Madeline Cyr

Forrester’s latest Digital Go-To-Market Review evaluates 27 brands in the apparel and footwear sector to see how well they are positioned to thrive independently. Read on to see how these brands fared across direct-to-consumer strength, brand visibility online, distribution and e-control, organic consumer enthusiasm, and product innovation.

Retail recovery is proceeding at different rates in various parts of the US. See how our US retail recovery heat map reflects factors such as economic sentiment, change in COVID-19 cases, vaccine rates, and retail foot traffic.

In Q1 2021, we surveyed 140 brand manufacturer decision makers who are familiar with their company’s approach to digital sales. Brand manufacturers can use the results of Forrester’s Digital State of Brand Manufacturers Study to benchmark their performance and internally make the case for investments in digital sales strategies.

Artificial intelligence and analytics are increasingly critical to retailers’ ability to win, serve, and retain their customers. But the landscape of technologies is vast and advancing rapidly, so it can be hard to understand which technologies are overhyped and which have real business value. Retail execs read about initiatives such as Amazon Go and Walmart […]

In the US, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that, between January 8 (the highest peak in the US) and May 12, the seven-day moving average of new cases decreased 85.8%. Vaccination rates are steadily increasing, and the CDC has relaxed mask guidance for vaccinated individuals. The US is finally entering a […]

It has been one year since we began estimating how the retail economies of 30 major US metropolitan areas were recovering from COVID-19. By aggregating numerous metrics (across retail sales, local economic indicators, and virus spread), our model predicts that these metropolitan areas will face differing levels of COVID-19 disruption. A lot has changed in […]

Every month, we estimate how the retail economies of 30 major US metropolitan areas are recovering from COVID-19. By aggregating numerous metrics (across retail sales, local economic indicators, and virus spread), our model predicts that these metropolitan areas will face differing levels of COVID-19 disruption. This month, we added a new variable to our retail […]

The pandemic has been a pivotal moment for the consumer packaged goods (CPG) category. Before the pandemic, most CPG brands lacked direct-to-consumer (DTC) buy-ability on their website. However, the pandemic spurred numerous CPG brands like Beyond Meat, Bimbo, Del Monte, and PepsiCo/Frito Lay to launch DTC websites. The latest update to our Digital Go-To-Market Review series […]

Since April 2020, we have estimated how the retail economies of 30 major US metropolitan areas are recovering from COVID-19. By aggregating 11 metrics (across retail sales, local economic indicators, and virus spread), our model predicts that these metropolitan areas will face differing levels of COVID-19 disruption. For these metrics, we looked at US metropolitan-, […]

Our latest update to our Digital Go-To-Market Review series for brands looks at the consumer electronics sector. Electronics store sales peaked in 2007, and since then, an ever-growing proportion of consumer electronics sales has moved online.* In 2020, 64% of US online adults said that they made a consumer electronics purchase online on a computer, […]

Over the last 10 months, we have estimated how the retail economies of 30 major US metropolitan areas are recovering from COVID-19. By aggregating 11 metrics (across retail sales, local economic indicators, and virus spread), our model predicts that these metropolitan areas will face differing levels of COVID-19 disruption. For these metrics, we looked at […]

Forrester’s Digital Go-To-Market Review evaluates brand manufacturers and how well they are positioned to thrive independently of online marketplaces and even traditional retailers. In our second edition of this study, we focused on the beauty goods sector, evaluating 34 brands on five elements for a total of 20 attributes. From this review, we rated seven […]

In a rapidly evolving retail environment, brand manufacturers that have traditionally sold through wholesale channels now need to think very differently about distribution. Some traditional wholesale partners are shrinking — meaning those (often long-standing) distribution partnerships simply can’t generate the sales and growth for brands that they did for decades. By contrast, online marketplaces are growing — and fast. Marketplaces promise access to vast swaths of new customers — but potentially also arm’s-length relationships with those customers and less control around placement, plus proximity to […]

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 […]

See how the retail economies of 30 major US metropolitan areas have fared in the wake of the pandemic, and learn what the near future may hold.

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.