Editor, Essential Retail
Related to Caroline Baldwin
#NRF2020: Every retailer has to be a tech company, says Nordstrom
Nordstrom tells retailers to think tech-first, while acknowledging legacy systems make progress hard.
#NRf2020: Wayfair’s journey to 3D imagery
Wayfair’s use of 3D imagery has got so good, the head of the project can’t even tell the difference between studio photographs and 3D rendered images anymore.
Retail Ramble podcast: Brewing up B2B innovation
Essential Retail speaks with pub chain Fuller, Smith & Turner about its work with Magento to digitise its B2B business.
#NRF2020: Successful retailers will have a physical presence, says Starbucks
Starbuck CEO talks about using technology and data to enhance human connections while ensuring digital is not deployed at the expense of the in-store experience.
#NRF2020: How Target simplified its loyalty scheme and gained 50m users
Target describes its loyalty journey to combine multiple reward schemes into one simple app – Target Circle
John Lewis sees Christmas slump while M&S posts “improved” seasonal sales
John Lewis sales drop, while M&S marginally increase in the run up to Christmas 2019.
Matalan: Overcoming “mental barriers” to online shopping
Matalan eCommerce director describes how the retailer is using social proof messaging to encourage customers to overcome “mental barriers” while shopping online.
M&S upgrades staff scheduling for 80,000-strong workforce
Marks & Spencer is working with JDA and REPL to update its workforce management system, while integrating with Microsoft Teams.
New insulation material sees Gousto on track to reduce plastic by 50%
Gousto reveals it saved the equivalent of 238 million plastic straws from its meal kit boxes in 2019.
Kingfisher names Van Oosten as new digital lead
Former Tesco and Lego exec, Van Oosten, is joining Kingfisher as chief customer and digital officer.
Top design stories of 2019
Essential Retail rounds up the biggest retail design stories of the year.
The biggest eCommerce stories of 2019
Essential Retail lists the biggest stories to impact the eCommerce sector over the last 12 months.
The biggest interviews of 2019
Essential Retail collates its favourite interviews from the last year.
Retailers cautiously increase Christmas delivery times
Despite overestimating delivery times retailers are struggling to meet fulfilment promises.
Inside the store: Essential Retail’s top picks from 2019
Essential Retail shares it’s favourite behind the scenes store tours from 2019.
