Technology Archives

How to Make the Shopping Trip Easier, To All Generations

November 24, 2023September 5, 2023 by WslAdmin

Shopping Easier for All Generations blog banner featuring Boomer and Gen Z checkout preferences

Yes, price is important to consumers today, but if shoppers don’t find a store that is easy to shop, they might not go in. What defines easy shopping in the store, however, depends on the age of the shopper. For our latest How America Shops® research, we asked consumers what features make shopping easier, and ... Read more

How America Shops® Explores: 4 Ways to Lead Shoppers to Joy

November 24, 2023May 5, 2023 by WslAdmin

Blog banner for 4 Ways to Lead Shoppers to Joy

The troubles of the past three years have been overwhelming, and consumers are ready to get some joy back into their lives. Joy happens in everyday experiences, including shopping, feeding the family, decorating and maintaining the home. Joy is essential to consumer feelings, confidence and loyalty. To learn the role of retail and brands, we ... Read more

Gen Alpha’s Influence Is Taking Hold at Retail

May 10, 2023April 20, 2023 by WslAdmin

Gen Alpha blog banner featuring three Gen Alpha teens and their interests

WSL has long advised that to know the shopper, you have to follow the shopper. And today, many of those shoppers are following someone in very small shoes. Gen Alpha, the oldest of whom are just approaching 14, have outsized influence as consumers. These brands and retailers are responding, with formats just for the Gen ... Read more

Pet Wellness and Loyalty: A Retail Safari® Exclusive

November 24, 2023April 7, 2023 by WslAdmin

The pet category’s foray into wellness is burgeoning, despite rising prices. In fact, brand loyalty in this category outpaces most others. But this exploding category risks facing a challenge common in wellness: confusion due to too many choices and fragmented retail. We sent our Retail Safari® scouts to check out the new pet marketplace. Retailers, ... Read more

Consumer or Shopper: Here’s The Difference!

November 24, 2023March 20, 2023 by WslAdmin

Consumer vs Shopper blog banner featuring collage of consumers on the left and shoppers on the right

All shoppers are consumers, but not all consumers are shoppers. Are retailers and brands making the proper distinction? In exploring what distinguishes these two groups, we also unearth through market research just how much shopping, not consumption, has changed – and how retailers can keep up. Are You Treating Your Shoppers Like Consumers? There is ... Read more

The Infinite Store Inside a Small Format

March 1, 2023March 1, 2023 by WslAdmin

Blog banner featuring collage of storefronts and in-store of UGG, Kohl's, and Bloomies

For our latest Retail Safari® excursions, our scouts visited several new retail concepts that meet the consumer’s preference for a quick trip but with innovative merchandising and experiential perks. What each of these store formats has in common: a small footprint where consumers can shop fast. Here’s what they get right about consumer expectations. Retail ... Read more

Amazon Style’s Phygital Store: What It Means Beyond Apparel

November 24, 2023September 14, 2022 by WslAdmin

Will Amazon’s first phygital clothing store, Amazon Style, encourage a shakeup in other CPG categories? We know from covering retail for decades that what starts in one category extends to other, unexpected areas, so we sent our retail scout to explore. Here’s what she learned. Amazon Is Ready to Restyle Retail, Again The premier of ... Read more

Dollar Chains are Setting New Standards in Happy Shopping

November 24, 2023August 25, 2022 by WslAdmin

What can shoppers get for $1 to $5? An experience that’s happy, attractive and digital. These are the words that describe today’s dollar chains, and their creative value-priced sister chains. Our latest Retail Safari® explores several of the latest efforts by this burgeoning sector, from Dollar General to Five Below. It’s Not About the Dollars, ... Read more

Meet the Struggling Shopper – It’s Not Who You Expect

November 24, 2023June 20, 2022 by WslAdmin

Collage of young people struggling while online shopping banner

Nearly two-fifths of adult shoppers are having trouble buying the basics while covering their bills, our latest shopper research shows. This may be expected, due to a price crisis, but what we didn’t expect was the broad scope of their demographics. Retailers and brands, meet what may be the greatest challenge of 2022: The Struggling ... Read more

Improve the Store Experience Category by Category WSL Has an Index to Help!

February 7, 2023June 13, 2022 by WslAdmin

Hand placing stars down to represent categories banner

WSL recently asked thousands of shoppers what they value most in a brick-store shopping trip and what makes a good shopping experience. The answers, we learned, vary by category. So we measured how well various retailers deliver what shoppers want, by category, and reported the results in our Retailer Performance Index. Here’s how we do ... Read more

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