Harvard Business

MARCH 19, 2024

At most small and medium-sized e-commerce retailers, prices are typically set and updated in an ad hoc fashion without one clear owner. Many of these retailers would quickly admit that this isn’t an optimal strategy, and that they are likely leaving money on the table — and they’re often right.

Fashion 251

Fashion Comparison Retail Strategy 251

Harvard Business

NOVEMBER 16, 2018

Discounts and promotions are at an all-time high, often comprising the single-biggest cost within many retailers’ P&Ls. Yet despite these high stakes, and the growing adoption of sophisticated analytics, many retailers continue to take a broad-brush approach to running promotions that results in missed sales and profits.

Retail 127

Retail Apparel Sales Fashion 127

Harvard Business

OCTOBER 3, 2024

A/B testing by Instacart suggests that telling customers about stocking times can increase spending and decrease the proportion of items replaced or refunded.

Retail 215

Retail Operations Strategy Strategy 215

Harvard Business

MARCH 28, 2025

And how suppliers can maintain crucial relationships when pursuing new channels.

Retail 167

Retail Research Sales Marketing 167

Harvard Business

JUNE 7, 2024

Retailers might think that bigger discounts attract more customers. But new research suggests that’s not always true. Sometimes, a smaller discount that looks more precise — say 6.8% as compared to 7% — can make people think the deal won’t last long, and they’ll buy more.

Sales 239

Sales Research Retail Study 239

Harvard Business

DECEMBER 28, 2020

Covid will have a long-lasting impact on the industry.

Retail 172

Retail Industry Strategy Strategy 172

Harvard Business

OCTOBER 25, 2022

Sponsor content from EY-Parthenon.

Retail 172

Retail Strategy Strategy Strategy& 172

Harvard Business

JULY 31, 2024

How will grocery retailers service this new demand stream? During 2020-21 online grocery shopping soared from 3.4% to double digits as Covid-19 made customers reluctant to go into stores. Post Covid, online grocery shopping is still high, forecasted by Forrester (2021) to hit 10.4%

Retail 237

Retail Marketing Analysis Efficiency 237

Harvard Business

NOVEMBER 17, 2017

For decades, we’ve often thought of leadership profiles in unique buckets—two popular varieties were the “visionaries”, who embrace strategy and think about amazing things to do, and the “operators”, who get stuff done. The Gap Between Strategy and Execution. Insight center.

Strategy 141

Strategy Strategy Strategy& How To 141

Harvard Business

NOVEMBER 28, 2023

Failed deliveries cost companies billions of dollars each year, while impacting customer satisfaction and damaging retailers’ reputations. The author shares findings from original research based on transaction and delivery data from an e-commerce retailer in a Latin American megacity and a delivery company in Singapore.

Research 238

Research Retail Interviews Data 238

Harvard Business

SEPTEMBER 25, 2024

Retailers can use discounting to generate sales without damaging a brand’s reputation.

Fashion 216

Fashion Retail Marketing Sales 216

Harvard Business

NOVEMBER 7, 2017

” When leaders “execute a strategy,” they usually mean the former — putting an idea into action. Execution is often where strategies go to die. So what determines whether execution brings life or death to your strategy? .” On the other, it means, “the carrying out of a death sentence.”

Strategy 134

Strategy Strategy Strategy& Metrics 134

Harvard Business

MARCH 21, 2017

It has also been acquiring e-commerce niche players, including Shoebuy and outdoor gear retailer Moosejaw, and digital technology companies, such as search experts Adchemy and cloud platform OneOps. Walmart does need to shore up its e-commerce capabilities, but its attempts to out-Amazon Amazon aren’t a winning strategy.

Strategy 132

Strategy Strategy Strategy& Retail 132

Effective Managers

JUNE 24, 2024

AI in Decision Making and Strategy AI’s capability to analyze large data sets offers unprecedented advantages in strategic decision-making. This foresight allows companies to adapt their strategies in advance, staying ahead of the curve.

Ethics 243

Ethics Efficiency Operations ROI 243

Harvard Business

SEPTEMBER 20, 2023

Are the big retail platforms ready for this new model? Managing the platform to generate sales, therefore, is about enabling the right content to reach the right viewers. Savvy content-based platforms are leveraging AI to this trend and carefully curate their influencer relationships.

Retail 246

Retail Trends Sales Productivity 246

Harvard Business

MARCH 28, 2024

He illustrates this with the example of traditional brick-and-mortar retail companies that chose a “timid transformation” — as well as those that effectively pivoted and avoided that fate. Many brands that moved cautiously have dramatically increased their risk of irrelevance or set themselves on a path to extinction.

Retail 253

Retail Culture Industry Examples 253

Harvard Business

MAY 17, 2017

But that was the outcome, not the strategy. For example, most retailers are merchants using technology. Traditional retailers obsess over incremental metrics like same-store sales that are tied to business goals. Bethune and the other airline leaders thought that the Southwest model was about taking out costs.

Airlines 134

Airlines Strategy Strategy Strategy& 134

Tom Spencer

NOVEMBER 3, 2023

For instance, when the retail giant, Walmart, faced stalling sales due to stiff competition from e-commerce platforms, it was challenging to formulate a roadmap into the future. In the ever-evolving landscape of business, enterprises face the challenge of charting a clear path towards success and sustainable growth.

Enterprise 88

Enterprise Strategy Strategy Strategy& 88

Harvard Business

OCTOBER 18, 2022

Should the online pet products retailer take its e-commerce fulfillment in house, despite the risks?

Retail 172

Retail Productivity Organizational Development Development 172

Harvard Business

OCTOBER 28, 2021

A study of 2 million transactions at one retailer shows how companies often chase the wrong customers.

Retail 172

Retail How To Study Company 172

Harvard Business

SEPTEMBER 6, 2022

Can Denver’s The Tattered Cover find a way to compete successfully with online and big box retailers?

Retail 172

Retail Marketing Strategy Strategy 172

Harvard Business

SEPTEMBER 26, 2022

Inside the DEI journey of a Black-owned business, Uncle Nearest, which has become the fastest-growing whiskey brand in the United States.

Strategy 196

Strategy Strategy Strategy& Retail 196

Harvard Business

NOVEMBER 7, 2022

The company realized that controlling its future meant controlling its supply chain.

Strategy 172

Strategy Strategy Strategy& Company 172

Harvard Business

DECEMBER 14, 2018

We frequently find that executive teams understand the potential of a reinvented distribution strategy; however, they are unclear on how to proceed. Here are three strategies for developing digital distribution approaches that minimize risk: Embrace Stealth. During this period, Home Depot was compelled to carry Cree products.

Strategy 128

Strategy Strategy Strategy& Insurance 128

Chad Barr

DECEMBER 4, 2024

Retail : AI-powered inventory management reducing waste and optimizing stock levels. This will be a game-changing opportunity to elevate your strategies, streamline your operations, and propel your growth through innovative and creative AI tools and insights.

Tools 98

Tools Benchmarking Operations Healthcare 98

Harvard Business

DECEMBER 7, 2017

The holiday season, which is by far the most important time of year for retailers, highlights the increasingly intense battle between physical stores and online websites. Online retailers offer consumers time well saved. retail market at less than 10% as of the first quarter of 2017, online sales are growing at almost 10% per year.

Retail 133

Retail Sales Course Trends 133

Harvard Business

APRIL 5, 2021

Retail vs. digital isn’t an either/or.

Strategy 91

Strategy Strategy Strategy& Retail 91

Harvard Business

JUNE 21, 2022

Sponsor content from PAYPAL.

Retail 184

Retail Strategy Strategy Strategy& 184

Tom Spencer

MAY 17, 2024

Hundreds of articles have been written on strategy, each with an author that presents a unique perspective from years of paradigm-shaking experience. Some even “reinvent the wheel” by rejecting past concepts altogether and introducing an entirely new way of thinking about strategy.

Strategy 88

Strategy Strategy Strategy& How To 88

Harvard Business

JANUARY 3, 2017

Retailers such as ALDI and Walmart have used price to position themselves against traditional competitors in their markets, pinching margins all around. We found that retailers can get either more or less credit for their pricing than actual shelf prices would suggest. Price wars have broken out in consumer industries around the world.

Retail 132

Retail Survey Bain Comparison 132

Harvard Business

JUNE 19, 2017

The move raised the question faced first by booksellers, then the rest of retail, and now seemingly everyone: How can you compete with the retail giant? But is the only strategy in our winner-take-all era to get as big as possible, to aspire to eventually serve everyone, and to meet their every need? billion dollars.

Company 128

Company Retail Sports Meeting 128

Harvard Business

JUNE 6, 2018

Retail has been constantly reinventing itself, and participants race to keep up with what feels like a series of epic shifts in consumer preferences. Retailers and manufacturers are rushing out new products to keep pace with the leaders of fast fashion such as Zara, H&M, and Forever 21, which launch new fashions every week or so.

Apparel 132

Apparel Retail Fashion Sales 132

Harvard Business

SEPTEMBER 11, 2018

Ming Zeng, the chief strategy officer at Alibaba, talks about how the China-based e-commerce company was able to create the biggest online shopping site in the world. He credits Alibaba’s retail and distribution juggernaut to leveraging automation, algorithms, and networks to better serve customers. Download this podcast.

Retail 118

Retail Strategy Strategy& Strategy 118

Harvard Business

JUNE 5, 2018

Executives should be thinking about four different types of competition to maintain relevance in a changing environment, which originate from our work on competitiveness , strategy , and strategic change. Sponsored by Accenture Strategy. Interestingly, customers have varied preferences for retailers depending on the product category.

Retail 127

Retail Examples Accenture Productivity 127

Harvard Business

JULY 6, 2020

Your customers have changed. Have you?

Retail 91

Retail Strategy Strategy Strategy& 91

Harvard Business

JULY 11, 2017

After repurposing many of the original structures and facades, the district is now evolving into a retail, restaurant, arts, and culture destination, a forum for local events, a flexible work space for businesses, and a residential area, all while evolving its manufacturing with 21 st century operations. Fortunately, there is time.

Development 174

Development Real Estate Retail Guidelines 174

Harvard Business

DECEMBER 15, 2022

Consumers’ tastes are changing fast, but one things remains: they value quality, value, and inspiration in their products.

Retail 113

Retail Productivity Operations Change Management 113