Customer Retention

A lot has changed since the marketplace was visited by the coronavirus. Businesses closed down. Schools closed down. Restaurants closed down. Retailers were forced to close down, too. At last count, since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March, 22 retailers have filed for Chapter 11. That makes a total of 42 retailers this year, and…

The pandemic has changed everything in retail — and it’s not ending anytime soon. Just as stores started to adjust to the “new normal” of frequent disinfection and face masks, the spread of the virus is picking back up in regions across the country, forcing many retailers to close their doors to the public again.…

Many of us crave the coming of Jan. 1 as a symbol of a fresh, new year dangling its promise of being oh so much better than the last. On many fronts, particularly humanitarian, we're anxious to move past the fear, upheaval and political angst of 2020. On the flip side, 2020 was an unprecedented…

Walking into a brick-and-mortar store today feels a bit apocalyptic. Employees now don gloves, facemasks and even the occasional face shield for added protection. There are stickers meticulously placed at six-foot intervals in front of checkout counters to help consumers abide by social distancing rules. Plexiglass shields now act as a protective barrier between cashiers…

Loyalty programs can help online retailers improve customer retention, increase cross-sell and upsell opportunities, and expand margins and revenues. However, poor user experiences can impair customer satisfaction and hamper loyalty programs. Today’s consumers expect fast, friction-free and secure interactions from any device. To unleash the full potential of their loyalty program, retailers need to accelerate…

Amazon.com is big. Powerful, too. The vision of Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos is remarkable. It's astounding to consider Amazon’s ascension began just 26 years ago in 1994. While I don’t always agree with Amazon’s practices, I have a great deal of respect for Mr. Bezos as an entrepreneur, a visionary, and for the brand…

Paleontologists and evolutionary biologists often speak of “punctuated equilibrium” — a time of rapid evolutionary change following a long span of stasis. Such periods occur following a cataclysmic episode — e.g., the massive asteroid strike that wiped out the dinosaurs. COVID-19 is a punctuated equilibrium event for retail. It changed everything, and many of these…

While COVID has been an “unprecedented disruption” for business and consumers, it’s clearly been an accelerant for existing trends. For retailers, this includes “Retail Darwinism.” Retailers filing for bankruptcy is nothing new, but regardless of a vaccine or another “unprecedented” event, failure to understand the context that made COVID exacerbate retail’s challenges will only leave…

In the early moments of the COVID-19 pandemic, the role of brands elevated nearly immediately. Some retail stores were deemed essential, and their employees became frontline workers seemingly overnight. Trusted brands also quickly moved to the forefront of the COVID-19 conversation. People, businesses and brands were given the opportunity to improve the greater good, or…

As states across the U.S. are relaxing stay-at-home orders, and with restrictions on everyday activities easing, Americans seem to be finally settling into a new routine. The burning question now is: How must retailers adjust to the new normal to best serve the post-pandemic consumer? According to the most recent EY Future Consumer Index, a…