Amazon's Whole Foods Market acquisition points to a changing role for physical stores; millennials hold the key

by Elliot Maras — Editor, Kiosk Marketplace & Vending Times

Amazon's acquisition of Whole Foods Market is yet another sign – the biggest to date – that retail is being redefined by multiple shopping channels.

4 insights you can unlock by mapping the customer journey

By uncovering the path your customers follow when they engage with your brand, you'll gain four valuable insights that can help you build a stronger, more…

7 tips to combat the Amazon effect (hint: it's the hair of the dog that bit you)

Consumers overwhelmingly want more technology in brick-and-mortar stores. And with more consumers willing to show up and shop at stores that have it — beefing…

Kiosks help keep brick and mortar stores relevant as e-commerce expands

Interactive kiosks offer retailers a tool for allowing customers to join the e-commerce experience with in-store purchasing by allowing shop to shop for both…

Rolling out the robots: The next tech transformation

The main benefit of robots is often described as automating repetitive tasks. Robots are perfectly suited to such tasks, they can check over and over without…

Can any traditional retailer survive the "Battle of the Bots"?

by Chris Petersen — Owner, IMS

Chris H. Petersen says going up against Amazon is like taking a knife to a light saber battle. Why? Because the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.

How to craft a seamless omnichannel experience

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

Experts offer tips, advice and insight to help retailers develop an engaging and rewarding customer experience between online and offline.

How do you describe the CRM evolution? With these 4 c's

By John Oechsle, CEO, Swiftpage

What AI can teach you about your customers

When most businesses think of artificial intelligence, chances are they think about chatbots, logistics, or really any machine learning algorithm that improves…

Future of retail is robotic and not just in the supply chain

While augmenting human labor in the supply chain with robots enables increased productivity, this advancement is rendered ineffective when the back office acts…

Chatbot success 101: Why a single customer view is a must

The need for retailers to have a single customer view to ensure a consistent positive experience, across all the channels via which they interact with…

8-second race: How retailers can connect with fast-moving customers

the window of opportunity for retail marketers to know, reach, convert and engage their customers has dropped to just eight seconds. The key to reaching them…

Last mile: The amazing race to solve the delivery dilemma

by Chris Petersen — Owner, IMS

Omnichannel drives new expectations that every retailer must address.

Customer loyalty 101: How to avoid alienating today's shopper

Winning customer loyalty is a continuous and important objective for retailers, but it's not always an easy task. Unfortunately, alienating customers can be.

A new spin on loyalty

As loyalty programs have expanded to include more emotional benefits, they have seen the value associated with meeting a consumer's needs. Now companies are…

Kagan: New rules for success in retail

by Jeff KAGAN — Wireless Analyst, Telecom Industry Analyst

Retail will always be with us, but it will be different going forward. Now is the time to be experimenting and expanding your brand in the mind of your…

Hungry for more conversions? There's an app for that

With the inherent convenience of ordering favorite specialty items online, come new demands from consumers, namely: the expectation of finding their favorite…

Location data is leading a retail revival: Here's how

Location data answers much more than just "Are buyers visiting my store?" It answers questions like "Which locations and audience segments do competitor's…

5 key components to monetize your data

The explosion of information is clearly accelerating. Data is flooding companies and the problem is only getting worse. As the next big explosion heats up with…

Can the voice of the customer drive transformational change?

There's a general assumption in business today that change is good, but we can't launch into change for the sake of it. There needs to be a clear business…