Customer Data

Eighty years after the classic movie "Casablanca" made its debut, lyrics from the film’s signature song still ring true today — “the fundamental things in life apply, as time goes by.” I think of this every time there’s another story about the ways that retail shopping habits have been impacted by digital technologies and, over…

COVID-19 has flipped the retail sector upside down. Grocery stores and pharmacies are more critical than ever, but many other “nonessential” retailers are in a trickier position. They either have to lean into e-commerce or dramatically alter their brick-and-mortar stores to support social distancing and contactless shopping through curbside pickup; buy online, pick up in-store…

For e-commerce businesses, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are nothing new. Both have been gradually transforming the way retailers operate and improve their online offerings through enabling greater efficiency and a better understanding of their markets. In 2021, however, technological advancements and enhanced intelligence in these areas will expand the way businesses can benefit…

COVID-19 has wrought many changes in society. For retailers, perhaps the most important is the massive shift to online purchases of just about everything. On the one hand, online retailers of all kinds are facing more competition from newcomers which previously concentrated on in-store sales. With more e-commerce sites to compete against — especially, of…

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the gradual shift from brick-and-mortar shopping to e-commerce in ways that were previously unimaginable. Seemingly overnight, consumer habits have changed across generations — and for many, there’s no going back. Even for those companies that were well-positioned for this shift, or that quickly pivoted to accommodate new surges in online…

Companies that closed or filed for bankruptcy in recent months couldn’t have predicted the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. But for many retailers that were already struggling to engage customers, the crisis was simply the final straw. Iconic retailers such as Lord & Taylor and Pier 1 Imports shuttered, while those that pivoted toward an…

The November partnership between Target and Ulta Beauty exemplifies how retail disruption in 2020 forced brands, particularly brands in niche segments, to rethink go-to-market strategies in the wake of fewer in-store visits, declining sales, and consumers’ increasing preferences for contactless interactions. Like many retailers, Ulta was hit with store closures, experiencing a 27 percent year-over-year…

Kroger Co. said in a statement Friday that personal data, including Social Security numbers of some of its pharmacy and clinic customers, may have been stolen in the hack of a third-party vendor’s file-transfer service. The third-party vendor, Accellion, was used by Kroger as well as many other companies for secure third-party file transfers. Accellion notified Kroger that…

From small local boutiques to iconic department stores, no corner of the retail sector has been untouched by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the separation between winners and losers has never been so stark. For every mall chain declaring bankruptcy, there’s a competitor that’s quickly responded to the new normal and is reaping the revenue benefits.…

The consumer experience has never been more vital for the success of your brand. If you’ve mastered selling through your channel partners, now you have a new challenge ahead: shifting to direct-to-consumer (D-to-C), with the global pandemic accelerating this transformation. Product-based marketing doesn’t work anymore. Consumers are no longer thinking in terms of just buying…