Just Walk Out technology and includes the camera and sensor hardware as well as the software system. Table A-1 contains a summary of the Amazon Go case study. How Does It Work? Before the Customer Journey • Amazon Go relies on sensor fusion (analyzing and aggregating data from multiple sensors, including weight and movement sensors), advanced data hosting services through Amazon Web Services, and advanced computer vision–based machine learning (Amazon 2015). • The hardware includes electronic shelves, cameras, fixtures, and a facility management system. • The inventory management involves data storing and item identification. • In the case of Amazon Go stores, customers create an Amazon account and download the Amazon Go app. • In the case of Just Walk Out–enabled stores, customers access the store with their credit card.

Case Study: Amazon Go Cashierless Retail Experience 137   The Customer Journey The customer journey can be described by the following: • Each shopper (and that shopper’s party) enters and is identified with a QR code generated by the Amazon Go app, biometric hand palm, or a credit card in the case of stores equipped with the Just Walk Out technology. • The technology tracks the customer’s movements and interactions with the different store items. As customers remove items from the shelves, those items are added to their virtual cart (Kumar et al. 2013). • The customer receives a receipt and is charged when exiting the store. Retention and Storage Account data are saved on Amazon’s own servers. • Cameras track throughout the store in real time using the video feed streaming from a ubiquitous network of cameras (Bacco and Hiatt 2010). • Amazon Go stores retain data on the interactions of individual customers with the items on the shelves. These data are used to further train the artificial intelligence running the architecture. • Account data are retained and stored at Amazon until the passenger opts for the deletion of the account. • Customers can elect to delete their biometric data. System Architecture Flow Diagram The flow diagram for this case study can be found in the Amazon Go Cashierless Retail Experience case study of Chapter 2. Source: Amazon 2020. Figure A-2. Just Walk Out enables seamless store experiences for other retailers as well.

138 Airport Biometrics: A Primer System Specifications The system relies on an artificial intelligence (see Figure A-3) to track the customer in the store. The artificial intelligence architecture relies on Amazon Web Services for streaming services as well as advanced computer vision–based machine learning. Computer Vision–Based Machine Learning To associate the right items with the right customers, the technology relies on aggregating data from different sensors linked with the location information of the sensors. The artificial intelligence driving the architecture tracks the customers in the store by aggregating data from different sensors through sensor fusion and solving different identification and linking problems to associate customers, their location, and their interactions with items in the store. Person Detection The Just Walk Out technology does not use facial-recognition technology but relies on red- green-blue cameras equipped with depth- and distance-sensing capabilities. Each customer is associated with a general profile and an anonymized 3D point cloud. During the customer’s time in the store, a deep-learning algorithm predicts the customer’s location and associates that location with actions and interactions with store items (see Figure A-4). System Architecture, Pre-Existing Systems, and Databases The following explain the buildup of the system and its processes: • Customer information and biometrics are collected at the entry gate. • The identification of distinctive features on the hand(s) of the customer relies on a propri- etary algorithm, with distinctive features of the hand specific to this proprietary technology architecture (see Figures A-5 through A-7). • Hand biometrics data that are collected are either stored, if the customer has an Amazon account, or are deleted once the customer exits the store. • The customer holds his or her palm over the device to opt in. Source: Amazon 2019. Figure A-3. Amazon artificial intelligence for the Amazon Go retail experience.

Case Study: Amazon Go Cashierless Retail Experience 139   Stakeholders and Responsibilities Stakeholders The main stakeholders of Amazon Go concept are Amazon and the third-party retailers who have purchased Just Walk Out technology services. Responsibilities Amazon owns the Just Walk Out concept, which builds on a series of patents submitted by Amazon Technologies since 2013 (Puerini et al. 2014). Case Study Review Benefits The Just Walk Out technology presents benefits both for the customer and the retailer. Benefits to customers include: • Improved customer experience over time with deep learning allowing for faster tracking and more accurate identification of interaction with store items, • Limited contact and interaction with store employees, • Reduced time spent in the store, and • No use of facial recognition. Benefits for the retailers providing the Just Walk Out–enabled experience include: • Adaptability of the Just Walk Out technology to different store layouts, • Financial savings due to reduced staff cost related to cashiering or inventory, • No use of facial recognition, • Improved customer experience, and • Detailed consumer profile data. Source: Amazon 2019. Figure A-4. Logic structure of Amazon Go and technology components.

140 Airport Biometrics: A Primer Source: Kumar et al. 2018. Note: Numbers in figure are part of the patent application and are not relevant to this discussion. Figure A-5. Hand biometrics identification process.

Case Study: Amazon Go Cashierless Retail Experience 141   Source: Kumar et al. 2018. Note: Numbers in figure are part of the patent application and are not relevant to this discussion. Figure A-6. Hand biometrics characteristics identification.

142 Airport Biometrics: A Primer Source: Kumar et al. 2018. Note: Numbers in figure are part of the patent application and are not relevant to this discussion. Figure A-7. Person detection based on hand biometrics identity.

Case Study: Amazon Go Cashierless Retail Experience 143   Responses From Customers Crowd-sourced reviews for individual stores rate on average more than 4 stars out of 5. A stated choice survey conducted by the Shorr group in 2018 found that “84% of respondents to a survey said that they see Amazon Go as a ‘type of grocery shopping experience’ they’d enjoy more than traditional grocery shopping” and “over 25% of respondents said that they would pay more for grocery products if it meant they didn’t have to wait in line at checkout” (Shorr 2018). System Performance and Specifications Review The Just Walk Out technology requires an approximately $1 million investment in hard- ware. Customers spending less time in the store allow for higher customer throughput per hour compared to a traditional store (Cheng 2019). The system is designed for 99% accuracy, including during the busiest periods. On average, Amazon Go stores process 550 customers per day and as many as 90 people at any given time. Fall-Back Options • Despite the absence of cashiers, a few store staff members are present to assist customers with any technical issues, answer questions, and process cash transactions. • If customers are incorrectly charged for an item, they can contest the charge and be reimbursed. Concerns • Privacy and use of collected data: There is a lack of transparency on how the collected data factor into the overall Amazon personalized marketing strategy. The architecture relies on deep learning, and data mining of the customer’s activity in the store would improve the experience and accuracy over time. • Lack of transparency around the use of data slowed the adoption of the technology in Europe because of confrontation with GDPR regarding consent to the processing of personal data. In the context of the regulation, every consent request must state the precise purpose for which the data will be processed (Walters 2020). Lessons Learned The Just Walk Out technology initially relied on motion tracking and an anonymized cloud of data to identify individual customers. However, in December 2019, Amazon submitted a patent for a non-contact biometric identification system to identify customers by their hands (Kumar et al. 2018). Introducing hand biometrics as one of the identifying features of each customer is expected to simplify the person-detection component of the Just Walk Out architecture. Findings and Trends Findings The Just Walk Out technology is a potential template for future models of touchless and cashierless retail at airports and other shopping locations. The use of biometrics for identifica- tion, camera tracking devices, image analysis software, and a program that automates product billing has proven to create a new user-friendly experience that is more efficient and is touch free and seamless. Amazon now has several versions of this retail technology in operation, and future revisions of the concept will only improve accessibility. Enrollment challenges may be resolved with biometric palm geometry recognition, which is also being trailed, or with a simple

144 Airport Biometrics: A Primer two-step authentication process. Another option is the use of not just one biometric, but two or more, thereby providing options for customers to choose from. The main benefits behind using this type of software are significant time savings for customers and financial savings for retailers through lower operational expenditures on employees (e.g., labor wages, benefits). Some enrollment challenges may be resolved with simple two-step palm enrollment, which is interesting because it may seem less invasive when compared to a picture of one’s face. Furthermore, this type of software presents a potential alternative to current and future models for touchless retail for airports and airlines. Future Situation and Broader Implementation Amazon submitted a patent application for a touchless hand scanning system named “Amazon One” and started implementing it in Amazon Go stores in October 2020. Customers scan their hands at the entry gate to enter the store. Trends Identified A trend identified in the Amazon case study is that the use of hand biometrics is aimed to facilitate a more efficient, user-friendly (retail) experience. In the cashierless system, time is saved, shopping requires less fumbling of personal items during payment, and simplicity for the user can bring satisfaction. In this specific case, it is not only the biometric technologies enabling this, but also the camera tracking system and software, which allow for the automatic charging of customers to their accounts. This is a trend that will likely expand to other sectors outside of retail and airports. Similarly, the retail experience removes the need for contact points and human interactions, which has the added benefit of reducing the risk of transmissible diseases, which is especially beneficial in the COVID-19 era. The camera system and the 3D hand geometry scanners allow for tracking and identification without customers needing to touch any surfaces.

Biometrics is one of the most powerful, but misunderstood technologies used at airports today. The ability to increase the speed of individual processes, as well as offer a touch-free experience throughout an entire journey is a revolution that is decades in the making.

The TRB Airport Cooperative Research Program's ACRP Research Report 233: Airport Biometrics: A Primer is designed to help aviation stakeholders, especially airport operators, to understand the range of issues and choices available when considering, and deciding on, a scalable and effective set of solutions using biometrics. These solutions may serve as a platform to accommodate growth as well as addressing the near-term focus regarding safe operations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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How Employee Experience Drives Business Success in Retail

Benefits of Company Culture ,  Purpose

Among the many challenges facing CEOs today, one thing is for sure— investing in employees reaps benefits for the workforce and the bottom line.

The retail industry, like so many others, is undergoing significant transformation. From changing consumer expectations to evolving market dynamics, all retailers face new challenges, including staffing shortages and high employee turnover rates. In the AlixPartners Disruption Index released in January 2023, 85% of surveyed retail CEOs reported challenges around knowing which disruptive technological, societal, or economic challenge to address first.

Despite this shifting landscape, the retail sector is experiencing growth. The critical factor for that success, according to the 2023 Fortune Best Workplaces by Industry study of more than 1.3 million employees (27,000 from the retail sector), is employee experience .

Companies that show they prioritize people tend to outperform across all culture and business metrics across industries. But employee experience—the overall quality of interactions, relationships, and support that employees receive from their organization, with significant impact on employee well-being, fairness, and purpose —is especially tied to retail success. In fact, companies on the 2023 Fortune Best Workplaces in Retail list are 52% better than their peers and outperform companies in any industry (not just retail) by 35%, including the highly competitive industries of professional services and technology by 25% and 27%, respectively.

A connection to purpose

Though pay and benefits generally have a big impact on employee experience and retention for workers in the retail industry, doing “meaningful work” also plays a major role. According to Great Place To Work®, eight out of 10 employees at winning retail workplaces report their work is meaningful compared with just four out of 10 at typical retail workplaces.

“Purposeful employees feel a sense of pride in collective accomplishment,” says Sarah Lewis-Kulin, vice president, global recognition, at Great Place To Work. “They want to work at their current companies for a long time and feel like they make a difference.”

Indeed, according to Great Place To Work research, creating a sense of purpose in retail environments makes retention 76% more likely and drives discretionary effort. Additionally, 70% more employees on the Best Workplaces in Retail list say they give extra to get the job done, compared with typical companies.

Wegmans Food Markets —the 107-year-old grocery chain based in Rochester, N.Y., which ranked No. 1 on the Fortune Best Workplaces in Retail list—found in a July 2023 employee survey that 95% of employees feel connected to the family company’s mission “to help people live healthier, better lives through exceptional food.”

“We are united in delivering on this mission together, and recognize it takes all 53,000 employees to succeed,” says Peggy Riley, vice president of employee communications and engagement. “On employees’ first days at Wegmans, we take time to explain our mission, values, and the integral role they play in our success. We explain how every individual’s work and role at Wegmans helps us collectively deliver on our mission.”

One-on-one connections

At Wegmans, managers have created a cadence of one-to-one connections with each of their employees. These listening channels—with options for in-person, digital, named, and anonymous communication—ensure that every employee has a comfortable place to share ideas, which managers sometimes implement right away.

Workers also complete a digital “People Profile,” that includes what’s important to them inside and outside of work. “By encouraging employees to share their passions, we learn what they love to do and help connect that to their work at Wegmans, making their work even more meaningful and enjoyable,” says Riley.

Wegmans’s commitment to connecting work with employee passion and purpose is working. According to Riley, almost 10% of the company’s 53,000 employees have more than 20 years of service.

“Companies that are seeking to make improvements sometimes focus just on tangible programs and practices,” says Lewis-Kulin. “But you really want to understand the deeper dynamics that are driving experience. Those are based on trust. Best Workplaces in Retail leaders take time to get to know employees as individuals with lives and talents and commitments outside of work. Then they make room for people to contribute those ideas and talents within the workplace.”

Authenticity and trust

Relative to other industries, retail companies tend to be places where people feel like they can be themselves at work, according to Great Place To Work. Eighty-five percent of employees at Best Workplaces in Retail companies report working in an agile environment, with adaptable colleagues who are open to change, compared to only 58% at a typical organization.

At Wegmans, in addition to the employee-manager relationship to support the needs of each employee, companywide channels are established to prioritize employee feedback and concerns. The “Ask Bob” program helps to transform employee ideas into action, where any employee can send a suggestion or comment to Bob Farr, senior vice president of store operations, and receive a personalized response from him. Farr responds to about 1,200 Ask Bob ideas a year. These exchanges with an executive leader embody Wegmans’s emphasis on sincere, direct connections between managers and employees.

“These companies do what they say they’re going to do; values aren’t just hanging on the walls. Wegmans has customers begging it to open stores in their areas. You only get that when you have employees who are passionate about the company.” — Sarah Lewis-Kulin, VP, Global Recognition, Great Place To Work

In addition, employee advocates at each Wegmans location act as champions of culture and support for employees.

“Since the role originated in 1986, it has evolved from a traditional HR staffing function to one of advocacy, support, and caring for our people,” says Riley. “Advocates provide confidential, exclusive, dedicated support, and many locations have two full-time advocates to support their people. They offer an objective point of view and provide a safe space for our people to seek guidance to find resources and development opportunities, resolve personal and professional issues, access benefits, and more.”

When employee performance challenges arise, Wegmans’s employee advocates advise and coach both employees and managers.

“Rather than reporting to a store manager or anyone in the employee’s chain of command, advocates report to a HR director, who in turn reports to our vice president of store operations HR,” says Riley. “This structure preserves impartiality and builds confidence with employees that advocates represent them fairly.”

Advocates also offer support when an employee faces personal challenges away from work, adds Riley. By building ongoing, one-to-one relationships with employees at their stores, advocates become a trusted ally to help their people navigate uncertainty and connect employees with Wegmans’s many available programs and resources.

When organizations invest in becoming great places to work for all, the benefits ripple out, from employees to the broader community and society. Through their commitments to employees’ growth, well-being, and sense of purpose, retailers like Wegmans are setting the standard for a thriving work environment that can positively impact the lives of everyone involved. In a rapidly changing retail landscape, this focus on employee experience sets these companies apart in their industries while also providing valuable insights into the crucial role employee well-being plays in overall business success.

“These companies do what they say they’re going to do; values aren’t just hanging on the walls,” says Lewis-Kulin. “Wegmans has customers begging it to open stores in their areas. You only get that when you have employees who are passionate about the company.”

This article was created in partnership with FORTUNE Brand Studio.

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Great Place To Work

Great Place To Work® is the global authority on workplace culture. Our mission is to help every place become a great place to work for all. We give leaders and organizations the recognition and tools to create a consistently and overwhelmingly positive employee experience, fostering cultures that are proven to drive business, improve lives, and better society. Our recognition is the most coveted and respected in the world for elevating employer brands to attract the right people. Our proprietary methodology and platform enables organizations to truly capture, analyze, and understand the experience of all employees. Our groundbreaking research empowers organizations to build cultures that retain talent and unlock the potential of every employee. Our coaches, content, and community connect the boldest leaders, ideas, and innovations in employee experience. Since 1992, our Certification™, Best Workplaces™ Lists, and global benchmarks have become the industry standard, built on data from more than 100 million employees in 150 countries around the world.

Wegmans Food Markets, Inc.

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https://www.wegmans.com

We are a values-based family company on a mission to help people live healthier better lives through exceptional food. Customers love our caring, knowledgeable people who provide incredible service making all feel welcome across 110 supermarkets. Vibrant, high-volume stores (100,000+ sq.ft.) throughout the Northeast enchant shoppers with a European market feel and sensory experience from smelling artisan breads baking, selecting varieties of colorful, fresh produce sourced near our stores, or getting a taste of our own line of cave-ripened cheeses. Freshly prepared, delicious Restaurant Foods in a friendly atmosphere make Wegmans a destination for all meals or for online delivery!

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This is not me

Retail reinvention: same store, new format

April 28, 2022.

Retailers are doubling down on brick-and-mortar strategies that optimize space, address hyper-local needs, and provide immersive brand-building experiences.

As brick-and-mortar continues its post-pandemic climb, U.S. retailers are increasingly experimenting with store formats, replacing a one-size-fits-all strategy with customized store sizes that meet the evolving needs and expectations of consumers and the communities where they live. In today’s competitive market, staying relevant by innovating is critical to retailers’ success.

From small format stores that cater to a specific demographic to massive flagship stores that offer immersive brand-building experiences, and from big box stores that double as fulfillment centers to pop-up stores that offer tailored IRL activations, brick-and-mortar has evolved, expanded, and in turn, become a more efficient vehicle to drive growth.

Target Corp. recently announced plans to open 30 new mid-size and small-format stores, to reach new markets in suburban locations and densely populated urban areas like Times Square in New York. The retailer has already found success with its small-format college campus stores across the country, which offer a curated selection of school supplies, tech accessories, dorm room essentials, casual apparel, and grab-and-go food items. Similarly, Target’s new small-format stores will be stocked with goods tailored to meet the hyper-local needs of the demographics they serve — from young families to urban singles to tourists.

Meanwhile, Wisconsin-based Kohl’s said it plans to open 100 new smaller-format stores (about half the size of its typical stores) over the next four years. “We’re evolving our position from a department store to a more focused lifestyle concept centered around the active and casual lifestyle,” said Kohl’s CEO Michelle Gass in a recent presentation to investors.

Even Ikea is testing out the trend. In 2020, the Swedish furniture retailer announced plans to open 50 new smaller-format stores in urban areas around the world, including New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. “This is how we have accelerated in our ambition to become more accessible,” Ikea Chief Executive of Brand Jon Abrahamsson Ring told the Financial Times . “It’s never going to be that we go back to only opening big stores. It will be a mix of formats, including smaller stores closer to where people live or work or move.” For Kohl’s and other traditional big box retailers, small-format stores allow them to enter a market that could not support a full-size store. A smaller footprint also means they can curate the shopping experience based on local consumer preferences and needs.

“It’s never going to be that we go back to only opening big stores. It will be a mix of formats, including smaller stores closer to where people live or work or move.”

Jon Abrahamsson Ring, Ikea Chief Executive of Brand

As retailers experiment with optimization and localization, there’s still a place for large format stores. At a time when supply chain issues are slowing deliveries, retailers with a big box presence are using the space to warehouse goods and offer customers same-day fulfillment and easy returns. Target’s mega “sortation centers” organize digital orders packed by local stores to enable next-day shipping in dense markets. The company, which opened its first pilot sortation center in Minneapolis in 2020, plans to add 10 new sortation centers and another four new distribution centers this year.

“Years of investment in our team and business have driven our sales beyond $100 billion and positioned Target to meet the needs of our guests no matter how they choose to shop,” said Target CFO Michael Fiddelke in a recent press release . “We see substantial opportunities to build on our core capabilities to drive deeper guest engagement and long-term growth.

Addressing growing consumer interest in experiential concepts, many luxury retailers are investing in massive flagship stores that offer curated, standout environments where shoppers can engage with brands in real life. Nowhere is that truer than at RH, which turned furniture shopping into a luxury experience with its integrated home furnishings/hospitality galleries. Last year, the brand opened RH Oak Brook — a stunning, three-level gallery featuring a glass-enclosed rooftop restaurant and wine bar and one of 13 RH design galleries across the country with hospitality offerings.

But RH is not an anomaly: pandemic isolation has driven demand for memorable, immersive brick-and-mortar experiences. Dick’s Sporting Goods — an early adopter of experiential retail — debuted a new interactive store concept last year. Dick’s House of Sport, currently located in Rochester, New York and Knoxville, Tennessee, features a running track, rock-climbing wall, batting cage, putting green, and more.

Even e-commerce stores are getting in on the brick-and-mortar act. Online clothing retailer Revolve recently opened its first retail store, Revolve Social Club, in Los Angeles, which features a lounge, gym, wellness center, bar, and café that offers free coffee and pastries with clothing purchases. And cult-favorite beauty brand Glossier opened a permanent store in Miami Design District this year featuring an “underwater” selfie room and a tropical-meets-Art Deco vibe.

Meanwhile, as demand for personal luxury goods continues to rise, luxury brands are accelerating their flagship store openings. Versace unveiled a new store in New York’s SoHo neighborhood last year; Gucci debuted several new stores, including one at Oakbrook Center; Balenciaga opened at Tysons Galleria in February and is set to open one of its largest flagship stores in Toronto later this year; and Saint Laurent is opening a mega flagship store on Avenue Champs-Élysées in Paris in 2023.

For retailers that want to test new markets, gauge customer interest in a new line or product, or try out a new experiential concept, pop-up stores are an ideal way to do it. The hyper-customized, data-rich environment of a pop-up allows retailers to capture the attention of consumers while using technology to connect with them directly and even transact sales. QR codes on products allow customers to make purchases using their mobile devices and have the items delivered the next day for a true omnichannel experience.

The pop-up format also enables brands to create seasonal venues and unique themed installations like Dior’s Italian Riviera-themed Dioriviera pop-up; Prada’s traveling pop-up, Prada Outdoor (garden, coast, mountain, snow); Dolce & Gabbana Hamptons, a customized airstream reminiscent of the Sicilian Cart; and Louis Vuitton’s vibrant men’s residency pop-up in SoHo.

Whether small or large, temporary pop-up or permanent flagship, curated store formats are a critical way for retailers to speak to customers and deliver products, services, and experiences tailored to their needs. In this new era of brick-and-mortar, the store itself has become the message.

Interested in taking your brick-and-mortar concept to the next level? Connect with us!

Customer Case Study: Visma Spcs Improves Customer Experience with Semantic Kernel

Sophia Lagerkrans-Pandey

Jimmy stridh.

March 25th, 2024 0 1

Today we will dive into a customer case study. Thanks to the Visma team on their amazing partnership!

Visma Spcs, is a leading software company providing modern services to simplify accounting, HR, payroll, and more, and they’ve successfully integrated AI and Semantic Kernel to revolutionize their customer experience. With hundreds of thousands of customers across the Nordic region, Visma Spcs recognized the need to empower entrepreneurs and support accountants in achieving their goals.

“Improving customer experience is key,” affirms Roger Andersson, Head of Technology. “AI, powered by Semantic Kernel, helps us address these challenges.”

Understanding Customer Needs

“ We at Visma Spcs empower entrepreneurs to pursue their dreams and enable accountants to support their clients in their pursuit of achieving their goals. For us, it boils down to building the right things in the right way, and thereby creating value for our users. This is where AI enters the equation ” , says Product Experience Manager Johan Björnegård.

After conducting customer research, we have identified the following common needs among our customers:

• Finding the right information quickly and easily
• Asking questions and getting accurate answers
• Locating references to the correct documents and information

Addressing Customer Needs with AI

We at Visma Spcs wanted to improve the customer experience on the above points, says developer Jimmy Stridh. What we have done so far is to integrate AI and Semantic Kernel in using Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) to provide insightful answers over our existing product documentation. For this we’ve also utilized Azure OpenAI with GPT-4, and Azure AI Search. This gives us powerful tools to build on the existing RAG solution, as well as a clear path forward to where we’d like to take the user experience.

On Semantic Kernel

We chose Semantic Kernel as a solution as we are an organization that primarily uses .NET in our tech stack, and this provides smooth adoption throughout the company. We especially appreciated the following features:

• The extensive support and development around orchestration, agents and automation. We are deeply integrating our generative AI solutions in our products which means this is a vital area where we also see Microsoft and Semantic Kernel leading the way for developers.
• Abstraction and flexibility over AI model. As the landscape develops and specialized models appear along with new better foundation models, we have the option to select the correct model for every use-case.
• The proven track-record of Microsoft in developing copilots show their dependability as a partner in the ongoing evolution of this field.

Additionally, we appreciate the efforts being made on the framework, and the development of the agents moving forward – something that has become increasingly important as we have started new projects in the area.

Delivering in Real-Time Customer Interactions

To date, the AI-improved solution, called the AI Assistant , has been rolled out to hundreds of thousands of customers and the feedback and metrics has so far been very positive.

We’ve measured the following metrics to assess the performance of the AI solution:

• Usage rate: Several percent of daily active users interact with the chat daily, and we see a lot of recurring users.
• Correctness: Close to 90% of chat requests are resulting in a good response for the end-user, and trending upwards. Like many, we have seen the importance of having well-documented product information as a prerequisite for good performance.
• Latency to answer: Steady at a couple of seconds to first response. We observe that the ebb and flow of latency throughout the day, heavily depends on worldwide API usage more than anything.

The above metrics made us confident that we were on the right track and that the solution was working as expected.

What does the Customer Say

The feedback from customers has been overwhelmingly positive. They appreciate the convenience of receiving support outside of regular office hours, with around 40% of messages coming in when human support is unavailable. This 24/7 availability has been a significant benefit, allowing customers to get assistance whenever they need it most.

Furthermore, the AI Assistant has proven to be a valuable resource for the customer success team, particularly for new team members. When faced with customer inquiries in areas they are still learning about, the AI Assistant provides guidance and support, helping them navigate these challenges more effectively.

Semantic Kernel Team and their thoughts on the solution from Visma Spcs

“I was very impressed with the solution that Visma has implemented. It’s great to see how they have been able to use Semantic Kernel to improve the customer experience. It’s positive to see they’ve leveraged Semantic Kernel and the power of AI in their AI Assistant with hundreds of thousands of customers with 90% accuracy” says Matthew Bolanos.

What’s Next

After the initial success and rollout, we’re looking to improve the solution even further. We’re looking to do the following in the next phase:

• Create tight integrations into our applications, utilizing plugins and agents to enable action-taking from the AI Assistant.
• Employ the planner and agents concepts of Semantic Kernel to give a new dimension of the AI Assistant giving our services a new interface for the customer to interact with.
• Rollout to our full product suite containing dozens of products.

Choosing Semantic Kernel to enhance our customer experience has proven to be a great decision, providing significant benefits such as abstraction over large language models (LLMs), which allows us to select the most appropriate model for the task at hand. Additionally, its powerful orchestration capabilities have just begun to unveil their potential, suggesting that their importance will only grow as we continue to explore and utilize these features more extensively.

We’ve also appreciated being able to share our solution and experiences with PM Matthew Bolanos and the Semantic Kernel team as the rapid progress in the development of Semantic Kernel continues.

• Learn more about Visma Spcs and their offers here:  Visma Spcs 
• Learn more about Semantic Kernel: GitHub Microsoft Semantic Kernel, Semantic Kernel documentation | Microsoft Learn

Please reach out if you have any questions or feedback through our Semantic Kernel GitHub Discussion Channel . We look forward to hearing from you! We would also love your support, if you’ve enjoyed using Semantic Kernel, give us a star on GitHub .

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The great myth about dollar stores

• Dollar stores have long been regarded as resilient in both good and bad economies.
• But recent earnings for Dollar General and Dollar Tree show both companies have hit rough patches.
• Analysts and employees say inflation and chaotic, understaffed stores are taking their toll.

Back in May 2020, when the pandemic was just beginning, Dollar General CEO Todd Vasos summed up the resilience of his chain.

"We do very good in good times, and we do fabulous in bad times," Vasos said on an earnings call. The numbers backed it up: Despite COVID, Dollar General was doing better than ever and had just smashed expectations for its first quarter.

But four years later, Dollar General — and Dollar Tree, its main rival — are seeing a slowdown.

Dollar General's same-store sales for 2023 rose just 0.2%, a much slower clip than the 4.3% it posted for 2022, according to earnings released in March.

And rival Dollar Tree is closing 1,000 Family Dollar stores after spending nearly a decade trying to integrate the chain into its business.

Some of the troubles facing dollar stores are partly due to the economy and many shoppers having to cope with higher prices — which seems ironic, given their reputation for low prices for goods like bathroom cleaner and fake eyelashes . But there are also self-inflicted issues that both of the major chains are dealing with.

Shoppers are struggling to afford food — meaning less spending on other items.

Thanks to historically high inflation over the past few years, dollar stores have attracted wealthier customers. But that hasn't been enough to offset less spending by core shoppers: Poorer Americans, who can't afford to buy from many other stores.

Many of those customers have cut back their spending on non-essentials, such as new clothes and home decor, to shore up their budgets for food and personal care items, Dollar General and Dollar Tree indicated in recent earnings reports. Some dollar store shoppers are also relying more on credit cards and borrowing from friends to cover their expenses.

Dollar stores are also among the retailers hit by the expiration of enhanced food stamp benefits a year ago. Bonus government aid early in the pandemic had benefited stores as many shoppers found themselves with extra spending money.

Related stories

And shoppers are likely to keep focusing on groceries and other consumables throughout 2024, analysts at Bank of America led by Robert Ohmes wrote last month. Since selling food tends to be the least profitable part of a retailer's business, that'll make it harder for Dollar General to turn a profit, the analysts wrote.

Messy stores and understaffing have caught up to Dollar General and Dollar Tree.

The dollar store brands' problems don't just have to do with the economy. It's also a store experience issue.

Many lack the staffing that they once had. Stores used to have multiple employees on duty at a time, making it possible to ring up customers and unload the weekly inventory shipment simultaneously.

One Dollar Tree store manager in Minnesota who worked for the company for a decade-and-a-half until 2022 said that his bosses allocated his store an average of 270 worker hours each week for most of his tenure.

Around 2022, that number fell as low as 170 as Dollar Tree looked for ways to cut costs, the manager said. That often led to a single employee trying to juggle all the duties of running a store at once. And when the store ran out of hours, or no one was available to work, the manager would end up running the store himself. As salaried employees, Dollar Tree managers don't get paid for overtime or picking up shifts that are supposed to go to hourly employees.

"I always referred to myself as a 'glorified cashier' making salary because I spent so much time there," the manager said. "I would go in at 5 a.m. four days a week." A Dollar Tree spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

Employees at Dollar General have also indicated that similar cuts to hours have happened in recent years.

The result: Many dollar stores have more items than they can sell. Often, the products block aisles and create fire hazards. Overworked employees, meanwhile, have been turning in their badges and finding other work.

Now, the results of messy and understaffed stores have hit the companies' bottom lines. Shrink, a retail industry term for product that goes missing or has to be written off, has soared at both dollar store chains lately, for example. While theft is part of the reason, the companies have also had to heavily discount or dispose of excess inventory.

In response, the companies — especially Dollar General — are making changes. Dollar General executives have outlined plans over the past few months, including removing self-checkout from 300 stores to reduce shoplifting, cutting the number of products in stores, and deploying "smart teams" to stores that need extra help unpacking inventory.

Selling fewer items in each store and selling more store-branded products could improve Dollar General's profit margin, according to BofA's analysts. But they added that they still "see retail labor and other store-level costs as continued risks."

It's not the end of the dollar store, though. Despite their problems, both Dollar General and Dollar Tree are likely to do well in the long run, given their focus on discount groceries and other goods, UBS analysts led by Michael Lasser wrote in March.

Both chains "are making progress to restore the consistent earnings growth that they have produced in the past," the analysts wrote.

Do you work at Dollar General, Dollar Tree, or Family Dollar and have a story idea to share? Reach out to this reporter at [email protected]

Watch: Why the retail industry has its eye on Gen Z

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National News | Massive cranes on ‘standby’ at Baltimore…

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National news | massive cranes on ‘standby’ at baltimore bridge collapse have storied pasts.

Less than a week after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed into the Patapsco River after being struck by a cargo ship , a 200-ton chunk of the span was lifted away as part of the cleanup operation. That first crane operation on Saturday, which Gov. Wes Moore said took 10 hours in total, was a “relatively small lift.”

“We’re talking about something that is almost the size of the Statue of Liberty,” Moore said in a Monday news conference. “The scale of this project, to be clear — it is enormous. And even the small lifts are huge.”

The recovery effort has brought to Baltimore multiple massive cranes — with storied pasts.

Late Thursday night, the Chesapeake 1000 crane barge arrived at the site of the Key Bridge collapse, according to the Joint Information Center of the Unified Command. It was joined by two others contracted through Naval Sea Systems Command , all to be put to use removing “submerged portions of the Francis Scott Key Bridge,” according to a Navy news release.

As of Tuesday evening, nine cranes were on site with four more scheduled to arrive to assist with the Key Bridge collapse response, a Joint Information Center spokesperson said.

The Chesapeake 1000, dating back to the early 1970s and now owned by Donjon Marine Co., is named for its ability to  lift 1,000 tons with a boom over 230 feet long . Originally, it was called the Sun 800, notable for playing a role in a CIA mission called “Project Azorian,” said Gene Schorsch, who oversaw the creation of the Sun 800 at Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. , where he held many titles over the years.

The Sun 800, at the time the “largest capacity … barge crane on the East Coast,” according to a declassified CIA article , was created to work on the Hughes Glomar Explorer. That ship was “ostensibly built and owned by billionaire Howard Hughes,” according to the CIA, but was actually tasked during the Cold War with recovering a wrecked Soviet submarine in the Pacific Ocean.

“It’s absolutely appropriate” that the Chesapeake 1000 is at the site of the Key Bridge collapse now, said Schorsch, 95.

The Chesapeake 1000 has not yet been used at the site of the Key Bridge collapse, but is being kept “on standby for when we need to go to larger lifts,” said U.S. Navy Capt. Sal Suarez, the supervisor of salvage operations, during a news conference Tuesday afternoon.

The same goes for another noteworthy crane, Weeks 533, which was seen arriving to TradePoint Atlantic on Sunday. The barge-mounted crane is fully revolving and touted as the “largest of its kind on the East Coast.”

In 2009, the 500-ton capacity crane lifted the downed U.S. Airways Flight 1549 from the Hudson River in New York. A few years later, also in New York, it gave the Enterprise space shuttle a ride onto the USS Intrepid , a retired aircraft carrier-turned-museum . It’s also carried the Concorde, a supersonic jet, on more than one occasion, including just last year .

The “Big Bitch,” as Wired reported Weeks 533 has been called , teamed up with Chesapeake 1000 in 2003, for work on the capsized Stellamare cargo ship at the Port of Albany. Now, they’re both poised to see action yet again in Baltimore.

Baltimore Sun reporter Dan Belson contributed to this article.

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News | Maryland Transportation Authority has filed insurance claim for Baltimore bridge collapse

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Weather | ‘Alarming’ ocean temperatures suggest a busy hurricane season with nearly 2 dozen named storms, experts warn

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