Fiona Swerdlow

From a long-standing focus on sustainability by companies such as Patagonia and REI to newer initiatives such as Galeries Lafayette’s (Re)Store, IKEA designing for reuse, and Mars’ pledge for net-zero emissions (among many!), retailers and brands are on the path to actively supporting the circular economy. Overall, consumers’ consciousness about environmental, social, and governance (ESG) […]

The biggest retail trends of 2022 will involving tapping into the circular economy and using returns to retain customers. Learn more.

Over the coming weeks, we'll advise retailers on holiday prep topics from application security and bot management to consumer “confidence” measures, marketing tactics, and much more.

Retailers snagged four of the top 11 spots in the Forrester US CX Index 2021, more than any other single surveyed industry. Discover which retailers soared during a challenging year, and why.

Thanksgiving and Black Friday are upon us, so we asked consumers how they’re thinking about holiday shopping. Among US online consumers we surveyed in early November, we found that: Holiday offers are out there — even if not all consumers are ready. Close to half (45%) of US online adults we surveyed hadn’t started thinking […]

In the wake of the pandemic's deluge of disruption, retailers, brand manufacturers, and ecosystem players such as mall operators are entirely rethinking their businesses, heralding much change ahead. Read what we predict for retail in 2021.

It’s Amazon Prime Day and Big Billion Days week — a fitting time to kick off Holiday 2020 and Forrester’s annual holiday prep blog series. In the coming weeks, watch for Forrester analyst expert insights about everything from marketing, podcast advertising, and smart post-purchase notifications to US holiday forecast scenarios, “11/11” event analysis, thwarting “grinchy” […]

Q4 contributes a significant part of many retailers’ annual revenues and profits. As of mid-Q3, factors like high unemployment, a resurgence in COVID-19 cases, short-term and permanent store closures, and the expiration of the US Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation program are making it challenging for US retailers to plan for Q4. We’ve created a collection […]

Recently, Walmart quietly launched Walmart Insurance Services LLC. To better understand and triangulate what this move means for the future of healthcare, a team of Forrester analysts weighed in. Read their takes.

Forrester retail industry analysts provide insights on how privacy and data ethics regulations will affect retail marketers.

To understand how Forrester’s predictions will unfold in the retail industry in 2020, my colleague Madeline Cyr and I interviewed experts within Forrester for our “Applying 2020 Predictions To Retail” series. To understand the internet of things (IoT) predictions for 2020, we spoke with Forrester IoT expert Frank Gillett. Madeline Cyr: In 2020, you predict […]

To understand how Forrester’s predictions will unfold in the retail industry in 2020, my colleague Madeline Cyr and I interviewed experts within Forrester for our “Applying 2020 Predictions To Retail” series. To understand the employee experience (EX) predictions for the year, we spoke with Forrester Principal Analyst David Johnson, who serves CIO professionals. Madeline: You […]

Principal Analyst Jim Nail and Senior Analyst Tina Moffett weigh in on what's ahead for retail marketers and how retail companies can position themselves for success.

To understand how Forrester’s predictions will unfold in the retail industry in 2020, my colleague Madeline Cyr and I interviewed experts within Forrester for our “Applying 2020 Predictions To Retail” series. To understand the customer predictions for the year, I spoke with Anjali Lai, a Forrester expert on CMO-targeted consumer behavior and decision-making research

Direct-to-consumer competition and pressure to deliver ever more impactful experiences are reshaping the chief marketing role.

To understand how Forrester’s predictions will unfold in the retail industry in 2020, my colleague Madeline Cyr and I interviewed experts within Forrester for our “Applying 2020 Predictions To Retail” series. To understand the CIO predictions for the year, we spoke with Bobby Cameron, a Forrester expert on CIO-targeted business technology research. Madeline Cyr: You […]

This blog post is part of Forrester’s Holiday 2019 retail series. During the past few weeks, retailers have begun to release their Q4 earnings, which include holiday results for many of them. Holiday 2020 is still months away, but retailers know that it’s never too early to start planning for the biggest season of the year. […]

As social, political, and economic forces create murky conditions for retailers, they will explore new ways to differentiate themselves. VP, Research Director Fiona Swerdlow explains how.

Last Thursday, Nordstrom opened the doors to its highly anticipated NYC flagship location. Prior to last year, Nordstrom had a relatively small physical retail footprint in NYC, which is currently its largest market for online sales. Since then, Nordstrom has opened a handful of locations across Manhattan, including the brand-new flagship, the Nordstrom Men’s Store, […]