How major mergers are changing your favorite private brands

by Bryan Pearson — President, LoyaltyOne

Bryan Pearson ponders what will happen to the Whole Foods brand now living under the ever expanding Amazon umbrella.

TGI Fridays focused on personal, genuine customer interaction

April 17, 2018

TGI Fridays is partnering with SessionM, a customer data and engagement platform, to enhance its omnichannel strategy and drive stronger connection with…

Walmart prepping hundreds of high-tech pickup towers

April 17, 2018

In the quest to provide consumers fast and easily product pick up, Walmart plans to expand its 'high-tech' pickup towers at stores. In the past year Walmart…

Why retail cashierless checkout, a.k.a. Amazon Go, faces more than a few challenges ahead

by Judy Mottl — Editor: RetailCustomerExperience.com & DigitalSignageToday.com, Connect Media

While Amazon preps to expand Amazon Go, its cashierless retail shopping strategy, Berkeley Research Group leader Keith Jelinek offers insight on what's ahead…

How to boost retail operational efficiency via process management

Mark Holenstein, COO at Signavio, maps out why having the best omnichannel strategy is not only important, but necessary when competing with other high-volume…

Survey: Consumers want Amazon-like store experience

April 16, 2018

Consumers, especially millennials, are increasingly expecting an "Amazon-like" experience when in a retail store environment and that means retailers need to…

Personalization, physical-digital integration dominating retail innovation

by Elliot Maras — Editor, Kiosk Marketplace & Vending Times

Recognizing the need for both physical stores and e-commerce, retailers seek solutions — including self-serve kiosks — to deliver more interactive customer…

5 ways AI can do the heavy lifting in the retail customer experience

Katrina Gosek, senior director, digital customer product strategy at Oracle, explains why success in the next era of retail won't come from adding the latest…

Macy expanding off-price outlet strategy

April 13, 2018

Macy's, in a bid to lure price-conscious consumers, plans to open 100 Backstage location across the nation this year.

Nordstrom launches men's store in Manhattan

April 12, 2018

History is being made this week as Nordstrom's launches its first-ever Manhattan, New York store.

Watch out Amazon Go, China's BingoBox is on the move

by Elliot Maras — Editor, Kiosk Marketplace & Vending Times

BingoBox, an unmanned c-store, already has 300 locations in China, and plans to expand internationally. The project has received significant venture funding.

A new purpose for in-store retail in 2018: customer delight

Justin Jones and Ashley Welch, co-founders of Somersault Innovation, explain the focus of in-store retail and why it's all about creating 'Cathy' moments -…

Boxed debuts membership program

April 11, 2018

Boxed customers wanting lower shipping fees and bigger price breaks are going to have to pay as the e-commerce grocery site is deploying an annual membership…

Kagan: E-commerce threat gives retail a choice - fight or die

by Jeff KAGAN — Wireless Analyst, Telecom Industry Analyst

Analyst and blogger Jeff Kagan believes retail must cannibalize itself or new competitors like Amazon Go and Whole Foods will eat them alive. There is no…

Walmart mulling PillPack delivery service acquisition, claim reports

April 9, 2018

In yet another move to expand way beyond typical retailing Walmart is reportedly mulling the acquisition of medication delivery player PillPack.

Apple hires on ex-Google AI chief

April 9, 2018

Google is down one artificial intelligence guru thanks to Apple.

If Kroger had a hammer: 7 ways an Ace deal would change the form of grocery

by Bryan Pearson — President, LoyaltyOne

Bryan Pearson maps out seven ways a mini-mall within a store retail strategy would change the shopper's path to purchase.

5 retail lessons learned from the upcoming lingerie wars

by Chris Petersen — Owner, IMS

As Chris Petersen sees it everything and every aspect of retail is being disrupted and reinvented.

Octopus extends merchant acceptance via NFC-enabled mPOS app

April 6, 2018

Octopus Cards Limited has launched a new feature to enhance the Octopus App for Business, enabling merchants to accept Octopus card payment through their NFC…

Mall of America embracing chatbot to boost retail customer experience

by Judy Mottl — Editor: RetailCustomerExperience.com & DigitalSignageToday.com, Connect Media

The Mall of America's limited chatbot experience led to a more robust deployment this past holiday season and is part of the mall's overall digital technology…