Customer Retention

Global e-commerce sales are expected to reach nearly $2.5 trillion by 2018, but the consumer expectations that will fuel those sales are shifting daily. Whether customers are clicking "Buy" from their phones or opting for curbside pickup, they’re looking for convenient, seamless experiences. For brands, yesterday’s innovation is today’s expectation. Retailers are in a great…

Loyalty programs are in need of careful examination to the point of reshifting focus in 2016. Nearly 90 percent of consumers view loyalty programs in a negative light, according to a Capgemini Consulting analysis of close to 40,000 consumer conversations on social media. The reason? In a digital age, many retailers fall short in offering…

I like to remind folks that consumers are actually people who happen to shop once and a while and look for something beyond “stuff.” This past May, I talked about one retailer’s return to past glories, and what I saw for its brick-and mortar future. Here's why chic beats cheap every time. Cheap Chic Recaptivates…

Thanksgiving weekend has come and gone, along with any doubt on just how much the holiday retail landscape has changed. Overall, signs are better for e-commerce companies than for brick-and-mortar stores, as seen in the results from the holiday weekend: while Black Friday in-store traffic slipped, online shopping surged, up 18 percent on Black Friday…

At a time when shoppers have more options than ever, Kohl's is placing a wager that one set of customers can help revive its sales: its loyalists. The discount department store, which outperformed Macy's during the third quarter, is hoping to ride its momentum into the critical holiday shopping period, which accounted for one-third of its sales last…

One month ago nearly the entire town of Hanover, New Hampshire woke up with something on their doorstep. While not a creature was stirring, a team of 30 Zappos employees descended upon the small town on Nov. 10 to deliver happiness. The gifts came in the form of 1,900 boxes, each containing cold-weather gear including…

Amazon.com’s Prime keeps attracting more and more members, and new data from Wall Street firm Cowen & Co suggests the subscription service is getting stickier, posing a more intense threat to traditional retailers trying to claw back market share. The survey suggests Amazon Prime is drawing younger and wealthier shoppers who are now using the…

The lowest price always wins in online retail, right? Not necessarily. Amazon.com is a perfect example of a company that doesn’t always offer the lowest prices, but has built up a strong perception of being a loss leader. While Jet.com has recently joined the online retail game, Amazon’s customers haven’t jumped ship just because Jet…

The holidays are just around the corner, and most merchants have already put a lot of thought into how they’ll try to maximize sales during the annual shopping blitz. But those with their eyes on the real prize will focus not only on sales volumes this holiday season, but also on how many of those…

Loyal customers are what every brand is after. Considering the cost to acquire new customers — as well as the challenge of identifying which of the multiple touchpoints drove them to purchase — many retailers are recognizing the value in spending to retain the customers they already have. From technology upgrades to improve the shopping…