Your Weekly Retail Rev Up Newsletter | 📉 CAC is Up. Win Rates Are Down. Here's What Top Sales Teams Are Doing

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The Rules of B2B Sales Have Changed. Have You?

Forecasts are wobbling. Reps are guessing. CAC is up, win rates are down.

In our latest State of Sales in 2025 report, we show how top teams are navigating the shift by aligning execution with real buyer behavior, not just logged activity.

See how Buyer Intelligence helps teams prioritize the right deals, spot risk earlier, and keep momentum where it matters.

Read the full report

📣LEADING VOICES 

INDUSTRY NEWS 🌐

Gamification and Loyalty Programs Drive Repeat Business for Online Retailers

Customer retention has become an essential pillar for eCommerce success, with platforms leveraging innovative strategies to secure loyalty and boost lifetime value. Gamification is at the forefront, integrating game-like experiences—such as points, badges, tiered rewards, and interactive challenges—into the shopping journey. Major brands like Starbucks, Sephora, and especially Temu have demonstrated that incorporating elements like countdown timers, instant-win games, and referral incentives not only fosters engagement but also drives repeat purchases through a sense of achievement and urgency.

Discount codes, often unlocked through participation in these gamified features, further enhance retention by offering real value without eroding profitability, owing to efficient business models. The broader adoption of these techniques underscores a shift toward dynamic, interactive platforms that align with evolving consumer expectations. Notably, studies indicate gamification can increase customer spending by 36%, highlighting its potency as a mainstay in eCommerce customer retention strategies.

Bedrock Analytics Transforms CPG Data Into Actionable Retail Insights And Faster Decisions

Bedrock Analytics sets a new standard for CPG brands striving to extract actionable insights from their scattered data. By leveraging AI and machine learning, Bedrock unifies information from syndicated and retail sources—including eCommerce—into a clear, intuitive interface. This streamlining not only accelerates the transition from confusion to clarity but also empowers teams to develop data-backed sales narratives that resonate with retail buyers and internal stakeholders.

Key features like dynamic dashboards, gap analysis, sales decomposition, and real-time reporting position Bedrock as a formidable tool for accelerating sales enablement and informed decision-making. The platform’s user-friendly approach reduces manual labor and shortens the learning curve, ensuring that teams can capitalize on market opportunities with speed and precision. In today’s data-driven retail environment, Bedrock provides a critical competitive edge.

Retailers Struggle to Meet Customer Demands With Current In-Store Technology

Retailers are facing a widening gap between in-store technology capabilities and evolving consumer expectations. According to a new survey of retail leaders, 65% believe their current in-store systems fall short of supporting the modern shopping experiences that today's customers demand, particularly in areas like point-of-sale, with a third saying outdated PoS technology actively hinders progress. While 85% still view stores as the primary growth driver, most admit they cannot deliver the rich, seamless experiences shoppers now want—citing rapid tech advancements and high investment costs as persistent obstacles.

However, confidence in emerging solutions is growing. A majority of retailers are investing in mobile devices and planning upgrades to assisted selling and “endless aisle” technologies in the near future, showing momentum toward bridging the tech gap. With challenges from hyper-informed consumers, online competitors, and direct-to-consumer models mounting, the industry is at a crossroads; leaders recognize the need for strategic tech adoption to enhance differentiation, empower associates, and meet rising expectations. The landscape is rapidly evolving, making 2025 a pivotal year for purposeful innovation.

Video Is Not a Guaranteed Landing Page Conversion Booster

Relying on outdated statistics to justify video on landing pages is a mistake; Unbounce’s extensive analysis reveals that video inclusion does not reliably boost conversions and may even lower them across various industries, channels, and devices. Marketers must approach video as a strategic tool rather than a default solution—embedding video only when it suits the audience’s preferences, supports the conversion goal, and integrates harmoniously with core messaging without disrupting user experience.

Key drivers of landing page success remain clear messaging, compelling CTAs, fast load speeds, mobile optimization, and audience-specific content. The most effective strategy centers on testing, iteration, and data-driven decisions. Video can enhance performance, but it is no substitute for foundational best practices; marketers achieve superior conversions by focusing on precision, intentionally layered content, and optimizing based on real user behavior, not assumptions.

Target Sees Faster Checkouts and Higher Satisfaction With Express Self-Checkout

Target’s implementation of Express Self-Checkout, limiting transactions to ten items or fewer, has yielded measurable operational gains. Transaction times across both self-checkout and staffed lanes decreased by nearly 8%, with net promoter scores for wait times and staff interactions rising five and three points, respectively. By investing in staff training and promoting fully staffed registers for complex purchases, Target demonstrates a strategic approach to customer experience optimization.

This initiative is not just about speed—it’s about aligning service design with evolving consumer expectations. Target’s emphasis on matching checkout options to customer needs, paired with expansion of same-day fulfillment services, represents a thoughtful blend of technology and human touch. As self-checkout innovation is set to feature prominently in industry awards, Target provides a practical model for integrating efficiency and service excellence in modern retail operations.

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