Cisco talks virtual reality and customer experience in retail

Cisco's Shaun Kirby, CTO, Rapid Prototyping, talks augmented reality and virtual reality and the tremendous consumer uptake.

When change is in store: How Starbucks, Stouffer's and others manage transformation

by Bryan Pearson — President, LoyaltyOne

The old chestnut goes that the only constant is change, but in retail this is not true. The other constant is the risk of failure, and knowing how and when to…

Umpqua Bank reimagines the customer experience

by Suzanne Cluckey — Owner, Suzanne Cluckey Communications

At last week's Bank Customer Experience Summit in Chicago, Brian Read explained how his bank integrates itself into the surrounding community.

Report: Brands not doing well at understanding the customer

September 29, 2016

Despite big gains in technology across IT, marketing and customer relationship teams, some of the biggest brands are not doing a good job of understanding the…

Consumers are big in love with convenience retailers

September 28, 2016

The top growing retail vertical is the convenience store, with in-store sales jumping 6 percent in 2015.

Halloween spending likely to be record-setting this year

September 26, 2016

A new report predicts shoppers will be shopping heavily for Halloween goodies and decorations, with spend expected to hit $8.4 billion.

Study: Consumers love rewards, incentives

September 21, 2016

A research effort on consumer wants and needs reveals consumers love a personalized incentive, which also increases brand loyalty. Consumers also love virtual…

5 ways omnichannel is destroying the auto "retail store"

by Chris Petersen — Owner, IMS

Consumer behavior is disrupting every facet and category of retail.

NY’s Bergdorf Goodman goes for a fashion fantasy experience

September 20, 2016

Just in time for the recent New York Fashion Week, high-end fashion retailer Bergdorf Goodman debuted a new customer experience complete with chandeliers and…

Consumers expect to get holiday shopping done before turkey day

September 19, 2016

Early discounts are one reason one third of consumers expect to finish holiday shopping before November, and many of those shoppers will hit Amazon for…

How artificial intelligence is transforming retail personalization

Retail personalization is certainly not a new concept, but there are many new advances in personalization helping retailers create deeper relationships with…

Retail sales falling in Brazil

September 15, 2016

Rising unemployment is being cited as the prime reason retail sales are taking a dive in Brazil.

5 major retail fails from P&G, Macy's, Wal-Mart (and what they teach us)

by Bryan Pearson — President, LoyaltyOne

Some of the most attractive investments in retail have proven disastrous. Fortunately, retailers have learned to rebuild from past mistakes.

Filling big shoes with square feet: What Dollar General-Wal-Mart deal means

by Bryan Pearson — President, LoyaltyOne

While Wal-Mart, Target and other chains test ways to maneuver into smaller footprints, other retailers benefit from their missteps.

IoT remains early stage tech in boosting customer experience

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

Defining Internet of Things as intelligent interaction between humans and things to exchange information is easy enough, but assessing how and where IoT is…

Back-to-school sales are up but spend not as high as last year

August 23, 2016

Good news for retailers as back-to-school sales grab traction: Sales are rebounding this year following sluggish growth in the past three years.

Pizza Hut digital leader Baron Concors talks mobile strategy, best practices

Baron Concors, Pizza Hut global chief digital officer, said the “focus on mobile is a focus on customer,” and that retailers must turn their mindset to…

The simple solution for retailers: Be channel agnostic

by Chris Petersen — Owner, IMS

Consumer journeys are neither the same, nor consistent. The term omnichannel is becoming ubiquitous. However, it may be one of the most misunderstood terms in…

Megastore on the bubble: What shrinking Target And Wal-Mart stores mean

by Bryan Pearson — President, LoyaltyOne

Smaller locations may have been the solution for shoehorning large-format retailers into densely populated cities. But the proliferation of digital shopping is…

5 tidbits from the CONNECT Mobile Innovation Summit

by Will Hernandez — Editor, NetWorld Media Group

No matter which way you turn these days, mobile (or mobility) is at the center of most conversations for banks, retailers, restaurants and any other…