The post-mortem on Holiday ’18 is underway as preparations for the next season commence with this week’s National Retail Federation Big Show in New York. As two department stores, Kohl’s and Macy’s, revealed somewhat disappointing seasonal comparable store sales last week, several research firms issued reports on key trends that emerged during the two-month period when online sales surged more than 17 percent to an estimated $122 billion.

For one, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming increasingly important to retailers/vendors who want to drive revenues, profitability and keep their customers satisfied. Recent WBR Insights/Radial research found that 80 percent of retailers currently utilize AI in their supply chains with 43 percent of them suggesting it directly benefits the overall customer experience.

Rob Garf, VP of industry strategy and insights for Salesforce, says the rise of AI, where 16 percent of shoppers engaged with it for a product recommendation and the technology helped to drive Average Order Values (AOV) 14 percent higher during the season, was one of five key trends that emerged. Other key trends: shoppers turning to new forms of service such as text messaging and chat; Consumers increasingly relying on mobile devices to make purchases; social media, particularly Facebook and Instagram, driving online traffic; and marketers engaging consumers early in the season through new channels. For example, year-over-year, marketing text messages to consumers rose 159 percent on Thanksgiving with direct emails throughout the holiday period up 23 percent. By December 15, 80 percent of all digital revenue for the season had been captured by retailers.

Five-year old Convey, whose delivery experience management platform is used by Neiman Marcus, Jet.com and Eddie Bauer among others, focuses on What Shoppers Want and How to #SaveRetail in a recently released report that suggests nearly 74 percent of consumers find delivery important to the overall shopping experience. Radial comes to the same conclusion in its Winter 2018 report on Meeting Customer Demand for Frictionless Shopping.

“Consumers have high expectations for delivery of their orders. They expect them fast, and they have growing demands regarding the timing and location of their deliveries or pick-ups,” said Brad Taylor, VP of engineering and fulfillment for Radial.

The Convey report, in a survey of more than 1,500 shoppers, finds that more than 83 percent would be unlikely to shop a brand again after a poor experience, up from 62.4 percent in 2017. Additionally, the survey found that more than 51 percent of customers now expect a refund or discount on shipping costs if an order is delivered late.

A complete picture of Holiday 2018 retail won’t be clear for weeks after all fourth quarter results are reported by public companies, but the early results were bleak for some. ShopperTrak reported a 3 percent decline in customer traffic to physical stores between Nov. 18 and Dec. 29.

Discounters such as Target and Costco, less reliant on apparel, reported stronger results than their department store counterparts in Macy’s, Kohl’s and JC Penney. Shares in Macy’s, which lowered its full-year comparable store sales guidance to 2 percent as mid-December sales slowed, fell almost 18 percent on Jan. 10. Women’s shoes and fine jewelry offset slower results in other categories at the department store.

Meanwhile, Nov.-Dec. comps for Kohl’s rose 1.2 percent and JC Penney’s comps dipped 3.5 percent for the nine weeks ended Jan. 5. Both banners intend to close some stores this year with KSS also offering a voluntary retirement program for workers over 55. Meanwhile, Target, which realized a 29 percent increase in holiday online orders and overall sales growth of 5.7 percent for the two months ended Jan.5, is maintaining its Q4 comp guidance at approximately 5 percent.

Elsewhere,

• PGA Tour Superstore intends to open at least six doors in 2019, including its first two in New England (Peabody and Braintree) and first in Austin, TX. Other markets on tap: North Miami and Sarasota, FL and a second store in Denver. The specialty retailer, which currently operates 35 locations in 15 states, says it posted a 14 percent sales increase in 2018 on strong comp store sales and double-digit ecommerce growth.

The Snowsports Industries America is launching a climate advocacy platform called United by Winter to educate and provide tools to its members about climate change and its impacts on the snow industry.

The trade group, whose winter show takes place in Denver later this month, says the key to United by Winter’s development is the deconstruction of the “all or nothing” barriers that have prevented more widespread action in the past. The reality is, SIA says, addressing climate change is not a one size fits all approach and may require individual stakeholders to address the issue on their own terms.

The United by Winter platform will educate SIA participating members and provide a road map for them to engage via a range of opportunities. The trade organization intends to work with members on a case-by-case basis to better understand their goals and limitations.

Nick Sargent, president of the SIA, says the group’s goal is to get a majority of members involved on some level, ranging from light touch social media to heavier advocacy efforts.

More information about the United by Winter campaign is available at: snowsports.org/climate.

Dearfoams, the RG Barry Corp.-owned lifestyle footwear brand, taps 16-year Hanesbrands’ veteran Tricia Bouras as its new brand president. She is replacing Dearfoams’ current president Lee Smith. He is moving into a new role overseeing new development and innovation for the Pickering, OH company. Before HBI, Bouras worked in various marketing and visual merchandising capacities at a variety of firms, including VF Corp.

Meanwhile, Dakine Equipment LLC has appointed outdoor industry veteran David Orr as global general manager for the Hood River, OR company with responsibility for all aspects of product creation, sales and operations. He will report directly to Jonathan Hirshberg at Dakine parent, JR286 in Southern California. Orr’s 30-year career has included stops at Keen, Timberland and adidas among others.

Elsewhere,

• The Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) has added Rick Salomone, a former 21-year 3M executive who previously served as CEO of holographic science company SURYS, as managing director of sponsorship.

• YETI Holdings hired Melisa Goldie, the former global Chief Marketing Officer for Calvin Klein for more than 15 years, as its first CMO. She will be charged with uniting Yeti’s brand, creative, digital, ecommerce and customer experience teams.  

• USA Cycling names Rob DeMartini, president and CEO of New Balance Athletics for a dozen years, as president and CEO starting next month. His prior experience included two decades at P&G.  

• Hybrid Apparel names Bill Hutchison, most recently with AM Retail Group (Wilson’s Leather and G.H. Bass among others), as CEO.

• POC adds Brandan Murphy as North American marketing manager. Most recently, he served as a senior brand manager for Giro Sport Design.