Convenience for retail consumers will demand innovation in 2017

2016 was an interesting year in retail. Many established brands died a bricks and mortar death. While many thought this signaled the demise of the physical…

Online assortments: Long-tail, curated or castrated?

by Chris Petersen — Owner, IMS

Declaring you are omnichannel is the easy part. Achieving profitability will require balancing the tradeoffs of long-tail assortments vs. the ability to…

Branded mobile pay bodes big promise for retailers

by Judy Mottl — Editor, RetailCustomerExperience.com & DigitalSignageToday.com

Check out a webinar presentation featuring an IBM expert that offers up terrific insight and knowledge regarding the branded mobile payment solution now…

5 rules for a retail town square: What Apple, Whole Foods Can Teach Us

by Bryan Pearson — President, LoyaltyOne

Here's a potential formula for retail of the future: One Apple squared equals a community experience minus the traditional sales space.

Consider a 'beyond digital' approach to power omnichannel experience

A successfully digitally transformed organization delivers superior digital experience around products and services. That, in turn, creates value and…

With omnichannel the devil is in the data

Retailers (and their suppliers) must leverage the omnichannel network to stay relevant and harness these rich cross-channel opportunities.

Black Friday: Gimmick, gone or more relevant than ever?

by Judy Mottl — Editor, RetailCustomerExperience.com & DigitalSignageToday.com

Is Black Friday relevant, needed, necessary, or even a valuable marketing opportunity, or has it become a gimmick in the retailer's quest to grab consumers…

Wal-Mart's Cyber Week kicks off on Black Friday

November 21, 2016

Mega retailer Wal-Mart is not only boosting product inventory for the upcoming holiday sales season, from 8 million items to more than 23 million, it’s kicking…

Amazon installs pickup lockers in Central Pennsylvania

November 18, 2016

The Colonial Park Mall in Lower Paxton Township, Pennsylvania now offers Amazon Locker, providing consumers with somewhere other than their home or office to…

Cyber weekend: A global opportunity for retailers

Cyber weekend – this year spanning Thursday, Nov. 24 to Monday, Nov. 28 – has clearly now become a global opportunity for online retailers.

30 percent of consumers hate Black Friday

November 16, 2016

Black Friday apparently isn't so well loved by consumers despite historical big sales and price reductions on what has long been the busiest holiday season…

7 critical questions traditional retailer metrics can't answer

by Chris Petersen — Owner, IMS

Traditional metrics of sales and share are not enough for omnichannel.

Wal-Mart, Target launching Black Friday deals way before Black Friday

November 11, 2016

Consumers won’t have to wait until Thanksgiving and the day after, Black Friday, to jump on retail holiday deals.

1 of the greatest misses in omnichannel retailing

by Chris Petersen — Owner, IMS

If retailers want to engage, they need more than products, pics and price.

Best Buy offering free shipping this holiday season

November 4, 2016

2017 may be the year for supermarket digital experience

November 4, 2016

Next year may be the year online grocery activity hits its stride as supermarkets expand digital shopping options and more consumers are looking to buy more…

5 tips for choosing a mobile POS

Shift4 systems architect Jeremy Fried outlines five key criteria for selecting the best mPOS system.

Online retail a big focus for holiday shoppers, reveals survey

November 1, 2016

At least half of holiday shoppers are intending to buy gifts online this year, according to the annual Deloitte holiday survey on consumer spend and trends.

Survey: Digital strategy key for retailer success

October 31, 2016

A digital e-commerce strategy is more critical than ever for retailers, as a new survey reveals that consumers love shopping online — especially on Amazon …

3 ways retailers plan to protect customer data

by Bryan Pearson — President, LoyaltyOne

Requirements to install chip card technology in the U.S. has forced retailers to bone up on risk management in 2016, and they will continue to do so in 2017.